{"id":80324,"date":"2026-06-09T19:18:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T19:18:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/80324\/"},"modified":"2026-06-09T19:18:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T19:18:08","slug":"the-true-school-for-multilateralism-un-chief-hopefuls-weigh-in-on-genevas-place-in-un-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/80324\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The true school for multilateralism\u2019: UN chief hopefuls weigh in on Geneva\u2019s place in UN future"},"content":{"rendered":"

As three candidates to become the next UN leader took to the stage in Geneva on Tuesday to set out their priorities for the world\u2019s top multilateral body, they also nodded to the city\u2019s diplomatic role.<\/p>\n

For one hour on Tuesday, Geneva took centre stage in the race to select the next secretary general of the United Nations. The Maison de la Paix \u2013 a stone\u2019s throw away from the UN\u2019s European headquarters \u2013 was buzzing as over 500 people packed into the main auditorium to watch three of the five candidates explain why they should be picked to lead the ailing multilateral body in desperate need of a revival.<\/p>\n

The event made the case for Geneva as a key convening hub. \u201cIt\u2019s not an accident that we are meeting in this city,\u201d Mar\u00eda Fernanda Espinosa, former Ecuadorian foreign minister and the newest candidate to join the race, later told reporters. \u201cGeneva is the laboratory of international law\u2026it is the true school for multilateralism if you want to be a diplomat,\u201d she said, also crediting the city\u2019s mediation role as a neutral convener.<\/p>\n

But once the audience disperses and the cameras stop rolling, where does Geneva as a diplomatic hub fit into their broader strategic vision for the future of the UN? According to Daniel Safran-Hon, an independent researcher who has served in several positions in the executive office of the secretary general: \u201cGeneva remains a rare space where sensitive conversations can continue. Yet its role as a hub for UN diplomacy has declined.\u201d<\/p>\n

This has happened for multiple reasons, he notes<\/a> in a recent opinion piece for Geneva Solutions. \u201cKey among them is the declining diplomatic relevance of the UN itself. Another is the absence of any vision from the secretary general for what the UN in Geneva should do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amid shrinking global aid budgets and a UN forced to make cuts or move jobs to less expensive cities, international Geneva has been experiencing a crisis of its own. Here also Espinosa, who served as Ecuadorian ambassador in Geneva for four years and knows the city well, steps in: \u201cYes, Geneva is not cheap. That\u2019s the reality. But we can negotiate and discuss. I\u2019m sure the Swiss government would be ready and eager to regain the weight of Geneva as a hub of multilateralism,\u201d she told Geneva Solutions.<\/p>\n

Hub to one of the UN\u2019s three pillars<\/p>\n

One who appears to understand Geneva\u2019s relevance well is Michelle Bachelet. The former high commissioner for human rights has made human rights central to her campaign. The human rights pillar, a core part of Geneva\u2019s international system, is among the hardest hit by funding cuts from the US and other donors and UN reform efforts. Responding to a question by Geneva Solutions about the chronic funding issues the UN human rights office she used to lead now faces, Bachet said: \u201cI will do my best to reinforce and support the whole structure of human rights,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m not a magician, and I don\u2019t do miracles. But I can be very persistent.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the human rights pillar is not only under pressure over simple accounting issues. The United States congress has opposed Bachelet, who also served as head of UN Women, due to her position on women\u2019s reproductive rights, potentially earning her a veto from the US and other conservative states like Russia at the Security Council. Still, the two-time Chilean left-wing president refused to back down, making it clear that this was a risk worth facing for standing up to UN principles: \u201cIf somebody vetoes me because I believe in democracy, because I believe in multilateralism, because I believe in women\u2019s rights and human rights, I will be honoured.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rebeca Grynspan, the Costa Rican former vice president who currently leads the Geneva-based UN trade and development agency, Unctad, also has deep ties to the multilateral city. She stressed the need to \u201cpush back on the politicisation of the principles of human rights and international humanitarian law\u201d. It remains to be seen how she plans to protect this other foundational part of the humanitarian city.<\/p>\n

Additional reporting by Michelle Langrand<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As three candidates to become the next UN leader took to the stage in Geneva on Tuesday to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":80325,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[7],"tags":[65,2864,29182,2746],"class_list":["post-80324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-geneva","tag-geneva","tag-multilateralism","tag-secretary-general","tag-united-nations"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ch\/116721766008946848","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80324","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80324"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80324\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/80325"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80324"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80324"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}