12 July 2016: UN General Assembly (UNGA) President Mogens Lykketoft held a Townhall event for candidates for the position of next UN Secretary-General to discuss their vision. The event was globally televised live by Al Jazeera Media Network. Ten of the 12 current candidates participated, discussing the challenges and opportunities facing the UN, and taking questions from UN Member States and the public, both from the floor and via video.
The event took place on 12 July 2016, in the UNGA Hall at UN Headquarters in New York, US. The Townhall event was organized as a complement to the UNGA-mandated, two-hour informal dialogues with candidates, which began earlier in 2016 and are expected to continue as additional candidates are presented.
Interviewed by Al Jazeera, Lykketoft said that while past UN Secretaries-General were chosen behind closed doors, this time the UNGA wanted to ensure that all UN Member States and the entire world could know: who the candidates are; what their vision is; and how they perform.
In a discussion led by moderators James Bays and Folly Bah Thibault from Al Jazeera English, the ten candidates took questions on issues including: the geographic rotation of UN high-level positions; the role of the next Secretary-General in advancing the climate agenda alongside with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; the reform of the UN Security Council; the perceived bias of the International Criminal Court (ICC) against African countries; reforms to bridge the gender gap within the UN; the effectiveness of the UN peacekeeping missions; the cases of sexual abuse by the UN peacekeepers; the situation in countries like Haiti, Syria, or Senegal; the global situation of migrants and refugees; and plans to increase UN’s human rights budget.
Vesna Pusić (Croatia) highlighted her values as a feminist. She explained that her feminism stems not from valuing women’s experience over men’s, but from wanting to address the imbalance caused by the 70 years in which the UN has functioned only with 50% of the planet’s gender experience. António Guterres (Portugal) said he is a candidate because the UN is the place where, given his ten-year experience as UN High Commissioner for Refugees, he can significantly contribute to reducing human suffering.
Susana Malcorra (Argentina) stressed the need for making the UN a results-oriented organization. She said she has the courage to lead, the humility to listen, and the readiness to partner. She added that, having been very close to decision making as current UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s former Chef de Cabinet, she understands what needs to be done. Vuk Jeremic (Serbia) highlighted that he has presented a detailed policy platform containing 51 commitments that he plans to carry out “from day one.”
Natalia Gherman (Moldova) highlighted her extensive diplomatic background as Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of her country, which she said will be valuable in finding common ground between Member States in order to tackle global challenges. Helen Clark (New Zealand), noting her experience as Administrator of the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and Prime Minister of New Zealand, said she has the experience, vision and skills to lead the UN for a better and safer world, and to build trust among the members of the UN Security Council. Highlighting that UNDP has been able to deliver the same amount of programming with fewer people and fewer managers due to reforms, she stressed that she can lead a reform of the UN system that “rewards its good people with a better system.”
Danilo Turk (Slovenia) said the world needs a “renovated” UN system that is no longer “a club of governments,” but partners with the private sector, civil society and academia. He also raised the issue of indigenous peoples’ representation in UN processes. Noting her experience as Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Christiana Figueres (Costa Rica) said that six years ago she took charge of a multilateral failure, and six days ago she left it after delivering a multilateral breakthrough. Under her leadership, she said, the UN will keep delivering multilateral breakthroughs. She added that her vision for the UN is a community of nations coming together to tackle collectively the common global challenges.
Igor Lukšić (Montenegro) said his mandate as Secretary-General would be built on the principles of inclusiveness, engagement and responsibility. He stressed the need to engage youth more in UN processes, and said he will establish a panel of international experts to undertake an objective review of UN spending. Irina Bokova (Bulgaria) highlighted increased investment in education as a major measure she would propose for ensuring social mobility, reducing inequality, and reducing violence against women.
Also nominated as candidates for next Secretary-General are Srgjan Kerim of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Miroslav Lajčák of the Slovak Republic.
According to the UN Charter, the UN Secretary-General is appointed by the UNGA following the recommendation of the Security Council. Through UNGA Resolution 69/321 of 11 September 2015, the UNGA agreed to conduct informal dialogues or meetings with candidates for the position of Secretary-General, without prejudice to any candidate who does not participate, in order to contribute to the transparency and inclusivity of the selection process. Nine of the 12 candidates have participated in the two-hour informal dialogues so far.
The next dialogue with a candidate will take place on 14 July 2016, at UN Headquarters in New York, US, when Figueres will address questions by Member States. The informal dialogues are open and webcast, and civil society is encouraged to ask questions, “time permitting.”
The Security Council will hold its first “straw poll” on 21 July 2016 to gauge the viability of candidates who have been nominated so far. Depending on the results, a second straw poll may held before the end of July. Several informal meetings with candidates are also expected. [IISD RS Sources] [Al Jazeera Webpage for Townhall] [UN Press Release] [UNGA President’s Webpage on UNSG Selection] [IISD RS Story on UNGA Dialogues with Candidates] [Security Council Report]