On 16 June, representatives from the 1 for 7 Billion campaign met with the co-chairs of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Revitalization of the General Assembly (AHWG) to discuss our latest briefing.

1 for 7 Billion has written to all member states calling for progress on outstanding reforms which are needed to strengthen future Secretary-General selection processes.

On 7 May, the President of the General Assembly (PGA), Volkan Bozkır, held an informal dialogue between member states and António Guterres in his capacity as a candidate for the position of Secretary-General for the term beginning in January 2022.

Today, the Forward initiative announced its own “candidate” to stand for the position of UN Secretary-General: Ecuadorian politician, Rosalía Arteaga Serrano. Forward is a civil society initiative that seeks to hold “progressive primaries to find a people-backed candidate to run for Secretary-General”.

The President of the General Assembly is inviting civil society organizations to submit questions, a selection of which will be put to Mr Guterres during his General Assembly hearing on 7 May. This meeting represents a rare opportunity to hold the UN Secretary-General to account - submit your question before 30 April!

The debate showed full consensus for the consolidation and re-application of 2015-16 gains, which firmly establishes the practice that member states should be able to nominate a candidate even when an incumbent is standing for a second term, as has been the case this year (even if no member state chose to do so).

There are various elements around the requirement for state backing and the recognition of official candidates that remain unsettled and for which 1 for 7 Billion urges further clarity. This short paper discusses these issues while also highlighting broader opportunities to build on the achievements of 2015/16.

On 5 February 2021 the President of the General Assembly with the President of the Security Council circulated a joint letter formally launching the process of appointing a Secretary-General for the term 2022-2027. Read 1 for 7 Billion’s analysis on this development.

On 11 January, the President of the General Assembly, H.E. Volkan Bozkir, wrote to UN Member States with an update on developments regarding the 2021 Secretary-General selection process.