SYG SELECTION: SECURITY COUNCIL INFORMALS MAY 31,

C O N F I D E N T I A L USUN NEW YORK 001119

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/31/2011
TAGS: PREL UNSC UN DA
SUBJECT: SYG SELECTION: SECURITY COUNCIL INFORMALS MAY 31,
2006

REF: USUN 1086

Classified By: Ambassador John R. Bolton, Permanent Representative
For Reasons 1.4 b and d.


1. (C) Security Council Ambassadors met May 31 in "informal
informals" to continue last week's discussion on the process
of selecting the next Secretary-General (reftel) and to agree
on the text of a letter from the incoming Security Council
President (Denmark) to the President of the General Assembly.
Danish PR Loj later circulated a proposed letter, along with
talking points for her to use on the subject in the regular
monthly meeting with Eliasson (texts at para 3 and 4).
During consultations of the Council on Friday, June 2, Loj
will seek the Council's approval to sign the letter, which
would be transmitted immediately to Eliasson. Loj would then
use the incoming President's regular press briefing following
the June 2 consultations to note the Council's communication
to the broader membership and emphasize the transparency of
the Council's ongoing process to select the next
Secretary-General.

SIPDIS


2. (C) A number of Security Council Ambassadors, including
Loj, stressed the importance of the Council being as
forthcoming as possible with the General Assembly while
adhering strictly to the Charter and maintaining the
necessary flexibility to deal with unexpected developments.
UK PR Jones Parry suggested that Security Council openness
was necessary to help fend off unwanted initiatives in the
General Assembly. The discussion included a few additional
areas of agreement among Council members:

-- The candidate list should remain open until the final
decision is taken, even, in the words of Russian PR Churkin,
"if that means a new candidate emerges minutes before the
formal vote is taken."

-- Candidates should only be added to the official candidate
list if sponsored by a Member State (even if not their own).
Self-declared candidates will need to get at least one Member
State to support them. (Jones Parry called it a "reasonable
threshold." He noted that there was a UK citizen of Sri
Lankan origin (Nirj Deva) running a self-declared campaign
for the job. Jones Parry went out of his way to signal that
the UK had no intention of sponsoring Mr. Deva for the post.)

-- Candidates can be presented to the Council President
either verbally or in writing. The Qatari Counsellor tried
to argue that candidates should only be submitted in writing,
leading someone to comment derisively: "This is the Security
Council, not the General Assembly." French PR de La Sabliere
warned that a requirement for every nomination to be in
writing might send a signal that unsuccessful candidates
would similarly need to withdraw by a potentially
embarrassing letter. Ambassador Sanders noted that the
Council should maintain maximum flexibility so as not to
discourage candidates from coming forward, including those
also serving in high political office in their home countries.

-- The Ambassadors agreed that decisions on specific issues
related to straw polling, including the mechanics of the
voting and design of the ballots, were better left until
July.


3. (C) Text of proposed letter from the President of the
Security Council to the President of the General Assembly:

-- The Charter gives important roles to the Security Council
and the General Assembly regarding one of the most essential
decisions for the United Nations, the selection of the
Secretary-General.

SIPDIS

-- The Security Council is committed to working closely with
the General Assembly on this important matter, in a spirit of
transparency and dialogue.

-- In this spirit, and following up on your conversation with
the President of the Security Council on 18 April, I wish to
inform you that the Security Council intends to start in
early July the process of consideration of candidacies which
will have been presented to its President by a member State.
As in the past, a member State may present candidate,
nationals and/or non-nationals of that State, at any stage of
the process.

-- The President of the Security Council will continue, on
behalf of all members, to keep you informed, and through you
the membership at large, of developments in the process
within the council.

-- I look forward to meeting you in the coming days to
exchange views on this important issue.



End text of letter.


4. (C) Text of proposed talking points for use by the
President of the Security Council in her meeting with the
President of the General Assembly:

-- The SC agreed this year to further increase the
transparency of the selection process in the SC and
interactions with GA.

-- This meeting therefore is a follow-up to meetings with
previous Presidents of the SC (since February),which have
been an opportunity for the council's views to be set out, in
particular in the April meeting which your office memo
records.

-- The SC intends to start in early July, initially through
informal consultations, the process of consideration of
candidacies which will have been presented to its President
by a member State. As in the past, a member State may
present candidates, nationals and/or non-nationals of that
State, at any stage of the process.

-- Council members remain interested in hearing views from
PGA on the process, for instance in being informed if
candidates express the wish to present their candidatures and
their vision of the UN, including through informal dialogues
with member States, for example during meetings with the
regional groups.

-- Commitment to continue to inform on the next steps.

End text of talking points.
BOLTON