Six candidates pitch to lead UN as credibility crisis looms

With one week until voting begins, six candidates vying to replace UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres outlined their visions during a restrained debate at the General Assembly Hall on Thursday. The hopefuls—Michelle Bachelet (Chile), Maria Fernanda Espinosa (Ecuador), Rafael Grossi (Argentina), Rebeca Grynspan (Costa Rica), Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett (Guyana), and Macky Sall (Senegal)—stressed restoring credibility to an organization in crisis. Grynspan, head of UNCTAD, said she wants a UN that is "back at the table on the scenarios of conflict" delivering "results on the ground." Sall vowed to use his first 100 days to make the UN "more agile, more effective, and more ready to listen." Guterres leaves office December 31.