00:00Three of the five candidates to become the next United Nations Secretary General,
00:05all women from Latin America, have taken part in a debate in Geneva.
00:08They set out their plans to reform the UN, which is facing a lack of funding,
00:12multiple conflicts and dwindling faith in multilateralism.
00:15Chile's former president addressed rumors of a possible U.S. veto.
00:19If somebody vetoes me because I believe in democracy,
00:23because I believe in multilateralism, because I believe in women's rights,
00:26because I believe in human rights, I mean, I will be honored.
00:30All three touted their diplomatic credentials as they hoped to become the first female head of the body.
00:36The event was organized by independent organizations in the city,
00:39which is home to the UN's European headquarters.
00:42I have worked through the UN, sometimes in spite of the UN, for 30 years.
00:48I know it all. I don't want to seem arrogant, but I was ambassador here in Geneva.
00:53I was ambassador in New York. I was president of the General Assembly.
00:59I was foreign minister twice. I was minister of defense.
01:02So believe me, I understand the UN, but I'm not captured by the UN.
01:06I respect very much the staff of the UN, but I can make the transformations the organization needs.
01:14Each of them acknowledge the need to reduce UN bureaucracy,
01:17a criticism frequently leveled at the institution.
01:20I am not a voluntarist. I am a strategist.
01:23And I think that the financial crisis is linked to the political crisis that we are going through.
01:29So you need to tackle both of them.
01:32But the first thing is to know the numbers.
01:34I, you know, I was in the Ministry of Finance of my country when we were negotiating the debt.
01:40I know numbers. I know budgets.
01:43And I know that I can take the UN out of the financial crisis.
01:47The two other declared candidates, Argentina's Rafael Grossi,
01:51the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency,
01:53and the former president of Senegal, Maki Sal, did not attend the debate.
