MOSCOW, Russia — Uganda’s candidate for United Nations Secretary-General, Ambassador Olara Otunnu, has arrived in Moscow for a series of high-level diplomatic engagements as Kampala steps up efforts to build international support for his candidacy.

Otunnu arrived in the Russian capital on September 12 accompanied by former Prime Minister Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda, who serves as Special Presidential Envoy for the campaign.

The delegation was received at Domodedovo International Airport by Ambassador Gideon Rutazindwa, Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Uganda in Moscow, ahead of the engagements.

The Moscow visit comes at a strategically important stage of Uganda’s campaign, following Otunnu’s improved showing in the second informal United Nations Security Council straw poll.

Otunnu secured five “encourage” votes in the August 21 poll, up from two in the first round held on July 30. He also saw his “no opinion” votes fall from eight to five, while five Council members remained opposed to his candidacy.

The improvement followed his appearance before UN member states and civil society representatives in New York, where he presented his vision for the world body and outlined priorities including conflict prevention, UN reform, human rights and restoring confidence in multilateralism.

Moscow engagement carries strategic weight

The Russian leg of Otunnu’s campaign is particularly significant because Russia is one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, alongside China, France, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The Security Council plays the decisive role in the selection process: a candidate must secure at least nine votes in the 15-member Council and avoid a veto from any of the five permanent members before the nomination can proceed to the General Assembly.

The straw polls are informal and non-binding, but they provide an important indication of how candidates are viewed by Council members.

Uganda has therefore increasingly taken Otunnu's campaign to key capitals as it seeks to convert his recent gains into broader diplomatic backing.

President Yoweri Museveni formally endorsed Otunnu’s candidature in July and appointed Rugunda to lead the diplomatic campaign. The campaign has since included engagements with governments and senior officials in different regions.

Before Moscow, Otunnu and Rugunda held high-level engagements in Pakistan. On September 4, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif received Otunnu and reaffirmed Islamabad’s commitment to multilateralism and the principles of the UN Charter.

Otunnu pitches reform and conflict prevention

Otunnu has presented himself as a candidate with extensive experience inside the UN system and a track record of working across political and diplomatic divides.

During his August 19 interactive dialogue with UN member states, he argued that the organisation must respond more effectively to major conflicts, including those in Ukraine, Gaza and Africa, while returning to the principles of the UN Charter.

He has also called for reform of the Security Council, saying the current structure reflects a “historic imbalance” that needs to be corrected.

His campaign has placed particular emphasis on restoring public confidence in the UN, strengthening conflict prevention and ensuring that the Secretary-General remains connected to people and communities affected by conflict.

“I have a track record of building consensus,” Otunnu told member states during the New York dialogue, presenting his diplomatic experience as a key qualification for leading the organisation at a time of deep geopolitical divisions.

From Moscow to the Security Council

The campaign now faces the challenge of turning Otunnu’s improved straw-poll performance into sustained support.

His five “encourage” votes in the second poll placed him behind Guyana’s Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan, Argentina’s Rafael Grossi and Senegal’s Macky Sall.

However, Uganda has argued that Otunnu’s late entry into the race makes his progress particularly notable.

Otunnu also brings an unusual connection to the selection process itself. As Uganda’s Permanent Representative to the UN and President of the Security Council in 1981, he introduced the informal straw-balloting mechanism that has since become known as the “Otunnu Formula” and remains part of the selection process for UN secretaries-general.

He later served as UN Under-Secretary-General and the organisation’s first Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict from 1997 to 2005, where he helped establish major international mechanisms for protecting children affected by armed conflict.

Uganda formally nominated Otunnu on July 24, making him one of the candidates seeking to succeed António Guterres, whose second term as UN Secretary-General ends on December 31, 2026. The nomination has been formally circulated through the UN selection process.

With the contest increasingly shaped by geopolitical considerations among the Security Council’s permanent members, Otunnu’s Moscow engagements offer Uganda an opportunity to directly advance its case before one of the five powers whose position will ultimately be critical to determining who reaches the final stage of the race.