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April 13, 2016
United Nations begins informal briefings to select next Secretary-General
Photo: Mogens Lykketoft, President of the seventieth session of the UN General Assembly, briefs journalists on the selection process for the next Secretary-General of the UN. The Assembly is holding informal dialogues with eight candidates for the position on 12-14 April. 12 April 2016. United Nations, New York. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe.
Photo: A cross-section view of the Trusteeship Council Chamber of the UN General Assembly, as Irina Bokova (Bulgaria), current Director General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), delivers her presentation to Member States regarding her candidacy for the Next UN Secretary-General. The UN General Assembly is holding informal dialogues on 12-14 April with the eight candidates for the position of the next Secretary-General of the United Nations. 12 April 2016. United Nations, New York. UN Photo/Manuel Elias.
United Nations, New York, 12 April 2016: Kicking off what he has called a “new and transparent process,” UN General Assembly President Mogens Lykketoft today opened informal dialogues with candidates for the next United Nations Secretary-General.
“We are sailing into uncharted waters here,” said Mr. Lykketoft addressing the press ahead of the start of the informal dialogues.
Calling the process a “potential game-changing exercise,” he said the informal briefings were part of a “very transparent, very interesting discussion about the future of the United Nations.”
Over the course of the next three days, the official candidates - currently eight of them - will answer questions related to promoting sustainable development, how to improve efforts to create peace, how to protect human rights, how to deal with huge humanitarian catastrophes, and how to resolve challenges defined by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
At the end of the process, Mr. Lykketoft said, expressing his personal view, one single candidate could emerge, making it difficult for the Security Council - which is tasked with making the official selection, as stated in the UN Charter - to choose another candidate.
Defining some of the qualities in who would be the “best person” for the job, Mr. Lykketoft stressed independence, strong moral authority, great political and diplomatic skills, and some experience in being at the head of a huge administration.
As part of the informal dialogues, each candidate will have a televised and webcast two-hour timeslot, starting with a short oral presentation. Representatives from Member States will then ask questions, followed by the President of the General Assembly, who will ask a few of the more than 1,000 questions submitted by the general public on social media under the hashtag #UNSGcandidates.
Opening the dialogues, Mr. Lykketoft underscored that as the UN grapples with multiple crises and deals with “fundamental questions regarding its own role and performance,” finding the best candidate to succeed Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is “absolutely crucial.”
“Much of what we are embarking on today is without precedent at the UN,” he stressed.
|GlobalGiants.Com|
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— Proverbs of Solomon 25:3.
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The deep thoughts of kings are
Without boundary.”— The Panchatantra.
Edited & Posted by the Editor | 12:14 PM | Link to this Post