Today, the Forward initiative announced its own “candidate” to stand for the position of UN Secretary-General: Ecuadorian politician, Rosalìa Arteaga. Forward is a civil society initiative that seeks to hold “progressive primaries to find a people-backed candidate to run for Secretary-General”. A number of other individuals have also put themselves forward for the position.
However, in the official UN process, there is only one candidate: incumbent Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. For this to change, a state would need to nominate a further individual before Mr Guterres is recommended by the Security Council and appointed by the General Assembly. As there is no fixed timeline for the process, these steps could take place any time after Mr Guterres’s General Assembly hearing, scheduled for 7 May.
1 for 7 Billion is proud to have played a role in securing a more open and inclusive process for selecting the UN Secretary-General in 2016, including civil society participation in dialogues with candidates. We are focussed on building on gains made to the selection process last time, and do not take a position on candidates.
As the UN’s top official, the Secretary-General embodies the values of the Organisation’s Charter and represents the hopes and concerns of the world’s 7.8 billion people. All of us are affected by his or his decisions, and we welcome the engagement of campaigns such as Forward in generating conversation on this important appointment.
1 for 7 Billion is committed to contributing to this debate. We have long called for a wide-ranging global hunt for talented individuals - involving member states, parliaments and civil society - in order to produce the strongest possible field of candidates from all regions.
Civil society could play a crucial role in identifying potential candidates and in engaging diverse stakeholders in the process, before working with states to secure the necessary support. It remains unclear if states will bring more candidates into the current selection process at this late stage, but looking ahead, we hope for a timely and thorough partnership between states and civil society ahead of future appointments.
In our recent discussion paper on the unsettled elements of the appointment process, we noted the need for clarification around how applicants, whatever the source of their nomination, can become official candidates and called for states to address this before the anticipated 2026 appointment.
We reiterate this call today, noting the time constraints of this appointment and that, ultimately, an effective Secretary-General requires significant state support, including in both the General Assembly and Security Council.
Click here to submit a question for Mr Guterres’ General Assembly hearing on 7 May
Image: Ecuadorian politician Rosalìa Arteaga