On 3 April, 1 for 8 Billion was delighted to take part in a lively discussion co-organised by the UN Foundation and the co-facilitators of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Revitalization of the General Assembly (AHWG): Ambassador Mathu Joyini of South Africa and Ambassador Cornel Feruță of Romania.

The organisers designed the meeting as a vehicle to hear from experts, civil society, diplomats and those with direct experience of reforming the Secretary-General selection process in order to inform negotiations on an upcoming resolution. This will be the last formal opportunity to agree new rules before the commencement of the process to select the next Secretary-General, expected later this year.

Alongside the co-facilitators, speakers included Wilfried Emvula, former Permanent Representative of the Republic of Namibia and former AHWG co-facilitator; Mogens Lykketoft, former President of the General Assembly; Shamala Kandiah Thompson, Executive Director of Security Council Report and Ben Donaldson representing the 1 for 8 Billion campaign. The event was moderated by Sofia Borges - the United Nations Foundation’s Senior Vice President and head of the Foundation’s office in New York.

Mr Donaldson used the opportunity to highlight 1 for 8 Billion’s recommendations to strengthen the upcoming selection process, including reforms to assert a larger role for the General Assembly as well as advocacy for a feminist woman SG, a more structured process and opportunities for greater civil society inclusion in the upcoming race.

A detailed readout of 1 for 8 Billion’s reform proposals is available here.

1 for 8 Billion also used the opportunity to thank the co-facilitators for their inclusive approach to the upcoming negotiations, noting that the event was the first of its kind to be hosted by co-facilitators of the AHWG. 1 for 8 Billion has long argued that events like these, with a wide array of diplomats and civil society, are vital to help open up the work of the AHWG which has traditionally been inaccessible to civil society input. The initiative builds on the progress made under former co-facilitators and supports the implementation of previous AHWG resolutions, several of which encourage further civil society input in the SG selection processes.

The meeting was attended by diplomats from 26 UN member states as well as a wide range of civil society, academia, think-tanks, and UN officials.