The four declared candidates vying to become the next United Nations secretary-general will face in-person hearings on Tuesday and Wednesday examining their bids to lead the troubled global organization beginning next year.

Among the candidates are Argentina’s Rafael Grossi, who as head of the International Atomic Energy Agency has been at the center of international diplomatic efforts to curb Iran’s nuclear program, and Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan.

Chile’s Michelle Bachelet and Senegal’s Macky Sall are also competing for a five-year term at the helm of the 193-member body, which can be extended for another five.

While they are the only declared candidates so far, others can join in the race in the coming months.

The next UN leader will face an enormous task to revitalize an organization in crisis, whose stature has significantly diminished in recent years.

Major powers, even as they increasingly flout long-held norms of international order, have pressed the UN to reform, slash costs, and prove its relevance.

The UN is especially controversial in Israel, which it frequently condemns. The UN General Assembly adopted 15 resolutions last year denouncing the Jewish state, compared to just 11 in total against all others, according to the UN Watch organization.

Israeli leaders often point to the outsize attention, attributing it to antisemitism and rejecting accusations of international law violations and war crimes leveled by various UN agencies.

The outgoing secretary-general, Antonio Guterres, has frequently come into conflict with Jerusalem, especially since the Hamas terror group’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel sparked war in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, and elsewhere. The UN and Israel have also butted heads amid the subsequent conflicts in Iran.

In September, a UN panel — which does not speak on behalf of the institution at large — accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza in a bid to “destroy the Palestinians,” blaming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top officials.

Israel vehemently rejects allegations that it has committed genocide amid the ongoing offensive in Gaza.

Israel has said that in all its operations, it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities, and has stressed that in its war against Hamas, the terror group used Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.

On Tuesday, Bachelet and Grossi will be first up for three hours of grilling at UN headquarters in New York, from member states and civil society representatives. The hearings for Grynspan and Sall are set to be held on Wednesday.

There are currently far fewer candidates for the role than in 2016, when the Portuguese Guterres was chosen from a field........

© The Times of Israel