This year the new Secretary General is to be elected and as this position customarily rotates between regions Eastern Europe is next on the list.
The United Nations formally kicked off the race for the next secretary general on December 15th last year and the UN’s 193 members were encouraged to consider putting forward a woman for the top job that has been held by a man for the past 70 years. U.N. Secretary – General Ban Ki-moon, a former South Korean foreign minister, is due to step down at the end of 2016 after serving two five-year terms.
The position of Secretary-General is one of great importance that requires the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity, and a firm commitment to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. The current list of candidates can be found here.
Among them are 3 female candidates:
- Prof. Dr. sc. Vesna Pusić from Croatia
- Ms. Irina Bokova from Bulgaria
- Ms. Natalia Gherman from Moldova
The President of the General Assembly (PGA) is organizing informal dialogues between UN Member States and SG candidates starting in April 2016. The Office of the PGA has requested the United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Service (UN-NGLS) to facilitate a process with civil society to provide questions that can be asked to candidates during these dialogues. These questions can be asked in writing, audio or video. The Office of the PGA will choose some of the short-listed questions to be presented in person, shared via video or audio recordings, or verbally read-out by the President during the dialogues.
To see the already asked questions please click here.
The timeframe for this activity is 26 February to 20 March.
More information here: http://www.unngls.world
