Ecuadorean candidate for UN chief says world body must shrink

Ecuador's former foreign affairs and defense minister, Maria Fernanda Espinosa, is positioning herself as a candidate for United Nations secretary-general, advocating for a significant, yet responsible, downsizing of the global organization. While acknowledging the UN's continued essential role, Espinosa highlighted its current state of crisis and diminishing stature.

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I am under no illusion about the difficulties ahead, yet I remain optimistic.

"I am under no illusion about the difficulties ahead, yet I remain optimistic," Espinosa stated during a hearing on her candidacy. She vowed to continue reform efforts, emphasizing that the need for the organization, established after World War II, remains "undeniable." Espinosa believes the UN must rebuild its credibility and demonstrate its ability to deliver tangible change.

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Too often, the UN is missing in action, or relegated to the sidelines. Too often it is slow, fragmented, and constrained ... the UN needs to rebuild credibility and show, not just say, that it can deliver real change.

Espinosa's proposal includes shrinking the UN responsibly while simultaneously strengthening national ownership and delivery mechanisms. She suggests that national governments could assume greater roles in areas currently managed by the UN, though specific details were not provided. Her domestic political background includes service in the leftist administration of former Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa, though she has since distanced herself from his party.

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We can shrink the UN responsibly, while strengthening national ownership and delivery, and restoring faith in the UN.

Espinosa is one of six candidates seeking to succeed Antonio Guterres, whose term ends this year. The process involves hearings where candidates present their visions for the organization. Notably, no woman has ever held the post of UN secretary-general, and Espinosa commented that it is time for a woman to be chosen, but stressed the importance of selecting the "right woman, and the right leader."

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I would also say that not any woman, the right woman, and the right leader that the UN deserves.