What reformers want: A transparent selection process for the next UN secretary-general

On Oct. 13, 2016, the General Assembly appointed a secretary-general who, for the first time since the UN’s inception, was not the first choice of the US and Russia: Antonio Guterres. (AFP/File Photo)
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Updated 29 December 2020
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What reformers want: A transparent selection process for the next UN secretary-general

  • For decades, the UN secretary-general was effectively handpicked by the five Permanent Members of the Security Council
  • Campaigners are concerned the COVID-19 upheaval will hamper reforms to the selection process for the next secretary-general

NEW YORK CITY: From the day it was founded, the role and responsibilities of the United Nations’ secretary-general have been somewhat ambiguous. In the aftermath of the Second World War, the ambivalence of the victorious Allied powers towards the post, once dubbed “the most impossible job on this earth,” was evident from the very first meeting 75 years ago.

When the discussion turned to the appointment of the first secretary-general, the Allies — Britain, France, China, the US and the Soviet Union — took a firm stand against a secretary-general directly elected by the General Assembly and defended the veto power they later came to possess over the appointment process as Permanent Members of the Security Council.

It also became evident from the outset that the choice of a secretary-general would not be based on any qualifications, stature and leadership qualities, but would be determined simply by what the US and the Soviet Union could agree on.




Empty grounds at the United Nations September 22, 2020 during the the 75th General Assembly of the United Nations which was mostly virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York. (AFP/File Photo)

So although Article 97 of the UN Charter grants the responsibility of selecting a UN chief to the General Assembly, “acting on the recommendation of the Security Council,” the assembly’s role for the first 70 years was limited to rubber-stamping the decision of the five Permanent Members of the council (known as the P5) who “recommended” just one candidate for the assembly to appoint.

Candidates were forced to engage in backroom deals to secure the P5’s support in exchange for promising high-level UN posts for their nationals. For instance, in 1996, France vetoed Kofi Annan until he agreed to name a French national to head UN peacekeeping operations.

The opaque selection process has resulted in a credibility crisis that has dogged the global body for decades.

However, five years ago, this began to change.

On Oct. 13, 2016, the General Assembly appointed a secretary-general who, for the first time since the UN’s inception, was not the first choice of the US and Russia: Antonio Guterres.

Guterres’s selection crowned years of intense lobbying by civil society groups and some members of the General Assembly for a more open and inclusive selection process. The campaign, conducted in New York and other major capitals, culminated in the adoption by the General Assembly of the landmark Resolution 69/321 in September 2015, which calls for a broad timeline for the selection process and puts forth criteria for a candidate who embodies the highest standards of competence and integrity.




Incumbent secretary-general Antonio Guterres was appointed to the position by the General Assemby on On Oct. 13, 2016. (AFP/File Photo)

The General Assembly agreed to publish the names of all candidates, along with their CVs and mission statements, and invited states to put forward female contenders. Later, Resolution 70/305 opposed a monopoly on senior UN posts by any state or group of states.

“It doesn’t sound groundbreaking, but it really was — to actually have the names of the candidates in the public domain,” said Ben Donaldson, co-founder of 1 for 7 Billion: Find the Best UN Leader, a civil society group that launched a campaign to reform the process in 2014 and has since been joined by 750 NGOs and their affiliates worldwide.

“To us and many others in civil society, it seemed outrageous that there were no qualifications necessary, no application process, no shortlisting, nothing in the public domain about how the successful candidate is found.

“It seemed crazy that, for a position that is at the forefront of responding to global challenges like climate change and humanitarian catastrophes, there was so little scrutiny and transparency.”

On Dec. 15, 2015, a year before the end of Ban Ki-moon’s term as secretary-general, the president of the Security Council, US Ambassador Samantha Power, and the president of the General Assembly, Mogens Lykketoft, sent a joint letter launching the selection process.




Former secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon attending a conference during the One Planet Summit on December 12, 2017 in Paris. (AFP/File Photo)

Lykketoft, the proactive president of the 70th General Assembly who has made a priority of “creating more transparency and openness when selecting the next secretary-general,” set up a website that listed the candidates and their vision statements.

Parleys were held and streamed online and member states were permitted to grill the 13 candidates — 7 women and 6 men — about their record and vision for the future. Questions were fielded from all over the world as thousands of citizens took part in the meetings.

“So that was the revolution really: as soon as there were candidates, visions and CVs in the public domain, suddenly that unlocked a whole swathe of openness, as well as expansive debates in the GA hall about the future of the UN: What sort of organization should we be? And how can we transform to a healthier, more open organization in order to deal with catastrophes facing humanity?” Donaldson told Arab News.

Two groups in the General Assembly became the strongest advocates for an open and inclusive process and soon joined efforts with 1 for 7 Billion — the Accountability, Coherence, and Transparency (ACT) group of 25 states, of which Jordan and Saudi Arabia are members, and the 120 states that form the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), coordinated by Algeria.




United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres pays his respect after laying a wreath on the grave of Dag Hammarskjold, who served as UN Secretary-General from 1953 until his death in Uppsala, Sweden, on April 22, 2018. (AFP/File Photo)

For years they had been calling for a stronger General Assembly role in the selection, and for more transparency and inclusivity.

“But reforms only went so far,” Donaldson said. “Because after the period of inclusivity and transparency during the 2016 race, the process returned to the Security Council where the decision as to who was to become the next secretary-general happened behind closed doors where the Permanent Members hold a veto. The Security Council then recommended a single candidate for the General Assembly to appoint.

“So, the reforms stayed true to the UN Charter but, crucially, the will of the General Assembly was able to mitigate the will of the P5 and that represents a huge success. At 1 for 7, we are delighted that we were able to chip away at some of the power and privilege that P5 has been able to cling on to for years.”




United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (L) meets with Swedish Crown Princess Victoria at the Dag Hammarskjold Foundation in Uppsala, Sweden, on April 22, 2018. (AFP/File Photo)

With Guterres’ first term ending just a year from now, Donaldson has urged the president of the 75th General Assembly to work with his counterpart in the Security Council to kickstart the selection process by outlining a well-structured plan for the appointment of the next secretary-general.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, General Assembly meetings intended to refine the selection process — particularly important this time around, as it could involve an incumbent standing for a second term — did not take place.

“Due to this upheaval, we could find ourselves inadvertently missing an opportunity to consolidate the fantastic reforms which took place in 2015-16,” Donaldson said. “By extension, the UN could be missing out on the chance to bolster its legitimacy by running a transparent, inclusive process to appoint its next leader.”

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Twitter: @EphremKossaify


Ecuador reveals how notorious gang leader ‘Fito’ hid in his hometown for 18 months after jailbreak

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Ecuador reveals how notorious gang leader ‘Fito’ hid in his hometown for 18 months after jailbreak

  • It turned out the country’s most wanted man was hiding out at a family member’s mansion in his own hometown
  • International arrest warrant issued for Adolfo Macias, who was serving a 34-year prison sentence when he escaped
QUITO: Ever since Ecuador’s most notorious gang leader vanished from his prison cell in January 2024, authorities have been searching the world, offering a $1 million reward for information leading to the capture of Adolfo Macias, alias “Fito.”
It turned out the country’s most wanted man was hiding out at a family member’s mansion in his own hometown.
Ecuadorian security forces recaptured the kingpin Wednesday at an underground bunker beneath a marble-walled house in the port city of Manta, some 260 kilometers southwest of the capital of Quito.
In remarks to reporters Thursday, authorities revealed further details about their efforts to locate Macias and the hiding place where he spent his final weeks as a fugitive.
Authorities had issued an international arrest warrant for Macias, who was serving a 34-year prison sentence for drug trafficking, organized crime and murder in a Guayaquil prison before his shock escape. Macias is also wanted by the United States on accusations of trafficking drugs and smuggling weapons.
A month ago, authorities closed in on the drug trafficker’s family, arresting several of his relatives, seizing their assets and raiding their businesses. Interior Minister John Reimberg described the crackdown on Macias’ family as a “psychological operation” crucial to security forces’ efforts to locate the notorious leader of Ecuador’s “Los Choneros” gang.
“It contributes to a person’s conflict, their loss of control,” he said in a press conference Thursday.
But what put Ecuadorian intelligence on his trail was the unusual behavior of a municipal transit official in Manta, who stopped showing up to work several months ago. Surveilling the official led intelligence services to Macias’ inner circle, according to Victor Ordonez, a national police commander.
Authorities discovered that this official frequented a swanky three-story building equipped with an indoor pool, well-appointed gym and game room and outfitted with gleaming marble floors and walls.
Furniture was wrapped in plastic and flat screen TVs were still in their boxes. All over the house were statues of Saint Jude Thaddeus, the patron saint of hopeless causes venerated by Mexican drug traffickers. Los Choneros is believed to have been one of the first from Ecuador to forge ties with Mexican drug cartels.
Ordonez also said that authorities received final confirmation that Macias would be in the house at the time of the 10-hourlong raid from his young daughter.
In the predawn darkness Wednesday, hundreds of heavily armed soldiers and security officers stormed the mansion and blocked off the surrounding streets. But Macias was nowhere to be found.
Security forces flew drones overhead and noticed that the land around the house appeared uneven, with suspiciously altered vegetation that suggested infrastructure and possible ventilation below the surface.
The fugitive was hunkered down in an air-conditioned bunker that could only be accessed through a small hatch, its entrance concealed by a cement and tile floor in the laundry room and openable only from the inside.
Police brought in heavy machinery to start excavating, and when the roof above his head began to cave in Macias recognized that capture was inevitable, Minister Reimberg said. The alternative was being crushed to death.
“When this happened, Fito panicked,” he said. “He opened the hatch where military and police personnel were located and left the hole.”
Within moments, Ecuador’s most powerful drug lord was writhing on the ground with a gun pointed at his head, forced to repeat his full name out loud.
Shirtless and with an unkempt beard, a haggard “Fito” was shepherded outside by a squad of officers and brought to the country’s highest-security prison, known as La Roca, or the Rock, in Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest city.
Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa announced after the capture that the Macias would be extradited to the US to face prosecution. He was indicted in New York City in April on charges of importing and distributing thousands of pounds of cocaine in the US.
“We have done our part,” Reimberg said. “I expect the US extradition request to arrive in the next few hours or at most the next few days.”

Clashes break out in Togo’s capital as protesters call for the president’s resignation

Updated 27 June 2025
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Clashes break out in Togo’s capital as protesters call for the president’s resignation

  • President Gnassingbé faced increasing pressure from critics over recent changes in the constitution that could effectively keep him in power indefinitely

LOME, Togo: Clashes broke out between protesters and security forces in several parts of Togo’s capital Lomé on Thursday, as President Faure Gnassingbé faced increasing pressure from critics over recent changes in the constitution that could effectively keep him in power indefinitely.
A heavy police presence could be seen throughout the capital, where many businesses remained closed. Hundreds of protesters set up concrete block barricades in several neighborhoods of Lomé, with some burning tires and throwing projectiles at security forces.

Togo's President Faure Gnassingbe. (AP Photo/File)

Military jeeps were deployed as reinforcements in some areas. Police dispersed dozens of protesters with tear gas and arrested around 10 people in the Bè neighborhood, a stronghold of the opposition.
Civil society groups and social media influencers had called for protests on June 26, 27, and 28, after the government’s clampdown on protests early this month.
A coalition of political groups known as “Hands Off My Constitution” said in a Facebook post on Wednesday it “strongly urges Faure Gnassingbé to immediately and unconditionally release all of the roughly one hundred political prisoners, and to take urgent measures to restore purchasing power to the population.
It called for an “unprecedented peaceful demonstration.”
Togo’s leader Faure Gnassingbé, who has ruled since 2005 after the death of his father, was in May sworn in as President of the Council of Ministers. The powerful role has no official term limits and he is eligible to be re-elected by parliament indefinitely.

Opposition politicians have denounced the move as a “constitutional coup.”
Demonstrations are rare in Togo because they have been banned in the country since 2022 following a deadly attack at Lome’s main market.
But the latest change in government structure has been widely criticized in a region threatened by rampant coups and other threats to democracy.


After NATO deal, how far will EU go for trade peace with Trump?

Updated 27 June 2025
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After NATO deal, how far will EU go for trade peace with Trump?

  • France and Germany want Brussels to move fast in search of a deal
  • EU has until July 9 to reach a deal or see swingeing tariffs kick in on a majority of goods

BRUSSELS, Belgium: After satisfying Donald Trump’s calls for Europe to ramp up defense spending in NATO, EU leaders in Brussels turned Thursday to the next big challenge ahead: how to seal a trade deal with the US leader.
Time is running out. The European Union has until July 9 to reach a deal or see swingeing tariffs kick in on a majority of goods, unleashing economic pain.
The European Commission, in charge of EU trade policy, has been in talks with Washington for weeks, and the leaders of Europe’s two biggest economies France and Germany on Thursday urged Brussels to move fast in search of a deal.
“France is in favor of reaching a quick agreement, we don’t want it to drag on forever,” President Emmanuel Macron told reporters after summit talks involving the bloc’s 27 leaders and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen.
While Macron said European nations “do not want a deal at any cost,” Germany’s chancellor has signalled he wants to close a deal fast — even if it means an unbalanced outcome with some level of US tariffs on EU goods.
“It’s better to act quickly and simply than slowly and in a highly complicated way,” Friedrich Merz told a press conference after the talks.
The EU has put a zero-percent tariff proposal on the table — but it’s widely seen as a non-starter in talks with Washington.
Von der Leyen said the commission had just received the latest US counterproposal, adding: “We are assessing it as we write, speak right now.”

‘Swiss cheese’ option

According to several diplomats, the goal at this point is rather to let Trump claim victory without agreeing a deal that would significantly hurt Europe.
One diplomat suggested leaders would be happy with a “Swiss cheese” agreement — with a general US levy on European imports, but enough loopholes to shield key sectors such as steel, automobiles, pharmaceuticals and aeronautics.
This would be less painful than the status quo with European companies currently facing 25-percent tariffs on steel, aluminum and auto goods exported to the United States, and 10 percent on a majority of EU products.
Merz had earlier this week taken aim at the EU’s approach to talks as overly complicated, urging “rapid, joint decisions for four or five major industries now.”
The issue was the focus of Thursday’s summit dinner, at which von der Leyen was able to test leaders’ red lines in negotiations.
If no agreement is reached, the default tariff on EU imports is expected to double to 20 percent or even higher — Trump having at one point threatened 50 percent.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday suggested the administration could extend the July deadline but said “that’s a decision for the president to make.”

Avoiding escalation
Unlike Canada or China, which hit back swiftly at Trump’s tariff hikes, the EU has consistently sought to negotiate with the US leader — threatening retaliation only if no agreement is reached.
“We will not allow ourselves to be provoked, we will remain calm,” said Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, urging the EU to avert an all-out trade war with Washington.
Talks between EU and US negotiators have intensified in recent weeks.
Trump divides the Europeans.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni are both vocally supportive of Trump — while others are more wary.
“The problem is that on behalf of the United States, we have a heavyweight dealmaker — on our side, European Union, have light capacity and capability leaders to negotiate,” said Orban.
Pro-trade countries in Europe’s north are especially keen to avoid an escalation.
The EU has threatened to slap tariffs on US goods worth around 100 billion euros, including cars and planes, if talks fail to yield an agreement — but has not made any mention of those threats since May.
The United States is also using the negotiations to try to extract concessions on EU rules — particularly digital competition, content and AI regulations, which Washington claims unfairly target American champions such as Apple, Google, and Meta.
Europeans are ready to discuss common transatlantic standards, but the EU’s digital rules are a red line for Brussels.
 


Japan executes man convicted of murder for killing and dismembering 9 people in his apartment

Updated 27 June 2025
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Japan executes man convicted of murder for killing and dismembering 9 people in his apartment

TOKYO: A man convicted of murder for killing and dismembering nine people in his apartment near Tokyo was executed Friday, Japan’s Justice Ministry said.
Takahiro Shiraishi, known as the “Twitter killer,” was sentenced to death in 2020 for the killings in 2017 of the nine victims, most of whom had posted suicidal thoughts on social media. He was also convicted of sexually abusing female victims.
He was hanged in high secrecy with nothing disclosed until the execution was carried out.
The execution was carried out amid growing calls to abolish the capital punishment since the acquittal of the world’s longest-serving death-row inmate Iwao Hakamada last year.


UK made fewer vehicles for the fifth straight month in May as Trump tariffs bite

Updated 27 June 2025
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UK made fewer vehicles for the fifth straight month in May as Trump tariffs bite

  • UK production dropped 32.8 percent from a year ago, marking the worst percentage drop in May output since 1949
  • US President Trump’s 25 percent tariffs on imported automobiles and parts have disrupted global supply chains

LONDON: Britain’s vehicle production declined from a year ago for the fifth successive month in May, industry data showed on Friday, as factory disruptions and US tariffs weighed on automakers.
UK car and commercial vehicle production dropped 32.8 percent from a year ago to 49,810 units last month, marking the worst percentage drop in May output since 1949, excluding the COVID-19 pandemic-hit 2020, according to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
Exports to the UK’s two biggest markets, the EU and the US, declined by 22.5 percent and 55.4 percent respectively, SMMT said.
US President Donald Trump’s 25 percent tariffs on imported automobiles and parts, imposed in March, have disrupted global supply chains, added hundreds of millions of dollars in costs for manufacturers, prompted export suspensions and pushed several automakers, especially in Europe, to consider shifting production to the US to avoid the duties.
British manufacturing also contracted in May, as output, orders and employment declined.
Still, SMMT chief Mike Hawes said the UK’s trade deals, especially with the US, and a more positive relationship with the EU, provided some optimism.
The US and UK reaffirmed a previously agreed trade deal during the G7 summit in Canada earlier this month, under which up to 100,000 UK-made cars a year can enter the US at a 10 percent tariff, lower than the 25 percent rates other countries face.
In May, Britain reached a trade deal with India to lower tariffs and set quotas on auto imports, while also moving closer to the European Union on cooperation in defense, energy and agriculture.
Car production, excluding commercial vehicles, dropped by 31.5 percent in May, largely driven by model changeovers, restructuring and the impact of US tariffs, SMMT said.