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PoliticsEcuador

'UN is irreplaceable' despite crisis: Ecuador's former FM

February 15, 2026

Ecuador's ex-foreign minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa said the UN remains the only global universal platform for humanitarian aid and development. She is among the potential contenders to become the next UN secretary-general.

https://p.dw.com/p/58oX1

Funding cuts and Security Council veto politics are putting the United Nations under growing pressure. Still, the UN is "irreplacable," said Maria Fernanda Espinosa, a potential contender for the next UN secretary-general, which would make her the first woman to lead the organization.

Speaking to DW at the MSC, Espinosa said the Global South must help shape the next era of global governance, and laid out why she remains optimistic about human agency and political will — even with more than 60 active conflicts worldwide.