New York, 29 August 2006 – On 27 August, the second of four official candidates for Secretary-General responded to UNSGselection.org’s Candidate Questionnaire. Shashi Tharoor, India’s nominee, submitted this thirteen-page document with his thoughts on the 14 questions posed by civil society groups around the world. The questionnaire response sent previously by Jayantha Dhanapala is available at the campaign website.

Ban Ki Moon and Surakiart Sathirathai have not replied, to date, although Mr. Sathirathai’s office in Thailand suggested that he would reply.

New candidates who may emerge in the next few weeks will also be asked to complete the questionnaire. The purpose of the questionnaire is to produce reliable information on each candidate’s views and increase the information available to all Member States, the media, and civil society, which largely are excluded from the selection process.

The recent interaction with two candidates could represent an opportunity for civil society to follow up with them in greater depth. The Candidate Questionnaire that Mr. Dhanapala and Mr. Tharoor have completed covers 14 issues with only one question each. Therefore, UNSGselection.org would like to encourage NGOs and other civil society groups with expertise in each area (such as disarmament, gender equity, development, human rights, conflict prevention, and environmental governance) to reach out to the candidates and possibly invite them to in-person discussions to ask additional questions about their views, experiences, and plans as Secretary-General.

Mr. Tharoor will meet with Permanent Representatives and others at the International Peace Academy in New York on December 6; a similar gathering with Mr. Dhanapala was held in June. Both candidates participated in group interviews with call-in guests organized recently by the South Asian Journalists Association.