EU Statement – UN General Assembly: Interactive dialogues with candidates for the position of UN Secretary-General

EU Statement - UN General Assembly: Interactive dialogues with candidates for the position of UN Secretary-General

21 April 2026, New York - Statement on behalf of the European Union and its Member States by H.E. Ambassador Stavros Lambrinidis, Head of the European Union Delegation to the United Nations, at the Interactive dialogues with candidates for the position of UN Secretary-General (21-22 April 2026)

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Madam President, Excellencies, colleagues,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.

As leading political, financial and operational supporters of the UN and multilateralism, the European Union and its Member States are deeply invested in the UN Charter, international law and the UN's success on the ground, especially at this moment of acute crisis. We are equally focused on the success of the selection process of the next Secretary-General and fully expect to be working closely with a SG who has a clear appreciation of the EU's role in the UN system and who matches principle with action.

With geopolitical tensions rising, trust eroding, and the gap between commitments and delivery widening, the selection of the next SG comes at a defining moment.

At this critical juncture, the United Nations needs a SG who can build trust, reduce polarization, bridge divides, mobilise collective action, accelerate UN reforms, and deliver solutions that make a real difference in people's lives on the ground.

It needs a Secretary-General that is fully prepared to defend and promote, with equal vigour, all three UN pillars, and full respect for the UN Charter and international law.

We emphasise this last point because the EU's support to the UN reflects precisely that premise. We support all strands of the UN's work equally: On peace and security, we actively advance the implementation of key UN mandates through our security and defence missions around the world. On sustainable development, we provide close to 50% of all ODA and over one-third of all voluntary contributions to the UN system, committed to delivering on the SDGs and battling inequality. On human rights, we remain firmly committed to their universality and indivisibility, while noting with concern that only 1% of the UN system spending is dedicated to human rights mandates at a time when normative attacks on human rights are increasing. We would expect the SG to seek to ensure that human rights are adequately and sustainably funded.

We look forward to working closely with a SG who matches principle with action and against this broader backdrop, we wish to ask the following question:

Questions for H.E. Ms. Michelle Bachelet:

UN reform: How will you ensure the continuity of the ongoing UN80 Initiative? If you could reform one thing during your first 100 days in office to make the UN more effective in delivering on any of its core mandates, what would that be? Can you offer an example of a major reform that you promoted successfully in your previous tenures, and what lessons did you learn that could inform your approach to broader UN reform today?

Thank you.