The typical account of how the United Nations picks its secretary-general gives the predominant role to the five permanent members of the Security Council (the P5). This is correct, but it risks missing the important role of the ten elected members of the council (the E10). Each permanent member can stop a candidate using their […]
Author: Daniel Safran-Hon
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On Wednesday, the Security Council will convene a high-level debate on “Advancing Political Solutions in the Middle East: Mediation and Dialogue for Lasting Peace.” Secretary-General António Guterres is expected to brief. The meeting is a fitting occasion to ask a simple question: Who will actually be doing the job of mediating in the Middle East […]
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In February 1998, with the United States preparing to bomb Iraq over Saddam Hussein’s refusal to cooperate with UN weapons inspectors, Kofi Annan flew to Baghdad. The risk of failure was high: he did not have a formal mandate to negotiate, the Americans were skeptical, and Hussein was unpredictable. He had been secretary-general for barely […]
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In just a few months, on Friday morning, January 1, 2027, the new leader of the United Nations will take the express elevator to the 38th floor of the UN building in Turtle Bay to start their first day on the job. The race to determine who that person will be has generated months of debate […]
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The interactive dialogues are done. Four candidates, Michelle Bachelet, Rafael Grossi, Rebeca Grynspan, and Macky Sall, have made their pitches. The Security Council’s straw polls are expected to begin in late July. What happens next may unfold faster than anyone anticipates. Or it may end before it starts, forcing a long and uncertain search for […]
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The selection of a secretary-general ranks among the most consequential decisions the United Nations makes. If, as some have argued, the secretary-general is a secular pope, then this is the conclave. While the General Assembly has made progress in improving the transparency of the process, much of it remains opaque. It is therefore important to […]
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Never has the cliché that we are at a pivotal moment in Middle East diplomacy been more accurate. Yet at this critical juncture, the post of UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO) has remained vacant for months. It is time to appoint a new envoy and restore the UN’s political role […]
