A group of poor nations might reject the next candidate for UN Secretary-General in protest unless it gets more say in finding Kofi Annans replacement, Egypts ambassador said Thursday, according to the World Bank press review.
– Developing nations that make up the majority of the 191-nation UN General Assembly believe their opinions are being ignored in the scramble to name a successor to Annan, whose term runs out at the end of the year, Maged Abdelaziz said.
According to the UN Charter, the General Assembly appoints the Secretary-General on the Security Councils recommendation. Because of their veto power, the five permanent members of the council end up having the most say, and the General Assembly does not debate their choice.
Abdelaziz, who has emerged as a hard-line advocate for poor nations at the UN said the bloc of developing nations, known as the Group of 77, is drafting a nonbinding General Assembly resolution that would seek more discussions between the Security Council and the General Assembly in choosing a new UN chief.
Abdelaziz warned that the Group of 77 could break with tradition and use their power in the General Assembly, where each nation gets one vote, to oppose the Security Councils selection.
Meanwhile, Kofi Annan pledged Thursday to keep pushing elusive reforms of the world body, saying that most nations wanted to make the Security Council more representative.
Annan, who leaves office at the end of 2006, was speaking in Japan, one of four nations in a failed campaign last year to win permanent seats in a first-ever expansion of the Security Council.
– There continues to be a very broad consensus that the current makeup of the Council does not reflect todays geopolitical realities, Annan said.
– You will also find little disagreement with the idea that the Council needs to be more representative, especially of the developing world, and needs to increase the involvement in decision-making of those who contribute most to the UN financially, militarily and diplomatically, he said.
Annan denied that his reform drive has been a complete flop, pointing to the creation of a Human Rights Council to replace its discredited predecessor.
South Koreas deputy permanent representative to the UN, Oh Joon said that “there are calls from the general membership for more transparency and more engagement from the General Assembly – which I think is a fair call”.
But the word among diplomats on the corridors is there will not be a radical change in the way the Secretary-General is chosen, at least this time round.
To further complicate matters, Asian countries believe it is their turn to provide the next Secretary-General, according to the informal agreement whereby the job rotates around the regions of the world.
Kilde: www.worldbank.org
