By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, May 9 -- How should the next UN Secretary General be selected, to improve the Organization? That was the question on the afternoon of April 27 in what was called a "closed" meeting in the Trusteeship Council Chamber. The meeting being labeled closed, and not on UN webcast, is a bad beginning, theFree UN Coalition for Access believes. So it reported on it, see below.
But what does current Secretary General Ban Ki-moon think? On May 6 his deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq was asked if Ban "has ever weighed in on this debate."
Haq replied, "He has, in fact. And he's said in several public venues that he thinks it's high time for a Secretary-General to be a woman. Of course, it's not in his hands to determine who that person will be, and he's not going to offer any opinions about who should be selected, but certainly, the time for a female Secretary-General has come."
Haq replied, "He has, in fact. And he's said in several public venues that he thinks it's high time for a Secretary-General to be a woman. Of course, it's not in his hands to determine who that person will be, and he's not going to offer any opinions about who should be selected, but certainly, the time for a female Secretary-General has come."
Three days later in Moscow, while some noted that Ban was put in the second row, others noticed in that photograph that Ban had taken with him not only his (American) chief political adviser Jeff Feltman but also Bulgarian UNESCO chief and next SG wannabe Irina Bokova - some told Inner City Press this was Ban presenting and endorsing Bokova. What was the UNESCO connection?
And why hasn't Bokova's UNESCO spoken on the destruction of cultural heritage in Sana'a, Yemen by the Saudi led coalition's airstrikes? We'll have more on this.
And why hasn't Bokova's UNESCO spoken on the destruction of cultural heritage in Sana'a, Yemen by the Saudi led coalition's airstrikes? We'll have more on this.
But amid calls for an open, transparent and competitive process, how Ban be favoring or helping any candidate? We'll have more on this.
For his part, Ban is head to South Korea (some noting he may run for office there.) Inner City Press asked on May 8
Spokesman Stephane Dujarric: You had country-specific questions?
Inner City Press: The country is South Korea. I just want to know, since it's out there and it has been reported in The Korea Times, can you confirm that the Secretary-General is going to South Korea for four days in and around 22 May?
Spokesman: I cannot confirm at this point, but I encourage you to attend the briefings next week.
Inner City Press: The country is South Korea. I just want to know, since it's out there and it has been reported in The Korea Times, can you confirm that the Secretary-General is going to South Korea for four days in and around 22 May?
Spokesman: I cannot confirm at this point, but I encourage you to attend the briefings next week.
We'll be there.
Inner City Press did its reporting about the UNGA meeting, from India urging that there be more than one - a panel - of candidates proposed, to Moldova emphasizing that the next SG should come from Eastern Europe.
Canada said regional rotation should inform but not determine the selection. The UK to its credit released a copy of the speech by new Permanent Representative Matthew Rycroft - but how to square its proposals with David Cameron nominating Andrew Lansley to replace Valerie Amos as Emergency Relief Coordinator, then insisting that the UK should have the post, now in the person of Stephen O'Brien.
Update: With only a few dozen states choosing to speak, the chair decided to try to finish them all -- five states in twelve minutes? -- to end the debate on April 27. This too may not be the right spirit.
Update II: And when the rushed session ended, the next one was announced for May 12, on the "institutional memory" of the Office of the President of the General Assembly.
Earlier in a 10 am press conference by the campaign called "1 for 7 Billion: Find the Best UN Leader."
At the April 27 UN noon briefing, Inner City Press asked Ban Ki-moon's deputy spokesperson for Ban's views on needed reforms. Apparently there are none: it is up to member states, he said, adding that selecting a women would be good. What about pay to play?
Inner City Press asked the panel if, as happened last time, increase trade and aid funding by a candidates' country should at least be disclosed, if not prohibited. William Pace of WFM replied not only about countries spending hundreds of million of Euros, but also about the heads of international agencies using their posts to campaign.
Since UNDP's Helen Clark is known to have told associates and underlings she would like to be the next SG, Inner City Press asked the panel for comment. They were diplomatic, including on the UK, said to be a reformer on the SG post, having insisted it retain the Emergency Relief Coordinator positioon, albeit in the person of Stephen O'Brien and not Cameron's first nominee (and National Health Service destroyer) Andrew Lansley.
Natalie Samarasinghe of UNA-UK said the campaign around (well, against) Lansley was a positive step forward; she said that social media makes secret processes less possible. (But see the replacement at Yemen envoy of Jamal Benomar by a Mauritanian official who has not made public financial disclosure).
Yvonne Terlingen, now Senior Policy Adviser at WFM, also cited the OCHA process or campaign. WFM's Pace seemed to conflate the entire UN press corps with the UN Correspondents Association, a group that for example tried to censor Press coverage of how Under Secretary General Herve Ladsous got the job, then tried to get the Press thrown out.
The new Free UN Coalition for Access seeks to open the UN and these processes - watch this site.
