Otunnu pledges to give UN a new lease of life
“With rapid advances in the field of artificial intelligence and other great scientific and technological leaps and transformations, we stand on the precipice of a potential golden age in human history—a time to prevent and cure hitherto incurable diseases,” Otunnu said.
In his vision statement posted on the UN website ahead of his interactive dialogue with member states in New York on Wednesday (August 19), Otunnu noted that for more than eight decades, the organisation has been at the heart of the global architecture for peace and security and shared prosperity.
NEW YORK - Uganda’s candidate for the United Nations (UN) secretary-general, Dr Olara Otunnu, has promised to give the global organisation a new lease of life if elected.
In his vision statement posted on the UN website ahead of his interactive dialogue with member states in New York on Wednesday (August 19), Otunnu noted that for more than eight decades, the organisation has been at the heart of the global architecture for peace and security and shared prosperity.
“With rapid advances in the field of artificial intelligence and other great scientific and technological leaps and transformations, we stand on the precipice of a potential golden age in human history—a time to prevent and cure hitherto incurable diseases,” he said.
The former UN diplomat also noted that this is the time to lift billions of people out of poverty through financial and digital inclusion, and to explore the heavens with renewed hope and confidence and insights.
“It is also, however, a moment of great upheaval and dislocation: a moment fraught with grave threats to international peace and security, economic disenfranchisement and dislocation, and a time when drones and artificial intelligence might evolve to dominate the human race.”
The 75-year-old also stated that it is against this backdrop of hope and great promise and the gathering threats that the UN is once again called upon to fulfil.
“It’s a historic mission. It is an opportunity to reinvent and to renew and to give the United Nations a new lease on life,” he emphasised.
Issues on the agenda
The other issues revolve around a new world economy, environment and prosperity, mobilising financial resources for development, immigration, connecting ‘the Global’ to ‘the Community’, as well as deepening cooperation between the UN and regional organisations.
On his first issue of moral authority of the UN, Otunnu argued that the organization’s secretary-general does not wield conventional power derived from military strength, resource base and support of the population.
“However, the UN Secretary-General has moral authority that flows from the principles of the UN Charter and the support of the Member States. This is a crucial asset. When this asset is carefully and strategically deployed by the Secretary General, it benefits the international community as a whole,” he wrote.
In his concluding remarks, Otunnu said that, in order to carry out his outlined agenda, the UN is in need of a particular kind of secretary general.
“A Secretary General who is proactive, is a bridge builder and is able to propose creative solutions in difficult situations. We are blessed to live in an era of great technological revolutions and rapid transformations.”
He also said this should be the golden age—the age of hope and faith, and the age that allows the full flourishing of the human race as one global family of hope and faith.
“I take my inspiration from St. Francis of Assisi: Lord, make me an instrument of your peace; where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light, and where there is sadness, joy.”
Otunnu served as Uganda’s ambassador and permanent representative to the UN from 1980 to 1985 and the global organisation’s under-secretary-general for children and armed conflict from 1998 to 2005.
He also presided over the UN Security Council in the 1980s.
Otunnu’s interactive dialogue with member states, which resembles a regular interview process, will take place at 3:00pm New York time, which will be 10:00pm in Uganda and across East Africa.
In that interaction, he is expected to present his vision for the global organisation once given the opportunity to head it, and answer questions from member states about his leadership experience and qualifications.
The three-hour campaign inside the UN headquarters in New York will also see Otunnu answer questions about the organisation’s reform and its three pillars of peace and security, development and human rights.
António Guterres, the current UN secretary-general, is due to end his second and final term of office at the end of this year, with seven other candidates seeking to replace him.
All the contenders have already taken part in public hustings, save for Otunnu, who was nominated by the Ugandan government on July 24, 2026.
The process for the selection and appointment of the next secretary-general was formally initiated by the President of the General Assembly and the President of the Security Council through a joint letter dated November 25, 2025.
The President of the General Assembly, Annalena Baerbock, has committed to guiding this process transparently and inclusively, the UN website stated on Wednesday while announcing Otunnu’s scheduled event.
Baerbock, who has been convening these interactive dialogues with candidates, told journalists shortly before the first session in April 2026 that they mark a critical step in the selection process.