SYG SELECTION: GENERAL ASSEMBLY CONCERNS ABOUT THE

C O N F I D E N T I A L USUN NEW YORK 000892

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/28/2011
TAGS: PREL UNGA UNSC KUNR
SUBJECT: SYG SELECTION: GENERAL ASSEMBLY CONCERNS ABOUT THE
SELECTION PROCESS

REF: A. USUN-IO/UNP EMAIL APRIL 20

B. USUN 766

Classified By: Ambassador John R. Bolton, Permanent Representative,
for reasons 1.4 b,d.


1. (SBU) Summary. The General Assembly (GA) met April 19,
under the auspices of one of the working groups created by
the September 2005 Summit Document, to discuss "the role of
the GA in the selection of the Secretary-General."
Delegations in New York, particularly India, lamenting the
"demise" of the GA's authority and complaining of Security
Council "encroachment" have seized on the process of
selecting the next Secretary-General as an opportunity to
"reassert the GA's authority." A number of other
delegations, including Canada, are also publicly advocating
changes that would give the process more "transparency and
legitimacy." Jordan's Prince Zeid brought some reality back
into the room by reminding the GA that it did not have a
proud track record in electing its own presidents. End
Summary.


2. (U) The General Assembly's Working Group on GA
Revitalization held an informal discussion Wednesday, April
19, on "the role of the GA in the selection of the
Secretary-General." The working group's co-chairs, Yemen and

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Latvia, read out the "minutes" of the meeting between Chinese
Amb Wang (as Security Council President) and GA President
Eliasson. The Security Council had agreed that Wang should
orally brief Eliasson on the progress on SYG selection to
date. Wang's presentation, as relayed by the co-chairs,
closely mirrored previous discussions in the Security Council
(ref B),noted that the Security Council hoped to make its
recommendation by late September or early October, and
reinforced the Security Council's commitment to follow the
Charter provisions for the selection process. Wang also
noted that the Security Council intended to recommend one
candidate to the GA (as called for in GA Resolution 11(1) of
1946).

Canada's Five-Step Plan:
Favorable, but tepid, reviews
--------------


3. (U) Canadian Ambassador Rock, who had previously
circulated a non-paper on SYG selection and is seen as a
leading proponent of change here in New York, opened his
comments by recognizing that the Security Council "plays an
eliminatory role in the process" and "only those persons with
whom the Council can work effectively should be recommended
for appointment." He then presented an ambitious five-point
plan for a revised selection process in the GA, which called
for the GA to define the qualities it seeks in a SYG,
establish a search committee to identify candidates, hold
hearings with candidates prior to the Security Council's
recommendation, establish a "cut-off date" by which
candidates must declare themselves and consider limiting the
SYG to a single term in office.


4. (U) Rock admitted that only limited changes were possible
in the short-term, suggesting that the GA should address the
question of the term of appointment (recommending a single
term of five or seven years) and convene public fora for
candidates to present themselves and their ideas during this
selection process. He noted that Canada had considered
whether to request the Security Council to provide more than
one name in its recommendation, but had decided that the
current practice was most appropriate. And he suggested that
candidates, when announcing their intention to run for the
office, should also declare their choice for Deputy SYG at
the same time. This would "further increase the confidence
of member states in the process" and "broaden the support for
this senior 'team', once in office." The idea of a
two-person "slate" garnered some additional support, but was
opposed by Algeria, among others.


5. (U) Austria (for the EU),Switzerland, Japan,
Liechtenstein, Argentina, and Costa Rica similarly called for
"greater transparency" in the process, but stopped short of
demanding specific changes. The EU called the Canadian
proposals "interesting." The Swiss helpfully noted that the
SYG needed the confidence of the Security Council,
"particularly its permanent members" in order to be
effective. These delegations also tended to support
implementation of GA Resolution 51/241 (1997),which includes
specific, though limited, proposals regarding the process.


6. (U) In their statements, Asian and African delegations
consistently reiterated their support for an Asian candidate
to be the next SYG, consistent with their 1996 agreement.
Mongolia's intervention drew quiet laughter in the group with
its specific comparisons between the SYG selection process
and "how we, as a former Communist nation, used to have our
Presidents chosen."

India Leads the Rhetorical Charge
for More Aggressive Changes
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7. (U) Egypt called for more dramatic changes to the process,
in particular for the Security Council to recommend to the GA
"not less than three" candidates (rather than just one).
This call was echoed by Pakistan, Cuba, Belarus and Malaysia.
Indonesia noted that the GA "should not be afraid" of
getting more than one name.


8. (U) It was Indian Permanent Representative Sen, however,
who made similar points in the most aggressive tone of the
day. Sen cast the discussion of the SYG process as part of
the "continual encroachment" of the Security Council into the
affairs and prerogatives of the GA. He said the recent
Oil-for-Food investigation "concluded" that the SYG lacked
the authority necessary to run the program, "because the
Security Council, particularly the P-5, did not give it to
him." Sen argued that this meant, "We need a SYG not subject
to those pressures." The next SYG needed to be selected by a
process that would give him the "moral authority" to resist
pressure from the Security Council and avoid becoming "the
P-5's official executioner."


9. (U) Sen said that the 1946 resolution that laid out the
selection parameters "belonged to the past" as a relic of the
Cold War. Today, he said, a SYG did not need to balance East
vs. West, but must be able to "straddle the North/South
divide." The SYG needs to be responsive to the whole
membership and therefore selected in the GA. As an example
of the need to involve the GA, he argued: "When the P-5
played a role in creating a new body, we have the
Peacebuidling Commission. When the GA played a role, we got
the Human Rights Council. The difference is palpable." The
views of the Security Council "are inadequate to the point of
being totally irrelevant." The Security Council "claims to
be on the side of the angels," he said, "but if so, they are
fallen angels."


10. (U) Sen called for a revision of the 1946 resolution and
for the Security Council to submit three names to the GA. "I
must disagree strongly with Canada," he added. Agreeing to
Canada's proposals would give only the "impression" of
revitalization. He called the Canadian proposal a "blind
alley for the present."

Sometimes, Truth Hurts
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11. (U) As the final speaker, Jordan's Prince Zeid introduced
a refreshing dose of reality into the debate when he said
that - for all the apparent limitations in the selection
process - the organization has had very capable and effective
Secretaries-General. The same, he noted, could not be said

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of the Presidents of the General Assembly.

Comment
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12. (C) Currently, the most radical of the proposals
(including the call for the Security Council to recommend
more than one name) do not have broad support in the GA. The
Canadians were quietly disappointed that their "modest"
proposals were not picked up by more delegations, most of
whom seemed content to use the session as a rhetorical
opportunity to complain about the Security Council's
continued "encroachment." One Canadian officer told us
afterwards that they were not interested in being used by the
Indians and others who clearly had a non-productive agenda.
USUN continues to believe that any formalized process in the
GA would have the effect of potentially limiting the field of
candidates (to the future detriment of the organization). In
addition, any limitation on "eleventh-hour" candidates needs
to be resisted, as it might unhelpfully tie the Security
Council's hands in attempting to identify and agree on a
candidate.


13. (C) Responsible delegations expressed appreciation for
the readout of the Wang-Eliasson discussion on the Security
Council's process to date and said they hoped it signaled a
willingness to keep that channel of communication open. In
addition, it was noteworthy that nearly every statement made
reference to the importance of adhering to the Charter
language on the selection process. Asked by the press about
the GA's calls for more involvement in the process,
Ambassador Bolton noted that the Charter called for the
Security Council to recommend a Secretary-General to the GA
and "that's what we'll do." End Comment.
BOLTON