U.N. secretary-general hopeful Rebeca Grynspan, who is Jewish and the daughter of Holocaust refugees and who has ties to Israel, came out on top in a non-binding U.N. Security Council member straw poll on Thursday.
An economist, she is the former vice president of Costa Rica and is a longtime U.N. executive and current secretary-general of the U.N. Trade and Development agency.
Grynspan received 10 “encourage” votes from the council’s 15 members, and one “discourage” and four “no opinion” votes.
The categories are meant to show the council’s level of support, or lack thereof, for each candidate, and they give the council an idea of who can draw a consensus and who might face a veto.
The ballots are kept secret, and results are disclosed only to the U.N. General Assembly president and to the countries that nominated the candidates.
Multiple diplomats confirmed the results to JNS on the condition of anonymity.
Grynspan, whose parents fled Poland during the Holocaust, is now considered a very early frontrunner for the position, ahead of former Guyanese foreign minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, who racked up nine “encourage” votes. Rafael Grossi, an Argentinian and head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, got seven approving votes.
‘Confront the institutional antisemitism’
Michelle Bachelet of Chile, who created a blacklist of companies doing business in Israel-controlled territory in her role at the United Nations, received six “encourage” and five “discourage” votes.
Seven candidates are running to replace António Guterres, of Portugal, whose relationship with Israel has flatlined during his second five-year term, which concludes on Dec. 31.
More straw polls are expected, including polls that will reveal if the five permanent, veto-wielding members of the council cast “discourage” votes.
The first round is often considered telling, as it comes after months of presentations, dialogue and lobbying by candidates.
The United Nations has never had a Jewish or female secretary-general. Voting could last into September or October, or later, if a consensus isn’t reached.
The next secretary-general “must remember that the United Nations was created to serve all member states equally,” stated Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations in New York.
The future U.N. head also must “confront the institutional antisemitism that has become embedded within parts of the U.N. system.”
Grynspan’s parents met in Cyprus after escaping Poland separately and having been turned away from British Mandatory Palestine.
The candidate for U.N. secretary-general has spoken out against Holocaust denial and has maintained a longstanding relationship with the World Jewish Congress, the congress said.
Her sister moved to Israel as a teenager, and she has a niece and nephew who have served in the Israel Defense Forces. She studied economics and sociology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
