UNITED NATIONS, September 15, 2026 — Uganda’s candidate for United Nations Secretary-General, Ambassador Olara Otunnu, has proposed combining the principles of the Oslo Accords with the framework provisions of the Abraham Accords as a possible pathway to achieving lasting peace in the Gaza crisis.

In an interview with Russia’s TASS news agency, Otunnu said resolving major conflicts would be among his priorities if elected to lead the United Nations, placing the Gaza crisis within his broader vision for restoring the UN’s role in international peace and security.

“Rapidly mobilize humanitarian intervention and work closely with key stakeholders to explore how principles of the Oslo Accords can potentially be combined with the framework of the Abraham Accords to promote permanent peace across the region,” Otunnu said.

His proposal comes a day after he held talks in Moscow with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov as part of Uganda’s diplomatic campaign for the UN’s top post.

Otunnu travelled to Moscow with former Prime Minister Dr Ruhakana Rugunda, who is coordinating Uganda’s international campaign for his candidacy.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said Lavrov and Otunnu discussed the Ugandan candidate’s platform for the Secretary-General position, while Lavrov outlined Moscow’s requirements for candidates seeking to lead the UN Secretariat. Both sides reaffirmed the UN’s central coordinating role in international affairs.

Otunnu puts Gaza at centre of UN agenda

Otunnu's latest comments provide greater detail on how he would approach the Gaza conflict as Secretary-General.

Rather than presenting a single new diplomatic mechanism, he called for an exploration of how two existing frameworks — the Oslo peace process between Israel and the Palestinians and the Abraham Accords, which established or normalised relations between Israel and several Arab states — could potentially be brought together.

The Oslo Accords were a series of agreements reached between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) beginning in 1993. The process established mutual recognition between Israel and the PLO and created an interim framework for limited Palestinian self-government in parts of the West Bank and Gaza, with the broader objective of negotiating a lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace.

The Abraham Accords, announced in 2020, were a separate diplomatic initiative focused primarily on normalising relations between Israel and several Arab states. The first agreements established formal relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, with Sudan and Morocco subsequently joining the normalisation process.

He also called for the rapid mobilisation of humanitarian intervention and engagement with key stakeholders as part of efforts to address the crisis.

Otunnu has previously identified Gaza as one of the conflicts that would require immediate attention from a future Secretary-General.

During his interactive dialogue with the UN General Assembly on August 19, he said the organisation must address the root causes of conflicts if it is to achieve durable solutions.

“Among the conflicts on which I will focus immediately, is the Gaza situation,” Otunnu said during the dialogue. “We must begin addressing the root cause of the problem to have a long-term solution.”

His latest proposal therefore places the Gaza conflict within the wider diplomatic agenda he has been presenting to UN member states.

A diplomatic formula involving two existing frameworks

The Oslo Accords, signed in the 1990s, created a framework for Palestinian self-government and negotiations between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization.

The Abraham Accords, meanwhile, produced a series of agreements beginning in 2020 that established or normalised diplomatic relations between Israel and several Arab countries.

Otunnu's proposal does not suggest replacing either framework. Instead, he is calling for an exploration of how their respective principles and provisions could potentially complement each other in pursuing a broader regional settlement.

The approach would require engagement with the principal parties to the conflict and key regional and international stakeholders.

Otunnu framed the proposal as part of the UN's central responsibility rather than as a narrow regional initiative.

“International peace, security, and international cooperation constitute the core mandate of the United Nations,” he told TASS.

Moscow talks add diplomatic weight

Otunnu's comments on Gaza came shortly after his meeting with Lavrov, giving the Moscow engagement an additional diplomatic dimension.

Russia is one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and therefore holds veto power over substantive Council decisions.

The Moscow meeting was part of a wider campaign led by Rugunda to mobilise international support for Otunnu's bid to succeed Secretary-General António Guterres, whose second term ends on December 31, 2026.

The Russian Foreign Ministry's account of the meeting said Otunnu presented his election platform, while Lavrov outlined Russia's requirements for candidates seeking the Secretary-General position.

The meeting did not publicly announce a Russian endorsement of Otunnu's candidacy.

For Uganda, however, engagement with Moscow remains strategically important because Russia will be among the five permanent members involved when the Security Council eventually recommends a candidate to the General Assembly.

Otunnu's UN reform agenda

The Gaza proposal forms part of a broader agenda Otunnu has outlined during the Secretary-General selection process.

At his General Assembly dialogue, he called for action on conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza and Africa, while advocating reforms to strengthen the UN's capacity to respond to international crises.

He has also called for reform of the Security Council, arguing that its current composition reflects a historic imbalance.

“The Secretary General does not wield conventional power. That is by design,” Otunnu said during the General Assembly dialogue.

He argued that the Secretary-General's influence instead comes from the authority of the UN Charter and the support of member states.

Otunnu has presented consensus-building as a central part of his candidacy, drawing on his long diplomatic career, including his previous service as Uganda's Permanent Representative to the UN and as UN Under-Secretary-General and Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict.

Gaza tests the UN's diplomatic role

The Gaza crisis remains one of the most difficult tests for the UN system, involving questions of humanitarian access, security, Palestinian statehood, Israeli security, regional diplomacy and the role of major powers.

Otunnu's proposal comes as the UN Secretary-General race moves into an increasingly diplomatic phase, with candidates seeking to demonstrate how they would use the office's political and diplomatic authority to address conflicts that have divided the international community.

For Uganda, Otunnu's emphasis on Gaza also provides an opportunity to position his candidacy around one of the most consequential international crises facing the UN.

His proposed Oslo-Abraham Accords approach now adds a specific diplomatic concept to his broader call for renewed multilateral action, humanitarian intervention and negotiated solutions to major conflicts.