Ahead of an oral question on appointment of the next UN Secretary-General, tabled in the UK Parliament by UN APPG member Lord Judd for 27 November 2013; UNA-UK has released a briefing providing its analysis and recommendations for reform on the issue.
UNA-UK’s briefing is in line with UNA-UK’s ongoing policy work on initiating UN reform, including on the recruitment process within the UN and the election of the UN Secretary-General. The briefing focuses on the legal provisions governing the issue; the accepted practices on appointment of the Secretary-General; calls for reform and recent developments; and achievable proposals for improving the appointment process.
In particular, UNA-UK calls for the following:
- Creation of a search committee in 2014-2015 to set out a timetable, beginning in 2015, for a well-organised search for candidates
- A process by which national parliaments and civil society, as well as all UN member states, can have meaningful involvement in the initial search phrase
- Inclusion of women candidates in comparable numbers to men
- Consideration of a longer single term for the next UN Secretary-General in order to relieve the new incumbent from pressures of re-election
