United Nations, April 22 (IANS) Rafael Mariano Grossi, who is a candidate for secretary-general, has indicated that he would help move the delayed process of reforming the Security Council forward by facilitating the discussions in that regard.
“We know that time has passed (for reforms). We know that circumstances have changed,” Grossi said on Tuesday (local time) at the candidates’ forum here.
“Coming to a solution that will be good for all is a challenge ahead of all of us, and I look forward to having that discussion with you’, he said in reply to a question on behalf of the G4 from Japan’s Permanent Representative Yamazaki Kazuyuki.
G4 is the group of four countries, India, Japan, Brazil and Germany, which together advocate for reforming the Council by adding permanent members, and mutually support each other for permanent seats on a reformed Council.
Yamazaki asked him what specific initiatives he would take to reform the Security Council.
Grossi confessed, “I don’t see the secretary-general as having a magic wand to solve such a complex matter.”
“But,” he added, “we recognise the importance of it, and hope to be working and having the conversation with everybody on this very topical issue”.
The reform process “is driven by you, by member states, (but) the secretary-general can play a role in terms of facilitation, in terms of providing with an environment that will be conducive to a good and fair discussion among all,” he said.
Grossi is currently the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and was nominated by his country, Argentina.
He is one of the four candidates vying to succeed Antonio Guterres, whose second term ends this year.
The Security Council picks the candidate for selection as secretary-general and recommends its choice to the General Assembly, which has to approve it.
In his vision statement for the UN if he is elected, he said the organisation must move from rhetoric and platitudes to diplomacy and concrete action.
It must return to its central mission “to save humanity from the scourge of war”.
“In an increasingly complex world, this means being active, not passive, in the face of conflict and humanitarian crises”, he said.
“In times of fragmentation and insecurity, impartiality and effective dialogue are essential”, and the secretary-general “must engage with all sides, speak with clarity, and act with purpose, particularly in moments of disagreement”, he said.
(Arul Louis can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in)
–IANS
al/sd/
