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Looking for UN's Next Chief: Candidates Take Part in Open Hustings Event

© REUTERS / Denis BalibouseUN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addresses the Conference on the Prevention of Violent Extremism at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, April 8, 2016.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addresses the Conference on the Prevention of Violent Extremism at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, April 8, 2016. - Sputnik International
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In a world first for the United Nations, candidates vying for the job of Secretary-General have taken part in a hustings event during which they publicly outlined their visions for the UN. The event was organized in an attempt to bring more transparency to a process which has historically been considered as secretive and somewhat opaque.

Although the United Nations as an organization often faces criticism with regards its effectiveness — particularly over its failure to prevent a number of high profile conflicts — the UN Secretary General is still considered one of the most influential positions in global politics. 

United Nations General Assembly - Sputnik International
United Nations Constantly Condemns Itself for Failures to Act‏

The inability to prevent a war in Iraq in 2003, a perceived failure to act against human rights abuses in Darfur, and more recently, accusations of inaction regarding Syria represent a catalog of criticism leveled against the UN, which leaves many arguing that the organization often falls short in meeting its responsibilities to the international community.

The current Secretary General — South Korea's former Foreign Affairs & Trade Minister Ban Ki-moon — will step down at the end of this year, following a decade as the de facto leader of the United Nations, though the likely front-runner to replace him is still up for debate. 

© AFP 2023 / Don EmmertUnited Nations Secretary general Ban Ki-moon speaks at the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly September 28, 2015 at the United Nations in New York.
United Nations Secretary general Ban Ki-moon speaks at the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly September 28, 2015 at the United Nations in New York. - Sputnik International
United Nations Secretary general Ban Ki-moon speaks at the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly September 28, 2015 at the United Nations in New York.

Eight candidates have so far thrown their hats into the ring: Srgjan Kerim (former Macedonian Foreign Minister); Vesna Pucic (former Croatian Foreign Minister); Igor Luksic (former Montenegro Prime Minister and current Foreign Minister); Danilo Turk (former Slovenian President); Irina Bokova from Bulgaria (UNESCO Director-General); Natalia Gherman (former Moldovan Foreign Minister); Antonio Guterres (former UN refugee chief and ex-Portuguese Prime Minister); and the head of the UN Development Program, Helen Clark (former New Zealand Prime Minister). 

Throughout its 70 year history, the UN has never once had a female Secretary General, and many now believe the time has come for a woman to be elected to the job — whether this will actually happen though, is not clear.

The two women touted as most likely candidates include the German Chancellor Angela Merkel — though she is said to be reluctant — and Bulgaria's Irina Bokova. Bokova is a more likely candidate, given that the job has traditionally tended to rotate between regions and there has never yet been an Eastern European/Russian Secretary General. 

In the end, the decision will still be taken behind closed doors, and will essentially represent the will of the UN's five permanent veto holding members: China, France, Russia, the UK and the USA.  It is for this reason perhaps, that Natalie Samarasinghe (UN Association UK) has said that the deciding factor has always been "who's not going to rock the boat, and who's going to cause the least trouble for us."  

Whilst the public nature of the hustings event brings a fascinating new dimension to the selection process, it is unlikely to meaningfully change the way in which the next Secretary General is chosen, or indeed, the structure of the UN as a whole.

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