Delegates Overwhelmingly Urge Appointment of Woman Secretary-General to Head United Nations, as General Assembly Begins Debate on Revitalizing Its Work
It is about time for the United Nations – the world’s largest multilateral body - to be headed by a woman for the first time since its founding nearly 80 years ago. This was the overwhelming position of delegates today at the General Assembly as the 193-member organ observed its annual consideration of the revitalization of the body’s work. They also addressed concerning aspects of the Assembly’s functioning and relationship with other organs.
Speaking on behalf of Assembly President Philemon Yang (Cameroon), and underscoring that the negotiation and adoption of the biennial resolution on revitalizing the Assembly’s work is “the most important task of this session,” Assembly Vice President Aksoltan Töräýewna Ataýewa (Turkmenistan) said: “How we strengthen and improve this Assembly lies with you, the Member States, and this forthcoming resolution is a concrete tool for achieving our common goals”.
She said the recently adopted Pact for the Future, which seeks to “increase efforts to revitalize the work of the General Assembly” and “enhance and make full use of the role and authority of the General Assembly to address evolving global challenges,” are “calls to action that we must honour”.
She pointed out that the current session’s Ad Hoc Working Group will focus on the selection and appointment of the Secretary-General and other executive heads, and the strengthening of the Assembly President’s Office. Because the former “is our last opportunity to deliberate on the matter before the General Assembly appoints a new Secretary-General in 2026,” she urged Member States to aim for common ground amidst differing perspectives, heed the Pact’s observation on “the regrettable fact that there has never been a woman Secretary-General” and “nominate women for this role and break through that glass ceiling that has kept this position away from women for almost 80 years”. This, she stressed, enables Member States “to affirm our shared commitment to equality and inclusivity”.
For the second issue, she recalled the “significant decision” of Member States during the Assembly’s seventy-seventh session to increase resources for the Office of the President, both in personnel and financing, which has “promoted continuity and predictability in this office”. She called for further consolidation of these efforts and collective action to uphold the Assembly’s relevance and credibility to actively address the world’s most pressing issues. “I am committed to promote the Assembly as a great Palaver Tree under which, following multiple hearings, views are harmonized to reach common goals,” she assured.
Achieve Gender Parity in UN Leadership
“How can the UN convincingly promote women's empowerment if its leadership structures continue to exclude women?”, asked Costa Rica’s delegate, adding that because the selection process for the next Secretary-General presents a “historic opportunity,” therefore, “the time has come to break the 80-year cycle of exclusion”. Imploring Member States to elect a female helmswoman, she regretted the usage of male pronouns in Articles 97 to 99 of the UN Charter to describe the role of the Secretary-General, thereby “enshrining sexism in the highest political office” and entrenching “a male-dominated multilateralism”.
For Slovenia’s representative, who spoke for a group of Member States, gender equality and the representation of women in leadership positions at the UN is one issue “of great importance not only for the functioning of the United Nations, but also for how this Organization is perceived by the broader public, especially by youth and in particular young women and girls of the world”. The full, equal and meaningful participation of women at all levels is essential to diplomacy, multilateralism and the UN's work across its three pillars of peace and security, human rights and sustainable development, he stressed.
Conceding that there has been some progress in this area, he noted that “the data shows we are still far from reaching gender parity in leadership positions”. The Assembly’s annual general debate in September, where under 10 per cent of speakers were women, is a case in point. The same applies to the fact that there has never been a female head of the Organization and that only four of the 79 Assembly presidents have been women. “These two leadership positions at the UN are not only significant for the work of the Organization but are at the same time also highly symbolic,” he said, urging all States to contribute to, call for and support better representation of women in multilateralism, including in UN leadership and other positions.
Germany’s speaker called on Member States to “walk the talk in our own countries” to achieve true leadership for women in the UN and underscored the role of the General Assembly and civil society to strengthen the level of transparency and accountability in the selection process for the next Secretary-General.
Better, More Streamlined Working Methods
Speakers also underscored the need for better and more streamlined operations of the General Assembly in its working methods, processes and mandate to make it better suited to address current and future complex global challenges.
Noting the revitalization issue has been on the agenda for more than three decades, Maldives’ delegate said, “the revitalization process itself needs revitalization to make the Assembly more relevant, inclusive and effective”. He backed efforts to strengthen the Assembly’s institutional memory, such as improvements in the President’s Office, which include handover reports and extension of staff terms.
On that, Romania’s representative, co-Chair of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Revitalization of the Work of the General Assembly, said he looked forward to engaging with delegations in a constructive spirit to generate the best possible results in “our common goal to bring improvements” in this process. “We have quite a heavy agenda for the upcoming month, and we must deliver on a new resolution that factors in the changes and updates we wish to instil in our work and activities of the General Assembly,” he said.
As the Assembly deliberates procedural practice for drafting resolutions, “Our focus must be on making these documents precise” and action-oriented, said Mongolia’s delegate. They must increase the likelihood of meaningful outcomes even as we “adhere to the principles of transparency and inclusiveness in all our processes”. The representative of Algeria, speaking for the Non-Aligned Movement, noted that working methods are only one vehicle meant to restore and enhance the Assembly’s role and authority. As such, “We continue to stress the need to rationalize its work,” he said.
Stronger Relationship and Coordination with Other UN Organs
Delegations also urged bolstering the relationship between the Assembly and other organs, particularly the Security Council, with some urging for these entities to properly pursue their respective paths to avoid conflicting circumstances or interventions.
“The momentum is here,” declared Japan’s delegate. “Now is the time for shared responsibility and genuine solidarity”. Urging Member States to strive for a more functional General Assembly which, together with the Security Council, should “view each other as complementary and not as competing actors,” she called for enhanced synergy between both organs “to effectively address the complex global challenges we face”. To help restore confidence to the Security Council and the UN, misuse of the veto should be restrained, she said.
While Tunisia’s representative backed greater coordination between the Assembly and other principal organs, including the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council and other specialized agencies, Philippines’ speaker urged the 193-member organ to “not hesitate in taking the lead in confronting global issues” and support other principal organs as necessary. This position was also mirrored by the representative of Estonia, speaking on behalf of the Accountability, Coherence and Transparency Group, who further urged the Assembly to closely coordinate with other bodies, including the Peacebuilding Commission, regarding the maintenance of peace and security.
Cuba’s delegate said the Security Council should cease its interference in matters outside its jurisdiction, particularly those that fall within the General Assembly’s mandate. Further, any decision regarding the use of information and communication technologies in the Assembly’s work must ensure their proper utilization and strict compliance with its procedures, as well as the full and equal participation of all States without discrimination of any kind, he stressed.
Focus on Pact for the Future in Boosting Assembly’s Work
Several speakers also underscored the importance of the Pact for the Future in boosting the work of the General Assembly.
The representative of the European Union, in its capacity as observer, said that the recent adoption of the Pact presents a “significant opportunity to reinvigorate multilateralism” and restore trust in the United Nations. “Our joint commitment in the Pact to increase our efforts in revitalizing the work of the General Assembly plays a crucial role in this regard,” she said.
Malaysia’s speaker, on behalf of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), said that the Pact calls for real action as “a stronger General Assembly will improve our ability to accelerate the implementation of the 2030 agenda and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals”. The Assembly’s central role in global governance can be restored “through bold reforms and renewed commitments,” he stressed.
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