Member States will soon begin submitting nomination letters for candidates to lead the 80-year-old organisation. Although the post is traditionally rotated among geographical regions, every Secretary-General so far has been a man.
The General Assembly appoints the Secretary-General on the recommendation of the Council’s 15 members. Danish Ambassador Christina Markus Lassen, co-chair of the Council’s Informal Working Group on Documentation and Other Procedural Questions, said the coming months would be crucial.
“As the year draws to a close, the Council approaches one of its most significant responsibilities, namely the process of selection of the next Secretary-General,” she said. Discussions will focus on voting procedures, engagement with candidates and how to keep the wider UN membership informed of progress.
Russia, which held the rotating Council presidency in October, said preparations were already underway. Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya noted that work had begun “promptly” on the joint invitation letter from the Council and the General Assembly that will formally open nominations. “We trust that the document will be adopted in a short time to start this important process,” he said.
The next Secretary-General will serve a five-year term beginning in January 2027, following the departure of António Guterres of Portugal. With no woman ever having held the position, Chile called for “an open, participatory and gender-inclusive process”.
“After 80 years, the time has come for a woman to lead this organisation,” its representative said, adding that regional rotation should also be respected. “It is the turn of the region of Latin America and the Caribbean to lead this post.”
More than 40 countries took part in the debate on the Council’s working methods, known as Note 507. Loraine Sievers, former Chief of the UN Security Council Secretariat Branch, stressed that the way meetings are conducted plays a key role in the UN’s credibility.
“Even when positions differ starkly, the Security Council and the UN can gain or lose credibility depending on how orderly and professionally Council meetings are conducted,” she said.
–UN/ChannelAfrica–
