Cross-regional group met next Secretary-General to discuss UN agenda
NEXT SECERETARY-GENERAL: António Guterres, Secretary-General-designate of the UN.
NEXT SECERETARY-GENERAL: António Guterres, Secretary-General-designate of the UN.
Colombia, Ethiopia, Ghana, Indonesia, Jordan, Mexico, New Zealand and Norway form a cross-regional group that has discussed UN reform issues and the agenda of the next UN Secretary-General for 1.5 year. The group has developed and agreed upon an agenda for global leadership. This is a set of recommendations and proposals on a range of issues. During the meeting it was noted that Mr Guterres vision for the UN and the recommendations from the UN70 group have many commonalities.
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In the meeting, Mr. Guterres and the group discussed how it can support the next Secretary-General and his team in the coming months.
The UN70 initiative’s five recommendations for the next Secretary-General:
1. Be your own boss: invest in your relationship with member states but be independent.
2. Be our number one diplomat: use all diplomatic tools available.
3. Be our chief global activist: be the champion and cheerleader of the sustainable development goals and the implementation of the Paris agreement.
4. Be the advocate for the world’s 65 million displaced people: promote a stronger, more coherent approach to achieve durable solutions to major refugee and migration flows
5. Be a leader in integrating human rights into all UN activities: ensure the promotion of gender equality as part of the human rights culture in the UN system.
Mr. Guterres takes on his job as Secretary-General on 1 January 2017. He was formally appointed to the position 13 October 2016 after a unanimous recommendation from the Security Council. Mr. Guterres is former Prime Minister of Portugal and former UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
Foreign Ministers and Vice-Ministers from the UN70 partner countries lastly met to discuss the agenda of the next UN leader during a high-level event in New York 22 September. Read the summary here.
Read the joint statement at the informal meeting with the Secretary-General-designate António Guterres, 19 October 2016.
Follow the debate on Twitter and the hashtag #UN70initiative