On 23 April 2021, the General Assembly met to discuss the process for selecting UN Secretaries-General and other executive heads. The debate showed full consensus for the consolidation and re-application of 2015-16 gains to the 2021 Secretary-General selection process, 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).

States also overwhelmingly recognised the contribution of civil society to the previous process and the need for this to be consolidated and strengthened, with major groups such as the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and Accountability, Coherence and Transparency coalition (ACT) - calling for the PGA to facilitate global town hall meetings with candidates. Denmark, speaking on behalf of ACT, said:

“ACT reiterates its call to the President of the General Assembly to facilitate these interactions. We expect the PGA to continue the practice of town hall meetings or other relevant formats allowing direct interaction between civil society and eligible candidates.”

Another area of widespread support is the need for discussion on the proposal that future Secretaries-General be appointed for a non-renewable term of office. This is a key 1 for 7 Billion proposal and we have been tracking state positions on this issue since 2015. We are pleased to note that over 140 states have now publicly supported a single term or called for further discussion on the proposal.

Click here for 1 for 7 Billion’s chart of state positions on the single term and here for our paper on why this reform is vital.

There was also significant support for a discussion on the proposal for the Security Council to put forward multiple candidates for the General Assembly to consider, as well as on the need for states to nominate female candidates; for an enhanced format for General Assembly dialogues; and for a more structured process including deadlines for the dissemination of the joint letter, the nomination of candidates and the completion of the process.

In addition, the strength of support for addressing certain disparities in the related issue of senior appointments was striking. States made it clear that the process of “ringfencing” senior roles for nationals of certain member states is incredibly damaging to perceptions - internal and external – and also hampers the UN’s effectiveness through a lack of diversity in top UN roles. 1 for 7 Billion notes that, at present, six members of the Senior Management Group are of the same nationality as their predecessor. Given the strength of feeling that exists within the UN membership on this issue, we encourage the General Assembly to insist that all states and the Secretary-General observe resolution 46/232, which states that there should be no monopoly on senior posts by nationals of any State or group of States.

Image: Egriselda Aracely González López, Permanent Representative of El Salvador to the United Nations, co-chairs a meeting of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Revitalization of the Work of the General Assembly, 02/11/2021. Credit: UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe