Ann Linde

"Have we forgotten that a nuclear war cannot be won and must not be fought?" @antonioguterres warned of rising nuclear risks and appealed to States to recommit to disarmament and non-proliferation at the opening of the 11th #NPT Review Conference.

A new United Nations 🇺🇳Secretary General will ​be elected later this year for a five-year term starting on January 1, 2027. There are currently 4⃣ declared candidates. Next week the SG race reaches a pivotal moment with the kick off of two days of "interactive dialogues" with the candidates at UNHQ in New York. Here is how it will work⬇️ The President of the General Assembly, Annalena Baerbock, will convene the interactive dialogues. Each of the four current candidates will have 3 hours to take questions from civil society and UN Member States who request to address each candidate(s). This will take place in the Trusteeship Council Chamber. Each candidate will have 10 minutes for an opening statement to lay out their vision for the UN followed by the Q&A portion. The President of the General Assembly has suggested the discussion be focused on the three pillars of the UN - peace and security, development, and human rights. ⬇️Here are the time slots for each candidate⬇️ ⚠️Tuesday April 21 10am - 1 pm - Michelle Bachelet - Chilean, and two term former President of Chile, former head of UN Women and previously High Commissioner for Human Rights. Nominated by: Chile, Brazil, Mexico. (Chile later withdrew nomination) 3 pm - 6 pm - Rafael Grossi - Argentine and currently Director General of IAEA. Nominated by: Argentina ⚠️Wednesday April 22 10am - 1 pm - Rebeca Grynspan - Costa Rican and Secretary General of UN Trade and Development (she recently took a leave to run for SG) and former Vice President of Costa Rica. Nominated by: Costa Rica. 3 pm - 6 pm - Macky Sall - Senegalese and former President of his country. Nominated by: Burundi After each candidate have completed their interactive dialogue they will be given an opportunity to take make remarks and take questions from the media at the UN GA media stakeout area. The dialogues will be broadcast live on UNTV webtv.un.org/en All dialogues will have live interpretation in all six UN official languages Regional rotation? While it is not written in the UN Charter, rotating the UN Secretary General by region has become an important informal rule and powerful diplomatic precedent that ensures different parts of the world take turns leading the organization. It is currently the turn for the Latin America and Caribbean group; hence why three of the four candidates are from Latin America. A woman? Since the founding of the UN in 1946 there have been nine Secretary General's. None have been women. There is a big push for a woman this time around. "It's time," is the public and private thinking by many diplomats / UN staff who walk the halls. Could more candidates run? Short answer is, yes. While the President of the General Assembly has set an informal deadline of April for candidates to be nominated, nothing prevents a "late entry" into the race. Official UN website on selection and appointment of the next Secretary General ⬇️ un.org/en/sg-selectio…