Policy Profiles: Strengthening Public Scrutiny in the Selection of the Next UN Secretary-General
As the selection of the next United Nations Secretary-General moves forward, GQUAL, as part of the Steering Committee of the 1 for 8 Billion Campaign, joined a broad coalition of civil society organizations to help assess candidates’ visions and policy positions across key UN priorities.
The initiative, developed in collaboration with PassBlue as media partner, seeks to strengthen public scrutiny and support a more informed, substantive, and transparent conversation around the selection process.
The assessments were developed following the General Assembly’s Interactive Dialogues, held on April 21 and 22, 2026, with the four candidates then in the race: Michelle Bachelet, Rafael Grossi, Rebeca Grynspan, and Macky Sall.
They draw on a careful analysis of each candidate’s public engagement throughout the process — including vision statements, campaign materials, participation in the dialogues, and other publicly available information.
Each profile has been developed by civil society organizations with recognized expertise in thematic areas critical to the UN’s work, including conflict prevention, peacekeeping and peacebuilding, humanitarian action, development and inequality, human rights and gender equality, gender, youth and civil society inclusion, climate, and UN reform.
GQUAL and the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL) contributed the assessment on human rights and gender equality, focusing on issues that go to the heart of the UN’s legitimacy and ability to deliver on its mandate: the role of international law across the UN system, the strength and independence of the human rights architecture, responses to urgent human rights challenges, and the standards that should guide senior appointments.
At a time when accountability and international law are under real pressure, the selection of the next Secretary-General should allow Member States, civil society, journalists, and the broader public to understand not only who the candidates are, but what they stand for — and how they would exercise leadership when it is tested.
Since the publication of these profiles, the race has continued to evolve. On May 11, Antigua and Barbuda formally nominated former Ecuadorian Foreign Minister and former President of the General Assembly María Fernanda Espinosa, bringing the field to five candidates, including three women from Latin America.
Her nomination further underscores the importance of sustaining a process that is transparent, inclusive, merit-based, and open to meaningful public debate.
By bringing together these analyses, the initiative aims to raise the bar for public engagement in the selection process — moving the conversation beyond individuals to focus on vision, priorities, and the kind of leadership the United Nations requires at this critical juncture.
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