The key facts

  • Feridun Sinirlioglu, currently head of the OSCE, presented his candidacy as part of the process of selecting the next head of the UN
  • He named five priorities: conflict prevention, restoring trust in multilateralism, preparing for new challenges, sustainable development and climate, human rights
  • Sinirlioglu called for making the UN more flexible, transparent, digital, financially responsible and accountable

Address as part of the selection of the next UN Secretary-General

Turkey's candidate for UN Secretary-General, Feridun Sinirlioglu, said on Friday, November 6, that if elected he would devote his experience and energy to keeping the organization faithful to the vision of its founders: preventing conflicts, sustainable development, protecting human dignity and building a more prosperous and just world for all. Anadolu reported this.

Diagnosis of the crisis and five priorities

Sinirlioglu, who currently serves as OSCE Secretary-General, described today's world as experiencing high geopolitical tension, the highest in decades. In his words, the international system is unable to cope with threats to peace or even to agree on them, economic inequality is growing within and between countries, global solidarity is thinning, and human rights are being violated in plain sight and undermined by intolerable double standards.

Key points of the address

I am seeking the post of Secretary-General not because I consider the UN perfect, but because I firmly believe it is indispensable, the candidate said, adding that if rules stop meaning anything to some, they will stop meaning anything to everyone. He stressed that the UN needs a Secretary-General not only as an administrator but also as an active and experienced diplomat-mediator, ready to go where peace is needed most, and that dialogue with those who disagree is not a concession but a responsibility. He promised to build his work on strict fidelity to the UN Charter, independence, impartiality, transparency, partnership with regional organizations and the inclusion of the voices of those traditionally underrepresented.

Reform of the organization

Sinirlioglu named five priorities: prevention and settlement of conflicts, restoring trust in multilateralism, preparing for new challenges, accelerating sustainable development and climate action, and protecting human rights. He also called for reforming the UN, making it more flexible, transparent, digital, financially responsible and accountable: Taxpayers around the world should see where their money goes, what projects it funds and what effect it delivers.