By Matthew Russell Lee, News analysis
UNITED NATIONS, June 17 -- Who chooses the UN Secretary General and how? On Friday at the UN, the 15 members of the Security Council in a closed door meeting, not even by vote, recommended Ban Ki-moon for a second five year term by acclamation.
Moments later the President of the Security Council for June, the Ambassador of Gabon, came to the stakeout to read on camera a statement that “in a private meeting,” Ban was recommended.
When Inner City Press asked, “are you aware that GRULAC has not endorsed Ban?” he walked away from the microphone. Standing by the stakeout was Kim Won-soo, Ban's chief adviser and ostensible deputy to chief of staff Vijay Nambiar.
GRULAC is the Latin American and Caribbean states group. On June 7, Inner City Press reported that five GRULAC members had said they didn't have instructions from their capitals to endorse Ban.
Earlier on Friday Inner City Press stood outside the GRULAC meeting in the UN's North Lawn building. When Colombia's Ambassador emerged to attend the Council's 11 am meeting, he told Inner City Press that one country was still saying it didn't have instructions. He offered a name; later the spokesperson of a Western Council member said “I think it is Barbados,” amid laughter.
But the critique by GRULAC was more substantial, that Ban was too attentive to Permanent Five members of the Council, ignoring even countries which contribute peacekeepers to the missions voted by the Security Council.
Some of the Security Council members who made much of the unanimous recommendation for Ban say in other settings that Ban's pliant style is bad for the UN and multilateralism.
Something is wrong with a process in which, despite this view, unanimous reappointment for five years is delivered without any competition, no other candidates, not even a campaign speech and pledges.
The General Assembly vote is scheduled for June 21 at 3 pm. As one GRULAC Permanent Representative told Inner City Press, “once the Permanent Five decide, we are all just window dressing.” Watch this site.
