Dear friends,

The UN officially kickstarted the selection process of its next Secretary General, and it is as undemocratic, opaque and broken as ever. While it fails to stop the genocide in Gaza, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sudan’s famine, the climate crisis and rising inequalities, it still carries on as if “multilateralism is working”. (Check out this instagram post for more).

I’m angry, angry as hell. Because the truth is, for so long I believed that despite all those monumental failures, the United Nations was the best hope we had for the future: global crises need global solutions, collaboration, redistribution, action, and the UN is the main forum for this.

I always knew its flaws: a hierarchy of “1st class” countries with veto power, “2nd class” countries with no real say, zero enforcement, weak funding. But what is happening now shows that this is beyond repair. Nothing short of a revolution will do. The institution keeps applying bandages to hemorrhages while superpowers act for themselves and most other countries bow down.

So what can we do? Give up and let some of the biggest threats of our times go left untackled. Not really an option. Build something new that has the potential to stand up for humanity. And/or rallying in our millions to leave those inside those ivory towers no choice but to listen to the will of the people. 
Read more to find out how to make it happen, learn about Trump's "Peace Plans", COP30 and hear updates from the campaign! Oh, and I owe you a big thank you. Read on :)

Recap: I’m running for UN chief 🇺🇳

1.5 years ago, I announced that I’m running to become the United Nations Secretary-General to finally tackle climate change, artificial intelligence, wars, dictatorships, pandemics, and poverty. 

Right now, the UN Chief is chosen behind closed doors by five superpowers who protect the status quo. My campaign is about breaking this process and reminding them that the UN should belong to We, the Peoples, not a handful of states.

🇺🇳 ENDORSE THE CAMPAIGN & FIND OUT MORE 🇺🇳

Through this campaign, by mobilizing people across the world, raising awareness, getting support and shaking up the system, I aim to:

• Get our political programme implemented, made of radical solutions to tackle all the biggest crises of our times,
• Start a reform of the United Nations for it to have the competencies, legitimacy and leadership to act and preserve peace and security, and
• Bring the people’s voice to this institution by giving you a vote!

I'm angry as hell, are you?! 

Where should I even start? Let’s focus on 3 big news: 

1. The selection process for the UN Chief has begun — and it’s a farce

Yesterday, the presidents of the UN General Assembly & Security Council sent a joint letter to countries, officially kickstarting the UN Secretary-General selection process. As I mentioned, for all their big claims of transparency and inclusivity, it’s all theatre. How it actually works: Five countries decide behind closed doors. Everyone else plays along. And the UN pretends it’s inclusive.

Next steps? Countries will nominate people who can appease China, Russia, the US, the UK and France, who must agree unanimously on one name. They will organise “debates”, allow a few NGO questions, and call it transparency. But the truth stays the same: five men will impose the next UN Chief and ignore humanity.

Where do I stand? I’m of course seeking a state endorsement (a must) to be able to advance in this broken system and continue to point out everything that’s wrong with it. But that’s not all: I’ll use all means to create change. A few weeks ago, we filed a formal complaint at the UN against the UN, exposing that the UN Secretary General is chosen through a process more opaque than presidential elections in China and Russia. We asked UN experts to tell the organisation that it must allow all states and peoples to participate meaningfully.

PS: The irony: the president of the General Assembly who launched this process is a genocide-enabler. Baerbock is not just any diplomat. As Germany’s foreign minister from 2021 to 2025, she tried to justify over and over again Israel’s war crimes as “self-defence”, rejected ceasefires, and her country continued to provide Israel with hundreds of millions of dollars in weapons, making it its 2nd biggest arms supplier.I refuse to let this slide. I wrote about it here.

2. The UN backed Trump’s colonial plan for Gaza

A week ago the UN Security Council — the UN’s “executive branch” — backed a resolution creating a Trump-chaired board to govern Gaza.

Let’s back up: the UN Security Council is supposedly in charge of peace and security, but as you can see with over two years of genocide in Gaza by Israel, it’s utterly incapable of doing so. Why? Well same as for the selection of the UN chief, because five countries have a veto power, which is insane. (Are you starting to see a trend here?)

https://youtube.com/shorts/jaC3FJbJ8fI?si=cHMQDDSrpB9Gsvgx

Now, what is happening? It’s all part of Trump’s disastrous plan, which is not a peace plan at all, but a new colonial plan that would effectively replace Israeli occupation with US occupation, owned by Trump. This peace plan has been rejected by international law experts, UN experts, human rights defenders, and most importantly Palestinian civil society over and over again. 

This is obviously insane in and out of itself, but made worse when you consider:


• the US is complicit and to blame for Israel’s genocide of Palestinians: it has provided the genocidal regime with weapons, political cover, and more
• for a change, the plan does not even look at Israel as the state responsible for the months of genocide and years of apartheid and occupation.

• Israeli withdrawal is tied to vague “milestones” that keep control in Israel’s hands, again outside any meaningful UN authority. 

What needs to happen is an end to the genocide, an arms embargo on Israel and sanctions to ensure it happens, the end of apartheid and occupation, reparations, and for Palestinians to be guaranteed their right of self-determination. 

Let’s say it clearly: only Palestinians can decide on the future of Palestine. What can you do? Saturday is the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, and there will be protests worldwide. Join one. Post online. Call your elected officials or tag them online. I’m not kidding, this works: we have seen pro-genocidal countries having to shift their policies due to mass discontent. 

3. The climate conference supposed to save us from a burning planet failed. No more. 

Every year, the Conference of Parties (COP) meets to … find ways to get us out of planetary doomsday, aka to negotiate and agree on actions to limit global warming. COP30 just concluded, filled with fossil fuel lobbyists, and countries couldn’t agree on a deal to transition away from fossil fuels that are literally destroying our planet. How has it been so many years of the same discussions for spineless leaders to disregard the science that could save our planet and future generations?! 

Once more, the answer lies in us all to take action and force our governments to do better, follow the science and decrease emissions to guarantee a safe and healthy planet to future generations. 

I forgot to say thank you for voting for me! 

In October, I told you that PassBlue, one of the main outlets covering the United Nations, launched a poll on who should be the next UN Secretary-General. They listed several traditional candidates - former presidents, ministers, and insiders - but left me out. I asked you to send them my name, and thanks to you I came in fourth ahead of the heads of UN agencies and states, despite not being listed at first! While this won’t change the world, it puts the UN on notice that they can’t ignore the voice of people much longer, as we are rising up!  

I hope you enjoyed this update! As always the Atlas team and I will do our best to change those systems that benefit the few. I’ll keep on pushing, raising awareness, engaging countries and citizens like you. If you’d like to support:

✊Endorse my campaign, Spread the word, join my team! And of course, send me all your craziest ideas on how to shake the UN to its core to leave it no choice but to be reformed!✊ 

Onward, 

Colombe

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Colombe Cahen-Salvador (she/her)
Co-Founder & Candidate for United Nations Secretary-General
Atlas
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