The Selection Game

　　The UN kicked off the first-ever public examination of applicants seeking to lead one of the world’s largest intergovernmental organizations on April 12，when interviews for the nine candidates vying to replace Secretary General Ban Ki-moon began.

　　For the UN secretary general，as the top administrator of the organization comprising 193 member states，the main responsibility is to prevent international disputes and safeguard the UN’s values and moral authority，based on the principles of independence，fairness and honesty.

　　To effectively fulfill these duties，a combination of skillful public administration and personal charisma should be employed.Thus，a capable UN head requires exceptional leadership and management abilities as well as rich diplomatic experience and multilingual communication skills.All nine candidates have already demonstrated their caliber in meeting these criteria，yet only one can be chosen.

　　During the selection process，gender balance has become a focus of attention.Historically，all previous eight UN secretary generals have been male，leading to many UN members saying that the time is ripe for the first female leader.Since four of the candidates are women，there is a reasonable chance of this happening.

　　Female applicants have pledged more active efforts to promote overall gender balance if selected for the post.Natalia Gherman，former Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of Moldova，declared that she would appoint capable female officials to important UN posts.Helen Clark，current Administrator of the UN Development Program and former Prime Minister of New Zealand，said that she would push hard for the promotion of gender equality and women’s empowerment.Another candidate，Irina Bokova，serving as director general of the UN Educational，Scientific and Cultural Organization and former Bulgarian Foreign Minister，claimed that this century is the era to make a genuine commitment to gender equality.

　　Selection rules

　　The UN’s latest moves to publicly select its head and place greater emphasis on gender balance are welcomed by the international community.However，the prevalence of some unofficial rules remains.

　　A single term for a UN secretary general lasts five years.Though there is no formal limit on the number of terms in office that incumbents can serve，so far nobody has held the post for more than two terms.Another convention for the position is a regional rotation scheme，in which the selection is made from one of the five UN regional groups every decade.Three of the previous eight heads were from the Western European and Others Group，two were from the Asia-Pacific Group，another two were from the African Group，and one was from the Latin American and Caribbean Group.Prospective candidate Srgjan Kerim from Macedonia said frankly that the next UN secretary general should therefore come from the Eastern European Group.

　　Additionally，it hasn‘t been customary to appoint someone to the role from any of the Security Council’s five permanent members (P5)，namely China，France，Russia，the United Kingdom and the United States.Though the post is to serve the global community，and the nationality of the secretary general should be played down，previous leaders were mostly from smaller countries.This system is designed to augment equilibrium between major powers in the organization.

　　Nonetheless，the P5 have the final say in selection，as the appointment of the secretary general by the UN General Assembly is based on the Security Council’s recommendation.Since these countries have the power to veto a nomination，applicants with a keen interest in a UN leadership race may begin to seek approval a year or two ahead of the official process.

　　The P5 also has considerable influence on re-appointments.Among the previous eight UN secretary generals，only Boutros Boutros Ghali from Egypt failed to secure a second term.His public criticism of unpaid UN dues owed by the United States led to Washington’s use of its veto to block his re-appointment.

　　The UN reflects the international balance of power following World War II.Though 70 years have passed，the system has not fundamentally changed and is still weighted toward the P5 members.In spite of recent reforms to the selection process，for any UN general secretary hopeful，utilizing national resources to gain support from the major powers is key to being selected.

　　Tough job

　　No matter who is victorious，the challenges facing the next UN leader will be significant.Some long-standing problems include low efficiency，overstaffing，fiscal difficulties，and the inability to handle global problems as well as sluggish institutional reform.

　　Some candidates have proposed solutions.Danilo Turk，former President of Slovenia，said that he would accelerate UN and Security Council reforms if he wins.Vesna Pusi？，former Croatian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister，pledged efforts to simplify the decision-making and reporting procedures to make the world body more transparent.

　　Urgent tasks for the new head also include making progress on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development，promoting human rights and the rule of law as well as addressing climate change and the migrant crisis.Adapting to the global situation and strengthening the UN’s role in the international community are also very important for the next secretary general.

　　These problems have emerged during the era of globalization and will require innovative ideas from the international community to solve them.The development of global governance provides a platform for the UN to play a larger role in international affairs.This can be achieved by enhancing its ability to tackle challenges through the coordination of its member states for increased political consensus and furthering bonds with other international organizations and civil society.The role of the UN secretary general will be to coordinate those processes.

　　The public selection of the UN head should mark the beginning of a new round of reforms to increase the vitality of the world body and build a greater consensus among its member states.The international community needs a more powerful UN，which in turn requires an outstanding secretary general.

　　How Is the UN Secretary General Selected？

　　According to Article 97 of the UN Charter，“The Secretary General shall be appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council.”

　　This rather general description has been further specified by a range of General Assembly resolutions and the Security Council Rules of Procedure.

　　Nominations

　　There is no detailed outline for the nomination process.All UN member states are encouraged to participate and the President of the Security Council is supposed to consult with the General Assembly on a regular basis.Furthermore，the President of the General Assembly has the right to consult with member states and recommend potential candidates to the Security Council.Nominations have traditionally been made mostly by member states，though there is no rule governing who can make a nomination.

　　As for the timeframe，the candidate should ideally be appointed one month prior to the end of the current term (General Assembly resolutions 51/241 from 1997 and A/Res/60/286).

　　Security Council

　　In the first stage of a two-step process，the Security Council adopts a resolution recommending a candidate to the General Assembly.Though technically there is no limit to the number of recommendations，it has been common practice to nominate one candidate only (in line with GA resolution 11 (I) of 1946).If more than one candidate is considered，balloting will be conducted.

　　The negotiations take place in a closed session，as outlined in Rule 48 of the Provisional Rules of Procedure of the Security Council.

　　The decision requires at least nine votes in favor，including those of the five Permanent Members.Therefore，China，France，Russia，the United Kingdom and the United States have a de-facto veto power (confirmed by GA resolution 11 (I) of 1946).

　　General Assembly

　　In the second stage，the General Assembly considers the candidate nominated by the Security Council and votes for him or her.This procedure also takes place in a closed session，as required by Rule 141 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Assembly.The nominee requires a simple majority to be selected.

　　(Source： UN)

　　By Jin Biao

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