SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST:
The United Nations Security Council is going to begin straw polls tomorrow. The plan is to whittle down a list of candidates for U.N. secretary-general. There are seven candidates in the running to replace Antonio Guterres. His term ends at the end of this year, and diplomats are hoping they can agree on a replacement soon. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports.
MICHELE KELEMEN, BYLINE: The president of the U.N. General Assembly, Germany's Annalena Baerbock, has been hosting public interviews of the candidates. And most took part in a town hall last week.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
ANNALENA BAERBOCK: The person we choose will not only be the face of this house of humanity, but also its custodian.
KELEMEN: A former assistant secretary of state who focused on U.N. affairs, Esther Brimmer says she's been impressed by the open debates.
ESTHER BRIMMER: This process is much more transparent and visible to the public, which is a good thing, that it helps more people, should they do so, to and want to tune in to understand more about what this institution does.
KELEMEN: The U.N. charter does not spell out exactly how a secretary-general is selected, but there's an informal regional rotation, and most see this as Latin America's turn. There's also a big push to have a woman at the helm for the first time. Though the State Department tells NPR the U.S. will not prejudge a candidate based on, quote, "immutable characteristics." It also says it wants a secretary-general focused on peace and security, not on, quote, "absurd, politicized, woke ideology." One front-runner is Rafael Grossi of Argentina, who runs the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog. At the town hall, he touted his negotiations over the fate of a nuclear power plant caught in the middle of Russia's war against Ukraine.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
RAFAEL GROSSI: We have negotiated six ceasefires to be able to do indispensable repairs that would prevent a major accident.
KELEMEN: A former vice president of Costa Rica and a top U.N. trade official, Rebeca Grynspan, says she too helped negotiate a deal between Russia and Ukraine to open up a shipping route for grain in the Black Sea.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
REBECA GRYNSPAN: For people around the world not to suffer the consequences of the regional conflict. And we can do the same in the Strait of Hormuz.
KELEMEN: The wars in Iran and Ukraine and the inability of the Security Council to resolve them were major topics at last week's town hall with the candidates. A former foreign minister of Guyana, Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett, says the world needs an active secretary-general.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
CAROLYN RODRIGUES BIRKETT: I'm not oblivious to the geopolitical situation. But one thing the secretary-general does not have the luxury of doing, and that is not trying.
KELEMEN: There are two candidates from Africa, former Senegalese President Macky Sall and a new entry from Uganda, a longtime U.N. diplomat, Olara Otunnu. From Latin America, former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet is also in the running. So, too, is Maria Fernanda Espinosa, a former foreign minister of Ecuador.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
MARIA FERNANDA ESPINOSA: Our responsibility is to make the U.N. relevant again.
KELEMEN: More candidates could still enter the race, even as the Security Council begins a series of straw polls to whittle down the list. Esther Brimmer, who's now at the Council on Foreign Relations, is a bit worried that it might be hard for the permanent five members to agree on anyone.
BRIMMER: You do not want the P5 just to go for, like, the lowest common denominator, least offensive person.
KELEMEN: Eventually, the Security Council will send its preferred candidate to the General Assembly for a final vote. The council's president says the goal is to make sure there's enough transition time before Antonio Guterres' term ends at the end of the year.
Michele Kelemen, NPR News, the State Department.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
