The 193-member General Assembly, the highest policy making body at the UN, is described as a political non-entity playing only a subservient role to the Security Council in the election of Secretaries-Generals over the last 76 years. “If I am a Member of the General Assembly, the biggest UN organ that prides itself on one-country, one-vote policy, I will be insulted,” says the head of a coalition of NGOs. Credit: UN Photo/Manuel Elias
UNITED NATIONS, May 10 2021 (IPS) - As negotiations for the upcoming election—or re-election– of a UN Secretary-General gather momentum, one undeniable fact looms heavily over the final decision: the choice of a UN chief is the intellectual birthright of the five big permanent members (P5) of the Security Council, namely, the US, UK, France, China and Russia.