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EU Statement – UN General Assembly: Interactive dialogues with candidates for the position of Secretary-General

27.10.2026
New York

27 October 2026, New York - Statement on behalf of the European Union and its Member States by H.E. Ambassador Stavros Lambrinidis, Head of the European Union Delegation to the United Nations, at the 81st UN General Assembly Interactive dialogues with candidates for the position of Secretary-General

 

Mister President, Excellencies, colleagues,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States, and I welcome Ms. Nusseibeh to this dialogue

At this critical juncture, the United Nations needs a Secretary-General that is prepared to defend and promote full respect for the UN Charter and international law, and all three UN pillars equally.

This is precisely the EU’s approach to the UN’s work.

On peace and security, the EU actively advances the implementation of key UN mandates through our security and defence missions around the world. 

On sustainable development, we provide close to 50% of all ODA and over one-third of all voluntary contributions to the UN system, safeguarding the SDGs and battling inequality. 

And on human rights, we are committed to protecting and defending all human rights - civil and political, economic, social, and cultural – with equal vigour. 

We are therefore deeply concerned with recent normative attacks on human rights – including on women’s and girls’ full enjoyment of human rights and on gender equality, as well as racial, religious, political, and other forms of discrimination and persecution- and also concerned with the fact that, remarkably, only 1% of the UN system spending is dedicated to human rights mandates, in a clear imbalance between the three UN pillars. 

Against this backdrop, we wish to ask the following questions:

  • First, as Secretary-General, can you commit to protect and to increase the funding of the human rights pillar to allow it to deliver all human rights for people on the ground, as explicitly mandated in the Pact for the Future?

     

  • Second, safeguarding and promoting gender equality and the full enjoyment of women’s and girls’ rights is explicitly mentioned in both Agenda 2030 and the Pact for the Future, but these rights are being increasingly challenged today, in both the UN context and on the ground. How would you ensure protecting them as Secretary-General and how would you go about re-building a common commitment among all UN MS around them? 

 

  • And third, International humanitarian law is also increasingly violated with impunity in virtually every major conflict today, from Ukraine to Gaza and to Sudan and so many other places , in ways that cause inordinate suffering among civilian populations. As Secretary-General, how do you plan to secure full respect for International Humanitarian Law in all circumstances, to stop its politicization, and to ensure accountability for its gravest violations, including through the International Criminal Court?  

 

Thank you.