The Argentine diplomat Rafael Grossi, candidate for the post of Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), defended this Monday (22), in Buenos Aires, a consensual reform of the institution and more effective action in the face of international conflicts. According to him, the organization must be “less declarative and more active”.
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Current director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a position he has held since 2019, Grossi presented his candidacy for the seat of the Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In his speech, he provided a critical assessment of the current situation at the UN, saying that the assessment of the multilateral organization’s activities “is not very positive.”
According to the diplomat, there is a common element in several conflicts between countries: the absence of the United Nations. — In many cases, the common denominator is precisely the lack of UN presence, and there is no reason for this to happen, — he said.
Grossi stressed the need to bring the organization closer to the concrete problems facing the population. “We need the United Nations to be interested in people’s problems, not just approving huge documents,” he said.
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The candidate also stressed that UN reform is essential. “This must be a reform in which we all recognize that there are areas of surplus and others that need to be strengthened,” he said.
At the event, Argentine Chancellor Pablo Quirno said President Javier Milei had expressed his “full support” for Grossi’s candidacy.
As head of the IAEA, Grossi has played an important role as intermediary between Ukraine and Russia on issues related to nuclear security since the start of the war. The agency also has strained relations with Iran over its oversight of its nuclear program. In June, France, Germany and the United Kingdom condemned threats made by Tehran against the diplomat, after the country restricted IAEA access to nuclear facilities affected by Israeli and American bombings.
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Due to the tradition of geographical rotation – not always respected – the next UN Secretary General should be a representative of Latin America. Besides Grossi, former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet and Costa Rican economist Rebeca Grynspan, current secretary-general of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), are also mentioned as possible candidates.
The current Secretary General of the UN, the Portuguese António Guterres, ends his five-year term in December 2026. The decisive stages in the process of choosing his successor should begin in July, at the organization’s Security Council.
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