Entitled “A fair and inclusive process to appoint the next UN Secretary-General”, the new platform sets out the campaign’s policy recommendations for the upcoming selection process including five policies Member States should adopt to ensure an inclusive process and a level playing field for candidates from all around the world

Join the 1 for 8 Billion campaign and get involved with our shared objective of a fair, open and inclusive Secretary-General selection process. Join the coalition as a member organisation, sign our woman SG letter, write to your government.

The 1 for 8 Billion campaign is delighted to introduce its new Steering Committee consisting of four internationally respected organisations with strong networks spanning UN regions: CIVICUS, Plataforma CIPÓ, Southern Voice and WomanSG.

1 for 8 Billion is coordinating a joint letter to all UN Permanent Representatives asking them to address the historic imbalance by announcing that their state will only consider nominating women candidates for the next Secretary-General selection process.

Today the UN General Assembly made significant progress on 1 for 8 Billion’s campaign to boost transparency and inclusivity in UN appointment processes. The resolution also consolidated previous reforms and good practices.

The report outlines 10 proposals based on improving transparency and inclusivity, addressing undue influence by Member States, and reducing the barriers to civil society participation in General Assembly processes. All proposals enjoy a degree of General Assembly support but need a concerted push to get them over the finish line. 

Negotiations kicked off this month on the biennial General Assembly resolution focusing on the selection and appointment of the Secretary-General and other executive heads. This opportunity to improve appointment processes at the UN must be seized. This article outlines a series of reform proposals which merit consideration in these negotiations.

On 9 February 2023, states in the General Assembly expressed strong support for the reforms that transformed the SG selection process in 2016 while expressing a desire to further strengthen the process. Many states also expressed a desire to improve issues relating to the appointment of other executive heads.

Today, the General Assembly adopted a resolution which makes significant progress on institutionalising crucial gains to the UN Secretary-General selection process achieved in 2015/16, as well as some headway on outstanding issues identified by 1 for 7 Billion.

On 16 June, representatives from the 1 for 7 Billion campaign met with the co-chairs of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Revitalization of the General Assembly (AHWG) to discuss our latest briefing.

1 for 7 Billion has written to all member states calling for progress on outstanding reforms which are needed to strengthen future Secretary-General selection processes.

On 7 May, the President of the General Assembly (PGA), Volkan Bozkır, held an informal dialogue between member states and António Guterres in his capacity as a candidate for the position of Secretary-General for the term beginning in January 2022.

Today, the Forward initiative announced its own “candidate” to stand for the position of UN Secretary-General: Ecuadorian politician, Rosalía Arteaga Serrano. Forward is a civil society initiative that seeks to hold “progressive primaries to find a people-backed candidate to run for Secretary-General”.

The President of the General Assembly is inviting civil society organizations to submit questions, a selection of which will be put to Mr Guterres during his General Assembly hearing on 7 May. This meeting represents a rare opportunity to hold the UN Secretary-General to account - submit your question before 30 April!

The debate showed full consensus for the consolidation and re-application of 2015-16 gains, which firmly establishes the practice that member states should be able to nominate a candidate even when an incumbent is standing for a second term, as has been the case this year (even if no member state chose to do so).

There are various elements around the requirement for state backing and the recognition of official candidates that remain unsettled and for which 1 for 7 Billion urges further clarity. This short paper discusses these issues while also highlighting broader opportunities to build on the achievements of 2015/16.

On 5 February 2021 the President of the General Assembly with the President of the Security Council circulated a joint letter formally launching the process of appointing a Secretary-General for the term 2022-2027. Read 1 for 7 Billion’s analysis on this development.

On 11 January, the President of the General Assembly, H.E. Volkan Bozkir, wrote to UN Member States with an update on developments regarding the 2021 Secretary-General selection process.

While awaiting a statement from Antonio Guterres on his availability to serve a second term, urgent proactive steps should be taken to ensure that the upcoming selection process positively reinforces the hard-won gains of 2016.

Over two thirds of UN member states have called on the General Assembly to start consolidating the major improvements achieved in the run-up to the 2016 selection of the Secretary-General that made the process more open, transparent and inclusive and to institutionalise lessons learned.