Sunday Times 2
The campaign for a female UN chief maybe a good try in a lost cause
UNITED NATIONS — As negotiations for the upcoming election of the UN Secretary-General gather momentum, one undeniable fact looms heavily over the final decision: the choice of a UN chief is the intellectual birthright of the five big permanent members (P5) of the Security Council, namely, the US, the UK, France, China and Russia.
All others remain bit players in the political drama currently unfolding in a world body locked down by the COVID-19 pandemic, since March 2020.
The 193-member General Assembly, the UN’s highest policy making body, remains and will continue to remain a non-entity playing only a subservient role to the Security Council.
Perhaps its only task is to rubber-stamp the decision made by the big powers — as it has sheepishly done over the last 76 years — even though it has the right, and the overwhelming votes, to reject any of the candidates nominated by the Security Council.
Arora Akanksha: Countries are fearful of nominating me because of retaliation from Security Council members and the EU
So, how effective or ineffective is the campaign, mostly by NGOs and women’s rights activists, for the UN’s first woman Secretary-General (SG)?
With no public support from any of the P5 countries, the gender-empowered demand for a female UN chief may eventually be a good try in a lost cause.
Despite the UN’s campaign for gender empowerment, both globally, and also inside the world body, the UN has so far elected only four women — in contrast to 71 men — as presidents of the General Assembly in the last 76 years, while it has never had a female secretary-general.
Arora Akanksha, a UNDP staffer and a self-nominated candidate challenging the incumbent Secretary-General António Guterres, says: “The UN preaches democracy to the world but can’t organise a competitive election in its own backyard. It’s a hypocritical sham. The absence of any women, people of colour, or young people from the race should set alarm bells ringing for anyone who cares about democracy, justice, or equality.”
But hers may be a voice in the wilderness because not a single P5 country has indicated its willingness to support her candidature — at least, as of now. She also does not have the sponsorship of either India or Canada, her motherland and her country of adoption respectively.
Asked about her current status in relation to the upcoming elections, Akanksha said: “I have reached out to all 193 member states. I have met with five countries so far. Countries are fearful of nominating me because of retaliation from members of the Security Council and the European Union.”
Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury, former UN Under-Secretary-General and ex-Ambassador of Bangladesh to UN, told IPS it is interesting to find that this year’s election for the Secretary-General of UN is getting all the attention for the candidacy of individuals who are showing their interest in the post.
“Among them, the media — both social and traditional — outreach of Ms. Arora Akanksha seems quite wide ranging. I am in full support of her campaign focus on a woman to be the next Secretary-General as I have been advocating for years.”
But the point about the absence of “people of colour” is not factual as we know that out of nine SGs, five were non-white, said Ambassador Chowdhury, who was President of the UN Security Council in June 2001, and who led the process for a second term for Secretary-General Kofi Annan of Ghana (1997-2006)
“Also, I am sure Ms. Akanksha understands that when she says “The UN preaches democracy to the world …”, the functioning of the Organisation is not democratic as the UN’s founders included in the Charter of the UN the creation of five permanent members of the Security Council whose positions finally decides the election of the Secretary-General.”
The basic point that she makes is that her “…candidacy is legally valid under the rules established by the UN in 2015” according to UN General Assembly resolution 61/321. The main focus and assertion of that resolution is that only Member States of the UN are invited to nominate candidates. I believe amongst Ms. Akanksha’s 200 policy experts, there would be people to know that and would have advised her correctly”, he added.
Mavic Cabrera-Balleza, Founder & Chief Executive Officer of the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP), a coalition of over 100 women’s rights organisations from more than 40 countries worldwide, told IPS it is great to know that there are now seven self-nominated “applicants”.
However, at this point, there is only one candidate, the incumbent Secretary-General António Guterres. Because (according to the President of the General Assembly Volkan Bozkır ), it is only when the President of the General Assembly and the President of the Security Council sign a joint letter that an applicant could become a candidate.
Do all of the applicants know about this rule? How many people are aware of this? And if this is a rule, why is it that the Security Council is not ready to sign joint letters? As Mr. Bozkir himself said, there are grey areas in this process. I believe the grey areas are putting the applicants in disadvantaged positions, she said.
A true UN reform should address the continued dominance of the permanent members of the Security Council: the US, the UK, France, China, and Russia in selecting the Secretary-General.
“This is the 21st century! I thought colonialism is over! If I am a Member of the General Assembly, the biggest UN organ that prides itself on one country, one vote policy, I will be insulted.”
“I also find it problematic that civil society continues to remain on the sidelines in this selection process. How many General Assembly and Security Council Resolutions have sung praises to the critical role of civil society in implementing the mandates of the UN?
“That’s why I commend and strongly support various efforts of fellow civil society actors to demand transparency and inclusion in the selection of the Secretary-General, such as the “Campaign to Elect a Woman Secretary-General” (WomanSG campaign) 1 for 7 Billion, and #Forward.
The selection of the Secretary-General — particularly whether or not it is a level playing field for women, the transparency of the selection process, and the inclusion of civil society — has become the litmus test for the legitimacy and credibility of the UN, she declared.
Sanam Naraghi-Anderlini, founder and CEO of the International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN), told IPS this is one of the most difficult and important jobs in the world.
“It requires wisdom, political savvy, experience and a depth of humanity — a quality that is often undervalued.”
Given the UN is 76 years old as an institution, having difficulty to pull itself into the 21st century, there has been an urgent need for an SG that has vision, imagination, empathy for the marginalised and the energy needed to shift course and renovate the culture and practices of the system.
At the very least, it would be good to see a job description setting out the criteria for eligibility. It would also be good to see the institution’s power brokers — notably the member states — uphold the existing rules.
She pointed out that if retirement age for UN staff is 65, shouldn’t the same rule apply to its senior leadership and envoys? Instead, it seems that a different set of rules come into play only on the Secretary-General’s 38th floor.