UN Charter

• Chapter XV of the UN Charter on the Secretariat

Relevant General Assembly resolutions

• UN General Assembly resolution 1-11 (adopted 1946 - asking for the Security Council to recommend a single candidate)

• UN General Assembly resolution 46-232 (no monopolies on senior appts - adopted 1992)

• UN General Assembly resolution 51-241 (adopted 1997)

• UN General Assembly resolution 60-286 (adopted 2006)

• UN General Assembly resolution 68-307 (adopted 2014)

• UN General Assembly resolution 69-321 (adopted 2015 - historic resolution) [extract]

• UN General Assembly resolution 70-305 (adopted 2016 - inc. call for no monopolies on senior appointments)

• UN General Assembly resolution 71-323 (adopted 2017)

• UN General Assembly resolution 72-313 (adopted 2018)

• UN General Assembly resolution 73-341 (adopted 2019)

• UN General Assembly resolution 75-325 (adopted 2021)

• UN General Assembly resolution 77-335 (adopted 2023)

• UN General Assembly resolution 79-327 (adopted 2025)

Joint letters from the Presidents of the General Assembly and Security Council

• Joint letter from the Presidents of the General Assembly and the Security Council, 15 December 2015

• Joint letter from the Presidents of the General Assembly and the Security Council, 5 February 2021

Joint Inspection Unit, United Nations, Geneva:

• Selection and conditions of service of Executive Heads in the United Nations system organizations, Joint Inspection Unit, United Nations, Geneva 2009 (JIU/REP/2009/8 )

• Transparency in the selection and appointment of senior managers in the United Nations secretariat, Joint Inspection Unit, United Nations, Geneva (JIU/REP/2011/2)

Other

• ACT 2025 Non-Paper on the selection and appointment of the Secretary-General and Executive Heads of the United Nations, February 2025

• President of the General Assembly / incumbent Secretary-General letter exchange, sent to Member States, 11 January 2021

• Reflections on the 2015-16 selection process by Koro Bessho, Permanent Representative of Japan to the UN, February 2017

• Reflections from outgoing President of the General Assembly, Mogens Lykketoft, addressed to the President of the Security Council, September 2016

• Procedure for Appointing the UN Secretary-General, Informal Fact Sheet from the UN Secretariat, February 2006

• UN Preparatory Commission’s Description of the Role of the Secretary-General

• Canadian Non Paper calling for the General Assembly to reform the appointment process, February 2006

• The "Wisnumurti Guidelines" for Selecting a Candidate for Secretary-General, adopted 12 November 1996