New York, United States. Former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet reaffirmed her support for women’s rights during her bid to become the next United Nations secretary-general amid calls for Washington to veto her candidacy. Separately, IAEA director general Rafael Grossi is viewed by many diplomats as a front-runner in the race.
Bachelet responds to U.S. Republican criticism
Bachelet, 74, one of four candidates to head the 193-member UN from next year, told reporters she had read a letter from more than two dozen Republican U.S. lawmakers accusing her of having “prioritized an extreme abortion agenda” and urging the United States to use its veto.
“I will always be by the side of women,” Bachelet, a two-time president of Chile and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said. She added that, as secretary-general, her job would be to ensure UN agendas on women’s rights are implemented.
“We need to continue advancing on women’s rights,” she said after a three-hour live hearing on her bid at the UN in New York.
Washington’s UN envoy, Mike Waltz, said this month that he shared concerns about Bachelet’s suitability.
Grossi’s record at the IAEA and diplomatic profile
Rafael Grossi, a 65-year-old career diplomat from Argentina, has led the International Atomic Energy Agency for the past six years.
Grossi led negotiations aimed at salvaging parts of a landmark nuclear deal with Iran after President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from it in 2018, while critics argue he has gone too far in seeking agreements with Tehran.
A father of eight who speaks English, Spanish, French and Italian, Grossi has raised both his and the IAEA’s profile through shuttle diplomacy in international crises.
His most prominent success cited in the text was securing the stationing of a small IAEA team at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine after repeated trips across the front line in the Russia-Ukraine war.
Many diplomats see Grossi as a front-runner, citing his years of engaging with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council—the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France—whose backing is crucial for the top job.
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