The move is historic for the United Nations, which just celebrated its 70th birthday previous year.
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The 4 men and 4 women campaigning to become the world’s top diplomat will each go before the General Assembly for two hours to lay out their vision and answer questions from member-states and civil society.
There is no model for such dialogues within the United Nations, which means that there is no model for the questions, either. Some member states may end up using this time to make political statements or might speak beyond their allotted times.
The committee had agreed on a shortlist of 30 questions, the General Assembly President said, adding “the level of interest in these dialogues from the global public and civil society is extraordinary”. If all this does not suffice, each candidate can further press their case to the media at a stakeout set up outside the General Assembly Hall.
But the General Assembly in September voted to shake up the process, asking candidates to send a formal application letter, present their resumes and appear at hearings. “For the first time since this organization started 70 years ago, the process for selecting and appointing the next secretary-general is being generally guided by the principles of transparency and inclusivity”. The committee had agreed on a shortlist of 30 questions, the General Assembly President said.
The proposed game changing is aimed at finding the best leader for the United Nations, which is facing grave challenges, such as climate change, sustainable development and terrorism.
The other four candidates are former Macedonian foreign minister Srgjan Kerim, foreign minister of Montenegro Igor Luksic, former Slovenian President Danilo Turk and former UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres, who is Portuguese. Only Clark is from a non-European country.
The job description for the world’s top diplomatic post is vague, with the UN Charter itself calling the qualifications “subject to debate”.
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“I think the Assembly will be successful in having much more influence in the process”, he said. “But if the membership is presenting a lot of candidates until the very end and nobody is really being the eminent one of course it will be the permanent five again taking the actual decision in the Security Council”.
Ban Ki-moon will step down as the United Nations Secretary-General on January 1, 2017 – and for the first time ever, the race to succeed him is being played out, at least in theory, in the open.
For decades, the choice of the UN chief has been firmly in the hands of the Security Council and its five permanent members – Britain, France, China, Russia and the United States – in a process largely kept behind closed doors.
Final polling is expected to take place in September, when the 15-member council will submit one nominee to the General Assembly, which is expected to endorse the choice. For the first time in the 70-year history of the… “We are in a way in uncharted waters here with the General Assembly being ahead in the process of the Security Council”.
The term of office of incumbent Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expires on December 31 2016.
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“At this critical juncture in the United Nations history, one also needs to think about an important issue – how can the General Assembly play a better role in the selection and appointment of the next secretary-general”, the diplomat said.
