Former Vice President Grynspan urges UN not to avoid diplomatic risks — Cyprus Mail
Former Costa Rican Vice President Rebeca Grynspan, who is the frontrunner in the race to become the next UN secretary-general, said the organization has become too risk-averse. The future UN chief must be prepared to bear the cost of diplomatic failures and try again to achieve results, Cyprus Mail reports.
Grynspan spoke ahead of another informal vote in the UN Security Council on the candidacy of António Guterres' successor. His second five-year term as secretary-general ends on December 31.
Reform instead of cuts alone
The candidate believes the UN needs to cut positions, reduce bureaucracy and end duplication of work among agencies. At the same time, she said that reducing spending alone is insufficient, as without reform it could only worsen the work of an organization with fewer resources that is losing political influence.
Grynspan said that while serving as head of the UN Conference on Trade and Development, she cut 20% of positions while focusing the institution's work on its core tasks. She agreed with criticism by US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz regarding excessive bureaucracy and duplication of functions, and said she would appoint a person in her office to monitor the implementation of mandates.
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Diplomacy and voting
As an example of quiet diplomacy, Grynspan cited the negotiations on the 2022 Black Sea Grain Initiative. The Russian Federation, an aggressor state, withdrew from the agreement in 2023 and stated that its key provisions had not been implemented.
Grynspan also called for greater attention to mediation and conflict prevention, as well as a more flexible approach to peacekeeping operations. According to diplomats, she led in four of five informal polls and received nine votes of support last week. To recommend a candidate, at least nine positive votes out of 15 are needed, with no “discourage” vote from any of the five permanent members of the Security Council.
The next vote will for the first time use colored ballots, which will show whether any of the states with veto power opposes the candidate. Grynspan said she does not rule out such a vote against her and also expects new candidates to emerge after the poll.
