I am humbled and honored to announce that I am now an official candidate for the Office of Secretary-General of the United Nations. My formal nomination was submitted to the UN General Assembly by the Kingdom of Tonga, and I wish to express my deep, heartfelt gratitude to His Majesty King Tupou VI; Prime Minister Lord Fakafānua; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Crown Prince Tupoutoʻa ʻUlukalala; and Tonga's UN Permanent Representative Vaʼinga Tōnē for their nomination and for believing in a vision of peace and institutional renewal. I have lived through the ravages of war. As the only candidate whose heritage bridges Latin America and the Middle East, and the only nominee to have helped broker a peace agreement between two sovereign UN member states, I stand ready to help renew the UN Charter’s foundational promise: to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war in a world where conflict continues to grow. As an experienced Cabinet Minister, President of the Andean Parliament, and Ecuadorian Ambassador who has served across four continents, I stand ready to bring outside perspectives, fresh ideas, new talent, and an unyielding commitment to shift the world body away from a focus on process and move instead toward achieving real, measurable results for the UN’s 193 member states and the eight billion people the world body serves. I look forward to engaging with member states to earn their support, participating in dialogues with the General Assembly and Security Council, and working together to build a UN that delivers for everyone. I invite all to read my vision statement and share our journey as I launch my candidacy to serve as the UN's 10th Secretary-General: ivonne-a-baki.org/ #UNSG #IvonneABaki #UnitedNations #Tonga #Ecuador #Diplomacy