UN kicks off race for next secretary-general

THE UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations kicked off the race to be the next secretary-general with a letter that for the first time invited candidates to become the world’s top diplomat. The choice of the UN chief has for decades been the purview of the five permanent Security Council members — Britain, China, France, Russia and the US — in a selection process kept mostly behind closed doors. But a UN resolution adopted by the General Assembly in September lifted some of the secrecy surrounding the process, asking candidates to present their resumes and lay out their vision for the job. “This fires the starting gun to be the next secretary-general,” British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft said of the letter sent to all 193 countries of the United Nations. The letter calls for “candidates to be presented with proven leadership and managerial abilities, extensive experience in international relations and strong diplomatic, communication and multilingual skills.” Following weeks of negotiations, notably with Russia, the letter was signed by US Ambassador Samantha Power, this month’s president of the Security Council, and Mogens Lykketoft, president of the General Assembly. Russia had bristled at references to a specific timetable giving candidates until the spring to come forward and was cool to suggestions that women should be strongly encouraged to apply. The letter states that “early presentation of candidates will help the council’s deliberations” and that the selection process will begin by the end of July. It calls for “women, as well as men” to enter the race and states that hearings can be held to allow candidates to make their pitch, although participation in these meetings is not mandatory. -arabnews