PRESS RELEASE - London, May 4th, 2021
Forward, the global political movement, is delighted to announce that President Rosalia Arteaga Serrano and Ms. Paula María Bertol have received the full endorsement of the members in an internal confirmation procedure.
As such, they officially became the movement’s candidates for the United Nations selection process. Andrea Venzon and Colombe Cahen-Salvador - Forward’s founders - noted: “This marks the first effort of a political movement bringing forward candidates for the highest position of the United Nations. This is a landmark achievement to bring people’s voices in the Secretary-General selection process, for the first time in history. We, the people, want a voice. We, the people, demand better. We, the people, stand behind Rosalia and Paula”.
Rosalía Arteaga Serrano is running for the position of UN Secretary-General on behalf of the Forward movement. President Arteaga is an Ecuadorian politician, writer, lawyer and social activist. She was the first female President and Vice-President of Ecuador. Former Secretary General of Amazon CooperationTreaty Organization ACTO, she was also a member of the board of the Encyclopaedia Britannica. A member of the World Academy of Art and Sciences, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Library of Alexandria (Egypt) and an Academician of Honor from the Royal European Academy of Doctors. In accepting the nomination, President Arteaga stated: “I feel deep emotion upon receiving confirmation of my candidacy for the U.N. General Secretary by global civil society. This constitutes a challenge, an enormous responsibility, we are making history, with the certainty of changing the world from a vision that empowers women, girls and the excluded.”
Paula María Bertol is running for the position of Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations on behalf of the Forward movement. Ms. Bertol is an Argentinian politician and lawyer. She was Ambassador of Argentina to the Organization of American States, presiding the Inter-American Committee against Terrorism and the Commission of Budget and Administration. In her country, she was Secretary of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Administration and national Congresswoman for two periods. In accepting the nomination, Ms. Bertol stated: “Promoting women in the highest decision-making positions should be shared by all of us who believe in the differential we bring. I am pleased to accompany Rosalia Arteaga on this path, a woman who has the values and attributes to become the Secretary General of the UN. Millions of people will benefit from her management, imbued with her capacity, strength and empathy.”
Forward has notified the President of the United Nations General Assembly of the candidacy.
The movement efforts will now be directed in finding support among member states. Several countries have in the past expressed their support for the idea of a female candidate for the position of Secretary-General and they now have a concrete possibility to make it happen. It’s high time for female leadership at the United Nations, and now that highly qualified women have put themselves forth, there is no excuse to not break the glass ceiling this time around.
An official press conference in English and Spanish will be hosted by Forward on Wednesday, May 5th, at 12.30 pm UTC (7.30 am Ecuador time, 8.30 am EST, 9.30 am Buenos Aires time, 1.30 pm BST). Interested journalists can receive accreditation by emailing: [email protected]
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About Forward - Forward is a global, progressive, political initiative in the making. Despite global challenges existing - from the threat of climate change to the erosion of democracy worldwide - there is no coherent political force working to solve them within elected bodies. This must change. Let's build global politics. Together.
Media contact
Fatima Huskic: [email protected]