Rafael Grossi defends multilateralism, says UN 'has to show up' in conflict-hit zones

Argentine diplomat Rafael Grossi, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and a leading candidate to be the next United Nations Secretary-General, has issued a strong defence of multilateralism and the role of international organisations.

“If the UN does not show up, we have a problem. And we have to try to return the UN to that place. I believe I can do it,” he stated at an event in Davos, Switzerland.

The interview was conducted on the sidelines of the annual World Economic Forum event gathering political leaders, businesspeople and international figures. In it, Grossi called on regional leaders to reinforce multilateral entities as tools to “generate opportunities” and contain the escalation of global conflicts.

Grossi suggested that the UN “has the capacity,” but that in many current settings it is not exercising it fully.

“I don’t say this from a theoretical view, but from my own experience,” he explained, by alluding to the recent work by the IAEA in contexts of high international tension.

As he pointed out, the nuclear body acted “on behalf of the international community rather effectively,” though he clarified that there were still open processes and complex settings linked to conflicts such as those in Russia, Ukraine and Iran.

Grossi argued that there is still a role for international platforms. “I’m not saying they must or necessarily will do it, but they can. And we’ve been doing it,” he said, in reference to the IAEA’s technical and diplomatic intervention in risk areas.

The diplomat reminded that the United Nations was created with one core goal: the preservation of international peace and security. “We’re living through times when fragmentation, conflict and war are making a comeback Perhaps it’s the challenge of our generation,” he warned.

For Grossi, the problem is not structural but political: “When one looks at today’s conflicts in Africa, in Europe, or in other areas of the world, one sees one thing: the UN is not showing up. And it doesn’t have to be that way.”

Grossi’s candidacy is based on that critical reading of the present. At 61 years old, he defines himself as a “determined multilateralist” who has dedicated his life to diplomacy and seeks to “rescue the role of the UN” in a global setting going through wars, humanitarian crises and growing geopolitical tension.

'At a crossroads'

Last December, in an interview with CNN, the official held that his experience at the helm of the IAEA led to his conviction that he can make a decisive contribution. “The mother institution is at a crossroads. We’ve been involved in international crises with an effective impact and that has led to my belief that this is the time to take an extra step,” he said then.

Grossi also warned that, even though the UN had expanded its agenda into areas sucgh as development and humanitarian assistance, it has neglected its foundational premise. “All that is important, but the central task of preventing people’s disputes, preventing, and, if possible, solving wars, is no longer present,” he noted

That message had its regional correlation in Panama, where the diplomat was a speaker before Latin American leaders during the recent Latin America and Caribbean International Economic Forum, organised by CAF.

Grossi warned that fragmentation and global conflicts demand a return to multilateralism’s real capacity for political intervention. In that context, he reiterated his critical diagnosis on the UN’s current role and underlined that he has the formal backing of the Argentine government for his candidacy for the UN's top job.

– TIMES/PERFIL