Ugandan diplomat warns UN faces grave risk without radical reform

Ugandan diplomat Olara Otunnu, one of eight candidates seeking to succeed Antonio Guterres as UN secretary-general next year, on Wednesday called for continued reform of the world body and the restoration of its moral authority.

Otunnu, a former UN under-secretary-general who served as a special representative for children and armed conflict, invoked St Francis of Assisi as he spoke of the need for the world body to help bridge growing global divisions.

"Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy," he said, quoting the Prayer of St Francis.

Otunnu spoke in an informal dialogue with UN member states and civil society groups aimed at assessing the candidates to replace Guterres, who steps down at the end of the year after two five-year terms.

At 75, Otunnu is the oldest of the candidates. Ecuadorian diplomat Ivonne Baki, who joined the contest on Tuesday, is also 75, but was born several months later.

Guterres' successor faces the task of revitalising an organisation in crisis and declining stature amid pressure to reform what critics say is a bloated, costly bureaucracy and reduce duplication across its agencies.