Former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet’s vision for the future of the United Nations is all about cooperation, the global concept that is often referred to as “multilateralism.”
Bachelet, who is running for UN secretary-general, spoke at New York University on March 11, in town for the UN’s annual women’s rights conference, which ends on Thursday. At the Center on International Cooperation event, titled “Transformative Leadership and Multilateral Governance in a Fragmented World,” Bachelet talked about how a renewed commitment to multilateralism would help the UN to better tackle global challenges as she pitched her candidacy to lead the UN.
“If I’m trusted with the responsibility of secretary-general, I will serve all member states with impartiality, determination and respect, guided by one principle above all — that cooperation remains humanity’s most powerful instrument for peace, dignity and shared progress,” she said in her remarks.
Bachelet is a former two-time president of Chile as well as a former UN high commissioner for human rights. Her UN secretary-general candidacy is backed by her own country as well as by Brazil and Mexico, two powerhouses in the Latin American region. She is currently one of five candidates vying for the UN leadership post for the 2027-2031 term. The UN has never had a woman secretary-general, and the selection process by the Security Council and the General Assembly is scheduled to appoint a new UN chief by the third quarter of 2026.
“Renewing multilateralism requires us to look in four directions at once,” Bachelet continued. “Backwards: reaffirming the principles of the charter. Inwards: strengthening institutional effectiveness. Outwards: reconnecting with people and societies. Forwards: designing a shared vision towards the United Nations.”
Bachelet called for strengthened global cooperation to manage such major challenges as climate change, technological transformation and increased armed conflict. But her calls for “shared responsibility” come amid global fragmentation. Most notably, the United States under the Trump administration has withdrawn financial support from and participation in various UN entities, including 31 UN bodies that “no longer serve American interests.” The US also owes approximately $4.2 billion in arrears of mandated dues as well as this year’s payment.
As the largest financial contributor to the UN, the US withdrawal from a range of UN entities — like the World Health Organization — and its nonpayment of dues have plunged the international body into crisis. At the NYU event, Bachelet advocated for reimagining the UN’s financing system, moving from the plan in which nations pay their annual membership requirements based on a country’s wealth to championing a global public investment model. Such an arrangement reframes funding as a collective responsibility.
As Bachelet said, “Financing global public goods should be understood as a long-term investment in shared stability.” UN budget cuts have pressure Secretary-General António Guterres to slim down the organization, but Bachelet did not mention cost-cutting measures or other reforms in her talk.
The previous Trump administration criticized Bachelet during her tenure as UN human rights commissioner. Nikki Haley, the former US ambassador to the UN at the time, said in 2018 that “High Commissioner Bachelet continued the failures of the past, further validating the U.S. decision to withdraw, when she criticized both Israel and the United States while ignoring some of the worst human rights violators in the world.”
Bachelet seemed to be getting ahead of potential criticisms of the UN at the NYU event, arguing that the world body must remain an impartial bridge for all nations, regardless of their political and financial clout. The UN secretary-general “has to be somebody neutral, impartial and independent,” she said. “Otherwise, it would be the worst thing in the world.”
Bachelet positioned herself as a transformative leader who could strengthen the UN’s core mission of securing peace. She reflected on her experiences in a polarized political environment as a former president of Chile and her commitment to delivering tangible results to the public as a former executive director of UN Women as well.
“Another urgent challenge is the erosion of trust both among nations and between citizens and institutions,” Bachelet said.
She emphasized that bringing results to everyday citizens through UN programming can foster broader trust in the institution. “We are all aware that today the multilateral system faces growing criticism,” she said about the UN. “Many question its effectiveness, its speed and sometimes even its relevance, and these concerns are real, and they must be heard with humility and seriousness.”
“Our task, therefore,” she added, “is not to defend the system as it is, but to improve it with honesty, courage and accountability. Reform should not be understood as abandoning multilateralism, but as strengthening the capacity to deliver, widening participation and restoring trust between institutions and the people they serve.”
We welcome your comments on this article. What are your thoughts on Bachelet's push for multilateralism?
Related Posts
Ananya Natchukuri is a freelance journalist based in New York City. She is a master’s degree student in Global Journalism and Near Eastern studies at New York University.
![[Re]Group - A Playbook for Turbulent Times -Subscribe Now](https://passblue.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/re-group_unf2026_square_600.500@2x.webp)
