Dr. Shashi Tharoor spoke today at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC on the role of the UN, those problems which continue to demand an international response, and his own campaign for UNSG.  

While acknowledging that the UN has faced setbacks and failures since 1945, Dr. Tharoor noted the United Nations’ “unquestioned leadership, experience and authority” in addressing humanitarian concerns and its historic and on-going role in conflict containment.  He elaborated, however, that today the United Nations must continue to address the globalization of security concerns, or “problems without passports”

“…the kinds of problems that pass all kinds of frontiers uninvited. You can name them – climate change, drug trafficking, epidemics, refugee movements, and today, terrorism. The solutions too can have no passports because no one country or group of countries, however rich and however powerful, can tackle them alone. It is the resolution of these problems that remains at the very core of the UN’s activities.

On his campaign for UNSG, Tharoor noted the “major, unspecified political responsibilites” of the UNSG and the skills that the incoming holder of that office will have to possess.

“To be successful, [the UNSG] must conceive and project a vision of the UN as it should be, while administering and defending the organization as it is. Truly an impossible job, but understanding what it takes is the first step to doing it well.

“I come to you, dear friends, with 28 years of service to the United Nations in a wide variety of areas – refugees and humanitarian work, peacekeeping, service in the Secretary General office, and management of a large department I am proud to say I’ve been able to reform. In the process, I’ve seen from the inside and from the ground up most of the major types of challenges that a Secretary General can expect to be faced with.

“I believe I can handle them well.”

As UNSG, Tharoor said his focus would be on improving the operational capacities of the UN and strengthening the professionalism of the international civil service, while continuing to build on the reforms made in the past several months.

During the Q&A session, Tharoor provided insightful and informative responses to questions on peacekeeping management and operations, development, UN engagement with non-state actors, Darfur and Iran, and his management of the UN Department of Public Information. I had the pleasure of asking Dr. Tharoor about the transparency evident in this year’s selection process and his own campaign outreach to government officials.

“I have had the privilege of meeting with government leaders, principally foreign ministers in many countries – mostly, but not exclusively, Security Council members, because if a government is interested in talking to me, I am interested in talking to them.

“The regional group meetings have been terrific…about 2 to 2 1/2 hours of genuine give and take with the ambassadors, starting off with something like a 20 minute statement by me and then a real exchange of questions….[I]f nothing else comes out of this…the process will have prompted a significant degree of reflection on the part of the members of the organization about its nature, its purpose, its future direction. That can only be healthy, whatever becomes the outcome.”

Before the distinguished crowd, Dr. Tharoor also recognized and complimented the effort of this blog, noting,

“Tony Fleming runs a very fine website called UNSG.org which, I must say, I don’t often have enough time to look at, but people who do look at it tell me it’s the gold standard these days on SG elections… Let’s all hope that it itself becomes an embodiment of the transparency that you are asking about.”

Such praise belongs equally to those officials and friends who have shared their insight and contributed to this effort.

James Traub‘s New York Times Magazine story “The World According to China” is a must read for anyone hoping to dissect the inner workings of the U.N. Security Council. It also contains some juicy nuggets regarding the race for Secretary-General. Recalling how “China has promised to deliver an Asian” to the post this year, Traub notes that the government’s leadership on the selection process comes not without political choices.

China may be happy to firm up its ties with India by backing Shashi Tharoor, a career U.N. official who is India’s candidate, but Pakistan, a close ally, may object strenuously. China may, for once, have to disappoint or even anger some fraternal members of the G77 — a situation it tries very hard to avoid.

What may China be looking for in the next UNSG, according to Traub?

Those following the Deva campaign may find it quite interesting to compare the opening text of the letters of support and the letter of nomination, as they are described on Deva’s website.

• Letter of support from former Prime Minister Rocard of France
• Letter of support from former Prime Minister Buzek of Poland
• Letter of nomination from Foreign Minister of Fiji

The President of the Security Council, Ambassador Adamantios Vassilakis of Greece, set dates for two additional straw polls in determining support among the candidates for the next UNSG. The first straw poll will take place on September 14th, and will operate under the same procedures as the poll taken in July, including the non-differentiation between permanent and elected members of the Council. A third straw poll is planned for September 28th, although the mechanics of that poll have not been set.

Update: Security Council Report has released their third review of the UNSG selection process with a brief analysis of the effort to open up the process as reflected in the provisions of a General Assembly resolution to be adopted on 8 September.

Reports of Nirj Deva receiving an official nomination from the Republic of Fiji Islands should be “disregarded,” or so suggests this official memo from Fiji’s Ambassdor to the UN.

According to the memo,

“The Government of the Republic of Fiji Islands has not officially informed the Permanent Representative of the Republic of the Fiji Islands to the United Nations regarding the nomination of any candidate for the post of Secretary-General of the United Nations.

…all correspondence purporting to have received Fiji’s nomination to this high post is to be disregarded.”  

According to the permanent mission, the letter cited by the Deva campaign was “a letter of support, not a nomination.”

In May, Deva claimed to have received “nominations” from France and Poland, when in fact, he was refering to letters of support from FORMER Foreign Ministers Rochard and Buzek. (Deva’s website now refers to these accurately as letters of support.) The difference this time is that the letter was sent by a sitting Foreign Minister, presumably with the authority to write to the President of the Security Council,

“I am writing to request you to add the name of Niranjan Deva-Aditya, Ambassador-at-Large of Sri Lanka to your list of Candidates.”

Is Fiji considering nominating Deva? It cannot be determined from the letter, but we can say with certainty that, at present, the position of the permanent mission is that Fiji has not nominated anyone to the high post. As noted in the Ambassador’s memo and confirmed by an official with the Foreign Ministry in Fiji, announcement of a nomination would be made by the Ambassador in New York, not directly by the Foreign Minister.

On the heels of Jordan’s Prince Zeid, Niranjan Deva-Aditya reportedly secured an official nomination from a UN member government per the Security Council’s rules for consideration. Deva was reportedly nominated the Republic of Fiji Islands.

According to the official press release from Deva’s campaign, Fiji’s foreign minister, Kaliopate Tavola, communicated the nomination to the President of the Security Council today.

“I am writing to request you to add the name of Niranjan Deva-Aditya, Ambassador-at-Large of Sri Lanka to your list of Candidates. Ambassador Deva is a unique Candidate – a Sri Lankan citizen with family, roots, and businesses in Sri Lanka – he has become a global personality, making a significant contribution to global politics, aid and development at the multilateral level.”  

The report, being carried by Reuters, states Foreign Minister Kaliopate Tavola drafted the nomination letter in mid-July, prior to the straw poll, but did not forward it until this week in hopes that the Security Council would have by now conducted “its deliberation to reduce the field of candidates.”

Deva himself claims the support of five governments, though he’s not saying which yet. Whether any are decisive powers, considering the considerable effort it has taken Deva to secure this first nomination, is still to be seen. Expressions of support and letters of congratulations will no doubt roll in, but such diplomatic niceties are not officially binding on anyone, as Surakiart could well inform Deva.

Jordan submitted the formal nomination of Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al-Hussein to the President of the Security Council today, bringing the field of candidates to five. Zeid, a widely respected diplomat, has been a rumored candidate from the beginning. Steve Clemons suggested in February that Zeid is liked by U.S. Ambassador John Bolton and that supporting Zeid, a moderate Muslim, could serve to improve relations between the United States and Muslim countries.

“…elevating someone like Zeid to the position of Secretary General might send a number of constructive signals to the Muslim world — that they matter and have leaders engaged in constructive stake-holding in the global system.”

Jordan has already approached its Arab neighbors to solicit support for their nominee. Zeid’s nomination comes on the eve of Arab League Council’s 126th session and Jordan’s ambassador to the League, Omar Rifai, has already conveyed the government’s request for endorsement to the League Secretary General today.    

Zeid’s nomination maintains the field of Asian candidates while highlighting the territorial extent of the 54-member Asian regional group at the UN, which stretches from Cyprus to Japan to Tonga. Observers will be watching particularly for some signal from Ambassadors Bolton and Wang in the coming days regarding their respective governments’ support for Zeid’s candidacy.

In the meantime, what do you think?

Earlier this year, we featured guest blogger Ayca Ariyoruk with the Center for UN Reform Education who called for an end to “the age-old tradition of discouraging candidates for the top UN post from speaking and engaging in public debate.” The powers that be apparently heard her appeal, as the candidates have been freely campaigning broadly and engaging in numerous speaking engagements with regional groups and civil society.

Sri Lankan candidate Jayantha Dhanapala recently responded to the UNSGselection.org coalition’s candidate questionnaire, sharing his views on the North-South divide, civilian populations in conflict, civil society’s role in global governance, disarmanent concerns and gender balance in the UN system.

Indian candidate Shashi Tharoor is also expected to respond to the candidate questionnaire, reflecting perhaps the four-part approach he describes in the current Newsweek International. 

Update: Tharoor’s responses to the candidate questionnaire are now available.

In the Newsweek article, Tharoor insists that democracy must be a continuing priority for the UN, and that the world body should be focusing in those areas where it has a proven track-record, leaving those issues beyond its capacity to the world community. Overall, the UN’s operational capacity needs to be improved, states Tharoor, including strengthening the international civil service and improving peacekeeping efforts. Prevention of a North-South divide may be acheivable by “building issue-based coalitions to deal with specific practical problems…that have little to do with ideological politics,” writes Tharoor. 

It is not clear whether Minister Ban or Dr. Surakiart intend to respond to the questionnaire or make additional public appearances as the decision draws nearer.

The South Asian Journalists Association will host their second Skypecast interview with Sri Lankan candidate Jayantha Dhanapala on Tuesday, August 29, 2006 @ 1pm New York time. (Click here for your local time.) The session will last for about 35 minutes, and be followed by a short Q&A with Tony Fleming, editor of UNSG.org, for his take on where things stand.

This is a Skypecast interview, and limited to the first 100 registrants. To participate, visit www.sajaforum.org/2006/08/newsmaker_qa_ja.html for complete instructions. If you would like to submit a question in advance, email it to sajaHQ@gmail.com.

Update: The interview is now available as an mp3 file.

This month’s Foreign Affairs includes an article by former Under-Secretary-General and statesman Sir Brian Urquhart entitled “The Next Secretary-General: How to Fill a Job With No Description.” Sir Brian is widely regarded for his proposals for reforming the UNSG selection process. He wrote what is considered the definitive biography of UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld and, in 1996, co-authored A World in Need of Leadership with fellow UN statesman Erskine Childers. Earlier this year he was interviewed by UNA-USA’s Suzanne Dimaggio on this year’s process.

Despite the title, Sir Brian’s article concerns itself more with a history of the office of UNSG. He describes the weak consensus about the UNSG’s role in the early years, then discusses at length Dag Hammarskjöld’s administration which significantly transformed the office, before turning to the question of the next officeholder only in the last few paragraphs.

Apparently, Sir Brian is not too enthused about the current slate of candidates. 

“Unfortunately, but as usual, a crop of self- or state-nominated candidates has already come forward, discouraging the council from conducting a more serious search for the right person.”

Nor does he appear impressed with the unprecedented transparency marking this year’s selection.

“…improvements in the selection process are unlikely this time around, although many suggestions have been made: limiting the next secretary-general to a single seven-year term; creating a search and nominating committee; abolishing regional preferences; giving a greater role in the selection process to the General Assembly; requiring that all candidates publicly circulate a statement setting out their agenda, priorities, and proposed modus operandi…”

While he notes these formal proposals for opening up the process, he neglects to note the more influential, if informal, changes that we have witnessed this year: the Security Council requirement of a formal nomination, public appearances by known candidates, campaign visits to world capitals, greater engagement with civil society and the media, and generally well-known platforms.

As a colleague at the Canadian permanent mission noted, these informal developments will greatly facilitate the acceptance of those formal reforms in 2011 or 2016, but more importantly, they are opening up the process this year more than attempts to negotiate formal changes ever could have.

Sir Brian’s failure to look at this year’s process from outside the institutional box is unfortunate and deprives us of his unique insight as a UN statesman.