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CHAPTER 7: Section 5 Changes

ACT pushes for early action to strengthen the process of appointing Secretaries-General

29 October 2017

On 5 October 2017, the representative of Estonia, on behalf of the Accountability, Coherence and Transparency Group (ACT), transmitted to the Secretary-General and the Assembly and Council Presidents a Note which he hoped would “serve as a reference for future selection processes” of Secretaries-General . . . 

Japanese letter addresses parameters of Secretary-General appointment process

4 April 2017

On 1 February 2017, Koro Bessho, Permanent Representative of Japan, transmitted to the Secretary-General and Security Council President a note on the appointment process for the Secretary-General . . .

Security Council tribute to outgoing Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

9 January 2017

On 14 December 2016, the Security Council convened a public meeting under the agenda item, “Tribute to the outgoing Secretary-General”, at which it adopted by acclamation resolution 2324 (2016) acknowledging the contributions of Ban Ki-moon and expressing deep appreciation . . .

Letters from outgoing and incoming GA Presidents on Secretary-General appointment

29 September 2016

On 13 September 2016, the outgoing Assembly President addressed a letter to the Council President providing a recap of the “historic cooperation” whereby he had worked closely with the Council and the entire GA membership “to advance the process to select and appoint the next Secretary-General” . . .

Recommendation of multiple candidates for Secretary-General by the Security Council

10 June 2016

In theory, Article 97 of the Charter might be interpreted as permitting the recommendation by the Security Council of several candidates for Secretary-General, leaving the final choice of which candidate to appoint to the General Assembly . . .

Appointing the Next Secretary-General: the Relevance of Geographic Rotation

10 June 2016

Many observers have been puzzled by the prominence being given to the factor of regional rotation in the appointment process for the next Secretary-General . . .

When a Council member nominates its national for Secretary-General, is it restricted from participating in the Council’s recommendation process?

Article revised on 15 Sept. 2016

On 20 August 2016, the New Zealand Herald reported that during its Council Presidency in September 2016, New Zealand would hand over responsibility for carrying out straw polls on candidates for Secretary-General to the Russian Federation . . .

GA President announces that meetings with SG candidates will be held in April 2016

28 February 2016

On 25 February 2016, General Assembly President Mogens Lykketoft sent letters to all UN Member States announcing his intention to begin holding informal dialogues with official candidates for Secretary-General from 12 to 14 April 2016 . . .

Joint Assembly-Council letter on appointing the Secretary-General

24 December 2015

On 15 December 2015, three months after the Assembly adopted its resolution 69/321, the Assembly President and the Council President , as requested by the resolution, sent to all UN Member States a joint letter on the process for selecting the next Secretary-General . . .

Is the process for recommending an SG a “procedural” or a “substantive” question?

4 October 2015

In recent public forums, a civil society participant has affirmed that proposals on how the Council handles the appointment process for the next Secretary-General will constitute “procedural” decisions . . .

General Assembly adopts resolution on selection of next Secretary-General

13 September 2015

On 11 September 2015, the General Assembly adopted resolution 69/321, which broke new ground by providing for new measures of “transparency and inclusiveness” in the selection process for the next Secretary-General . . .

Support by the Russian Federation for an Eastern European Secretary-General

6 September 2015

There had been speculation that the Russian Federation might veto candidates for Secretary-General from Eastern Europe out of distrust for the positions they might take concerning Russian actions relating to Ukraine.  However, at a press conference on 2 September 2015, the Russian representative spoke unequivocally in support of electing an Eastern European as the next Secretary-General . . .

ACT proposes a more transparent, inclusive process for appointing the Secretary-General

5 July 2015

On 1 June 2015, the representative of Switzerland, in his capacity as Coordinator of the 27-member Accountability, Coherence and Transparency Group (ACT), transmitted to the Presidents of the Security Council and General Assembly the Group’s proposals for the process of appointing the next UN Secretary-General . . .

Proposals by The Elders for “a more independent Secretary-General”

7 February 2015

On 7 February 2015, “A New Process for Choosing the Secretary-General” was proposed by The Elders, the prestigious group of independent global leaders chaired by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan . . .

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