A view from the United Nations
April 2006
A UN Secretary-General for “We the Peoples”: Civil society calls for a more democratic selection process
By Vicente García-Delgado, CIVICUS UN Representative (New York)
Kofi Annan’s second and last term as UN Secretary-General will expire at the end of this year, and the process (if it can be called that) for the selection of his successor is already underway. Unless basic notions of transparency and accountability find their way into the UN Security Council Chamber in the coming months, the next Secretary-General will be chosen, as usual, in near total darkness behind closed doors. Even the Catholic Church, not necessarily a shinning bastion of democratic practices, implements a more democratic procedure when selecting a new Pope: in 1179, Pope Alexander III decreed that all cardinals would have equal vote, with no veto power (www.cnn.com/Specials/1999/pope/selection).
As noted in the website of the recently launched Campaign for a more democratic selection process for the UN Secretary-General (www.UNSGselection.org), a project of the World Federalist Movement: Institute for Global Policy , “there is currently no concrete process, timeline or formal candidate criteria…” which would be applicable, with any degree of consistency and predictability, to the selection of the person called to fill the world’s most important and difficult diplomatic post.
Essentially, the Secretary-General is appointed by the General Assembly “upon the recommendation of the Security Council”, subject de facto, if not de iure, to the veto of any one of the five permanent members. Simply put, the members of the Security Council vote (subject to veto by permanent members) to recommend one single candidate to the General Assembly, and the General Assembly in turn is asked to vote such candidate up or down. End of debate. (For a detailed summary of the UN Charter provisions and practice in the Security Council and General Assembly, see Annex A to Canadian Non-Paper on the Process for the Selection of the Next Secretary-General (www.unsgselection.org/content/files/canadian-non-paper-on-the-process-for-the-selection-of-the-next-secretary-general/56).
To be appointed UN Secretary-General by the General Assembly, the candidate must receive the favourable vote of a majority of the Member States. Generally, the Security Council meets to discuss candidates and may utilise straw polls to determine the level of support through votes that either encourage or discourage a candidacy. Colour cards – red to mean a possible veto, may be used as well. Both the Security Council’s vote to recommend a candidate and the General Assembly’s vote on such recommendation are by secret ballot.
While the current selection process has largely gone unchallenged for the last sixty years, there is a growing sense that the method needs substantial improvement. As noted in Appointment of A New Secretary-General, the 16 February 2006 Special Research Report of the Security Council, (www.securitycouncilreport.org), criticism from civil society has been raised in recent years “that the selection process … lacks transparency, is out of touch with best practices in high-level public sector appointments …and clearly needs updating.”
Now, civil society groups representing a cross section of global civil society, including CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation, have stepped forward in support of the World Federalist Movement: Institute for Global Policy (www.wfm.org) initiative to democratise the selection process. In an open letter addressed to the President of the Security Council dated 17 April 2006, they have called on the Security Council and the General Assembly to take the necessary steps to incorporate into the selection process a set of four procedures calculated “to enhance the transparency, accountability and inclusiveness necessary for the selection of a qualified and effective candidate.”
The four proposed procedures deal with candidate qualifications, an official timetable with systematic reporting, the assessment of candidates, as well as gender and geographic considerations. It is important to note that the Campaign does not contemplate endorsing any candidates. The focus of the Campaign is on the democratisation of the selection process itself. Further, the Campaign recognises that achieving all of the necessary reforms in the selection process will take time, but it hopes that the Security Council will forthwith initiate a key set of basic reforms.
At a Campaign press briefing held at UN Headquarters on 18 April 2006, where CIVICUS took part, I was privileged, as CIVICUS UN Representative, to support the Campaign publicly and to encourage our members and others to do so as well. At the press conference I noted that:
“CIVICUS, a global alliance of civil society dedicated to strengthening citizen participation at all levels of governance, believes that democracy without full and meaningful civil society participation is always at risk of lapsing. We therefore wish to emphasise the need gradually to involve civil society and other stakeholders in the selection process, particularly, on a first phase, with regard to the proposed governmental panels, candidate interviews, and question & answer sessions. At the national and regional levels, CIVICUS encourages and expects UN Member States to provide civil society ample access and the opportunity to participate fully and meaningfully in the selection debates at those levels.”
Who the next Secretary-General might be is a matter of the most profound significance for all of us, citizens of the world, particularly so at a time when humanity faces increasingly complex global challenges. At a time when a UN Democracy Fund has been established for the very purpose of promoting democracy throughout the world (www.un.org/News/dh/pdf/democracy-fund05.pdf), it would be well for the Security Council to take some heed in the process of selecting a Secretary-General for “We the Peoples” (remember that the founding charter of the United Nations does not say “we the nation states of the United Nations” but “we the peoples of the United Nations”).
The world deserves nothing less than the best qualified woman or man for the job. It is time to democratise the process for selection of UN Secretary-General.
Please consider having your organisation endorse the Campaign at www.unsgselection.org/content/endorse-the-campaign.
In solidarity,
Vicente García-Delgado, CIVICUS´ UN Representative
Please send your comments to CIVICUSUN@aol.com or visit CIVICUS blog at http://civicus.civiblog.org/blog
Below you will find all previous columns:
• Charting new ways of participation: Is it time for a Parliamentary Assembly at the UN?
• Changing the tone: General Assembly President Jan Eliasson reaches out to Civil Society
• Changing the tone: General Assembly President Jan Eliasson reaches out to Civil Society
• Argentina: Thriving without the IMF
• The Big Letdown: UN Summit shortchanges the poor
• The World Summit : UN Reform will mean little unless poverty eradication tops the agenda
• Millions roar but the G8 whispers - Let the Millennium+5 Summit make up the difference
• “Global Justice - Northern citizens have a special responsibility to make it happen”
• Letting the United Nations be all that it can
• “Appointment with History: The world looks up to John Bolton to help achieve the MDGs”
• “We are rolling!: Civil society’s call for poverty eradication impacts the World Economic Forum and the Group of Seven”
• No more excuses!: The Tsunami must not be allowed to wash away the Millennium Development Goals
• A Call To Action 2005: Global Civil Society mobilizes to demand an end to poverty and the fulfilment of the Millennium Development Goals
• TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT: Should civil society and the Global Compact live under the same UN roof?
• The UN Global Compact: A big red herring disguised in UN blue?
• Happening now: A global revolution of consciousness
• Lasting security for all: Shifting from state security to security of the people
• The UN – Permanently relevant or temporarily relevant?
