With the Security Council's first straw polls 18 days away, the race for the next UN Secretary-General is entering its substantive phase. Private consultations with the candidates, opened in New York on 30 June, continue this week. It is a fitting moment to return to what matters most, the project itself.
President Macky Sall's official vision statement, filed with the United Nations in March 2026, carries a programmatic title: rebuilding multilateralism for a better world. Its diagnosis is unsparing. The crisis is systemic, not cyclical. The Organization faces growing distrust, even as its potential remains immense.
The answer rests on three pillars. The first links peace, security and development in an integrated vision, with prevention as the priority and better synergy between peace operations, development agencies and humanitarian bodies. The second aims to renew multilateralism, including a realistic, consensus-based reform of the Security Council that strengthens its representativeness and legitimacy without weakening its capacity to act. The third addresses UN governance, guided by three requirements: streamline, simplify, optimize.
The leadership style he proposes is that of a facilitator and bridge-builder among member states, civil society and the private sector, with management that is predictable, disciplined and results-oriented. The candidacy rests on a simple premise, that trust is built through consistency, fairness and efficiency.
This approach rests on a verifiable record: four decades in public service, twelve years as Head of State of Senegal, the chairmanship of the African Union in 2022 and a constant practice of dialogue between North and South.
The calendar is now set. After July's private consultations, Security Council members will hold their first straw polls in the last week of the month, ahead of a recommendation to the General Assembly in the autumn. The next Secretary-General's term begins on 1 January 2027.
In a race with six official candidates, President Macky Sall's vision stands out for its pragmatism: a United Nations that uses its resources wisely and delivers results that governments can defend before their citizens.
The full vision statement is available at www.mackysall.net.