1 for 7 Billion is proud of the role it played in helping to transform the 2015/16 Secretary-General selection process. Facilitated by Resolution 69/321, for the first time in 70 years we had an open process with an official call for applications, a basic person specification, the publication of a list of candidates alongside their vision statements and hearings for each candidate in front of the General Assembly. The official process was enhanced by healthy engagement from civil society and media outlets, including through hustings with candidates and questionnaires on public priorities for the UN. These breakthroughs represented progress on half of the ten reforms that 1 for 7 Billion proposed.

Since then, 1 for 7 Billion has been calling for these reforms to be consolidated, which we were pleased to report has largely been achieved following the launch of the 2021 selection process on 5 February. However, 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 to bring greater transparency, structure and inclusivity to the process.

This short paper discusses these unsettled issues while also highlighting broader opportunities to build on the achievements of 2015/16.

Click here to download the paper

Image: The General Assembly holds an informal meeting of the plenary on the “Political Declaration on Equitable Global Access to COVID-19 Vaccines”. Volkan Bozkir (Left and screens), President of the seventy-fifth session of the United Nations General Assembly, chairs the meeting (c) UN Photo