This article was originally published in the Jerusalem Post and written by Sarah Chemla. Click here to read the original piece.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York City, New York, U.S.
(photo credit: REUTERS/LUCAS JACKSON)
Forward, a global political movement, launched an international political campaign aimed at challenging the UN Secretary-General selection process to make it more inclusive, insisting on both the need for a female leader and more of the public's involvement in the process.
The movement is trying to fight global challenges such as climate change and the rise of extremism by establishing "coherent political force" working to solve them within elected bodies.
In the optic of finding the most relevant Secretary-General of United Nations for their fight, the movement ran primaries aimed at finding a non-male, people-backed candidate to run for Secretary-General this year and replace the incumbent, António Guterres, who has been in the position since 2017. Guterres announced earlier that he will be seeking for a second five-year term.
Forward gathered the need for a female leader with the need for more popular involvement in the selection process. Moreover, the movement is now trying to register as many voters as possible as well as potential candidates.
"In the midst of accelerating global trends, the world needs strong global leadership backed by democratic will. Legitimacy goes hand in hand with representation, and the United Nations is in dire need of both," said Colombe Cahen-Salvador and Andrea Venzon, co-founders of the initiative.
Through this project, Forward intends to give a voice and a say to those longing to see a more transparent, inclusive, and effective United Nations and to ultimately reverse people's trust in the international organization.
According to the United Nations Charter, the appointment of a Secretary-General is made by the General Assembly, on the recommendation of the Security Council, which in effect means that any of the five permanent members - the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Russia, and France - can veto the nominee. Each Secretary-General has the option of a second term, provided they can muster enough support from Member States.