OSCE Secretary General Feridun Sinirlioğlu, nominated by Türkiye for the post of UN secretary-general, urged people not to fear talking to their opponents. “Engaging with those we disagree with is not a concession, but a responsibility,” he said Friday at UN headquarters in New York.
Sinirlioğlu spoke at an interactive dialogue with UN member states and civil society representatives held as part of the process to select António Guterres’ successor. The current secretary-general’s term expires on December 31, 2026.
“The highest tension in decades”
According to the Turkish diplomat, the world is experiencing a period of geopolitical tension that is “the highest in decades,” while the international system “is unable to confront threats to peace and security or even reach agreement on them.” He also pointed to growing inequality and the fact that “global solidarity is weakening.”
“I am seeking the post of secretary-general not because I believe the UN is perfect, but because I firmly believe it is indispensable,” Sinirlioğlu said. “When rules cease to matter to some, they cease to matter to everyone.”
A secretary-general mediator
The candidate said the UN needs a leader who will be “not only the organization’s chief administrator or voice, but also an active and experienced diplomatic mediator, ready to go wherever peace is most needed.” “The secretary-general must be the first to arrive on the scene and be a reliable and honest mediator,” he stressed.
Sinirlioğlu identified five priorities: preventing and resolving conflicts, restoring trust in multilateralism, preparing for new challenges, accelerating sustainable development and climate action, and protecting human rights.
“A candidate, not a country’s representative”
At a press conference after the dialogue, Sinirlioğlu pledged to be an “impartial and independent secretary-general,” noting that he observes the same responsibilities as head of the OSCE. “I have come here not as a representative of my country, but as my country’s candidate,” he said, adding that reforming the UN Charter and the question of veto power in the Security Council are matters for the member states themselves.
Sinirlioğlu briefly served as Türkiye’s foreign minister in 2015 and was the country’s permanent representative to the UN from 2016 to 2023. Ankara officially nominated him at the end of October.
Photo: Archive
