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.
Update on civil society applicants for the role of UN Secretary-General
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”.
Submit your questions to the candidate(s) for UN 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!
States welcome consolidation of reforms and urge further progress
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).
1 for 7 Billion releases discussion paper on unsettled elements of the 2021 selection process
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.
