総会再活性化作業部会テーマ別会合「事務総長の選出・幹部人事」における吉田公使ステートメント
令和7年2月20日
(As delivered)
I thank you, Co-Chairs for convening this Ad Hoc Working Group on the Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly Thematic debate on the selection and appointment of the Secretary-General and other executive heads.
Co-Chairs,
The international community is facing challenges of a different dimension than ever. Issues have arisen such as blatant obstacles to the established international order, as well as the emergence of AI and other new technologies, that cannot be addressed by past methods. To confront these challenges, new ways of thinking and strong leadership are needed. Given the critical role the United Nations will need to play in these unprecedented times, the leadership of the Secretary-General and other executive heads of the organization is important more than ever.
Echoing such high expectations for the new Secretary-General, the election process must be anchored in legitimacy, and ensuring its transparency is particularly important. In this regard, Japan values that Member States have recommended to circulate the joint letters by the President of the General Assembly and the Security Council on the selection process of the Secretary-General and invited the voluntary disclosure of any funding sources related to their candidature which should surely improve the transparency of the process.
This, however, is not enough. Allow me to refer to an identical letter from Ambassador Bessho, a former Permanent Representative of Japan and the President of the Security Council during the month of July 2016, circulated as a UN document under A/71/774-S/2017/93, in which an overview of the entire selection process, along with lessons learned during the 2016 selection process, can be found. We should build on the good practices to improve the process for better transparency.
In this regard, we thank the initiative by the Secretariat to launch the webpage on selection and appointment process of the Secretary-General and listing the above-mentioned letter of July 2016 as resource material. Also, in this letter, he proposed six suggestions for future consideration and especially, we believe that there should be a discussion on reviewing the selection process, such as replacing straw polls with official votes at a private meeting of the Security Council, and we also call for the Security Council to decide on basic principles and rules among members for the selection process.
Co-Chairs,
Japan recalls it was crucial that a series of informal dialogues were held in the General Assembly and the Security Council during the last election.
In these informal dialogues, each candidate presented their vision and the priorities they would have as Secretary-General, and it was an important opportunity for Member States to deliberate on the qualifications of individual candidates and to conduct a more efficient and effective decision-making process.
We consider these dialogues to have been one of the “primaries” for the selection of the Secretary-General. They represented a symbol of transparency. We believe they should be held for the next election as well, and should be viewed by anyone via live broadcast and be archived on UN WebTV.
Co-Chairs,
Japan is committed to a selection and appointment process with due regard to gender balance, as stated in Pact for the Future. At the same time, Japan believes that the selection of a new Secretary-General must meet the criteria of choosing the candidate who is best able to address emerging challenges.
Co-Chairs,
Japan stands ready to deepen our discussion on strengthening the transparency of the appointment process of the Secretary-General and other executive heads. We will continue to contribute tirelessly to this discussion as this agenda is a critical component of the overall reform of the United Nations.
I thank you.
Co-Chairs,
The international community is facing challenges of a different dimension than ever. Issues have arisen such as blatant obstacles to the established international order, as well as the emergence of AI and other new technologies, that cannot be addressed by past methods. To confront these challenges, new ways of thinking and strong leadership are needed. Given the critical role the United Nations will need to play in these unprecedented times, the leadership of the Secretary-General and other executive heads of the organization is important more than ever.
Echoing such high expectations for the new Secretary-General, the election process must be anchored in legitimacy, and ensuring its transparency is particularly important. In this regard, Japan values that Member States have recommended to circulate the joint letters by the President of the General Assembly and the Security Council on the selection process of the Secretary-General and invited the voluntary disclosure of any funding sources related to their candidature which should surely improve the transparency of the process.
This, however, is not enough. Allow me to refer to an identical letter from Ambassador Bessho, a former Permanent Representative of Japan and the President of the Security Council during the month of July 2016, circulated as a UN document under A/71/774-S/2017/93, in which an overview of the entire selection process, along with lessons learned during the 2016 selection process, can be found. We should build on the good practices to improve the process for better transparency.
In this regard, we thank the initiative by the Secretariat to launch the webpage on selection and appointment process of the Secretary-General and listing the above-mentioned letter of July 2016 as resource material. Also, in this letter, he proposed six suggestions for future consideration and especially, we believe that there should be a discussion on reviewing the selection process, such as replacing straw polls with official votes at a private meeting of the Security Council, and we also call for the Security Council to decide on basic principles and rules among members for the selection process.
Co-Chairs,
Japan recalls it was crucial that a series of informal dialogues were held in the General Assembly and the Security Council during the last election.
In these informal dialogues, each candidate presented their vision and the priorities they would have as Secretary-General, and it was an important opportunity for Member States to deliberate on the qualifications of individual candidates and to conduct a more efficient and effective decision-making process.
We consider these dialogues to have been one of the “primaries” for the selection of the Secretary-General. They represented a symbol of transparency. We believe they should be held for the next election as well, and should be viewed by anyone via live broadcast and be archived on UN WebTV.
Co-Chairs,
Japan is committed to a selection and appointment process with due regard to gender balance, as stated in Pact for the Future. At the same time, Japan believes that the selection of a new Secretary-General must meet the criteria of choosing the candidate who is best able to address emerging challenges.
Co-Chairs,
Japan stands ready to deepen our discussion on strengthening the transparency of the appointment process of the Secretary-General and other executive heads. We will continue to contribute tirelessly to this discussion as this agenda is a critical component of the overall reform of the United Nations.
I thank you.