28 June 2006, New York –

A. General Assembly initiative

The Ad-hoc Working Group on General Assembly Revitalization met today to discuss its draft resolution on General Assembly Revitalization, including a section on “Selection of the Secretary-General.” The 26 June version discussed today was largely the same as that in the version discussed on 6 June, with two notable exceptions.

First, Paragraph 19 “invites the Security Council regularly to update the General Assembly on the steps it has taken.” This addition was uncontroversial today. It echoes a 2 June letter from the President of the Security Council to the President of the General Assembly, which commits to keeping him informed, “and through [him] the membership at large, of developments in the process within the Council.”

The second notable change in the 26 June version of the draft resolution was the addition of Paragraph 22bis. The new language invited the GA President to convene informal consultations between the GA and the candidates. This addition had been suggested by Canada in order to increase the information available to the General Assembly about the candidates before it is asked to approve the Security Council’s selection. Several delegations expressed support for the new text (including New Zealand, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland). However, China, Japan, Russia, and the United States expressed opposition to it on the grounds that small and informal meetings with regional and other groupings were a more appropriate means to become acquainted with the candidates.

During the meeting, Canada took the floor to suggest alternative wording in an effort to reach a compromise. The representative of Canada proposed combining Paragraphs 22 and 22bis into the following: “Encourages candidates for the position of Secretary-General to present their views to Member States, and requests the President of the General Assembly to facilitate such consultations, including through the convening of informal meetings as required.” This language does not make reference to the need for adequate time for Member States to become acquainted with the candidates.

The new wording was welcomed by several delegations and is likely to appear in the revised draft resolution, to be circulated by the Working Group’s co-chairs (the Ambassadors from Latvia and Yemen) tomorrow. The Working Group plans to reconvene for its tenth meeting on Monday afternoon, 3 July, in an effort reach final agreement on elements for a draft resolution.

The draft does not refer to submission of multiple candidates to the General Assembly by the Security Council, which was a recent proposal by India. At this point it does not appear that another process will be initiated regarding reform of the SG selection process.

Report of the Ad Hoc Working Group on GA Revitalization (26 June)

B. Security Council initiative

Two candidates for the post of Secretary-General have been submitted to Denmark in its capacity as the President of the Security Council, in the time-frame requested in the President’s 2 June letter. The candidates are Jayantha Dhanapala of Sri Lanka and Surakiart Sathirathai of Thailand. The Security Council is expected to continue considering names that are put forward in July, and it is expected that Pakistan will nominate its High Commissioner to Britain, Maleeha Lodhi, for the position.. As France takes over the Presidency on Friday, June 30, the Security Council will meet to deal with the selection. It will discuss its tasks for July, which are expected to include a straw poll to assess support for the candidates, and the substance of its communication to the President of the General Assembly. It reportedly will not address procedural issues of SG selection, such as how to incorporate regional rotation.

Letter from the Security Council President to the President of the General Assembly on the Secretary-General selection process