The UN Secretary-General is often described as having “the world’s most impossible job,” but right now that title may well belong to his Emergency Relief Coordinator, the person responsible for managing humanitarian efforts in Gaza, Sudan, Yemen and wherever else famine or other serious disaster strikes.
The post is about to fall vacant after Martin Griffiths, a Briton, announced his decision to step down due to ill health. He leaves at the end of June. Certain roles at the UN are known to be informally ring-fenced for nationals of certain countries — an unjustifiable tradition that the General Assembly has sought to end, even as the practice persists and limits the chances of finding the best candidate for many of the UN’s most important jobs.
In this instance, the job at the helm of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has been monopolised by British nationals since 2007. This is even more jarring given that the UK is party to many of the conflicts that the Emergency Relief Coordinator needs to deal with, and the country has a squalid record of attempting to foist unqualified ex-politicians into key UN positions.
That principle, however, is crumbling. Last time around, a compromise was reached whereby a UK national was appointed but not the national the British government wanted. The national who got the job, Griffiths, is on the record as saying that he hopes the tradition of considering only Brits should end with him. However, the UK is apparently insisting on its right to appoint a Brit, and — with opinion polls suggesting many government ministers and parliamentarians may soon find themselves unemployed — the fear is there will be no shortage of unqualified or otherwise unsuitable candidates. The UK’s current Deputy Foreign Secretary with responsibility for Development, Andrew Mitchell, also went on the record prior to his appointment as a minister to call for ending the UK monopoly.
(We have not heard concrete information regarding who is in contention for the post, but as we were going to press, two names were mentioned in connection with the role: Barbara Woodward, UK permanent representative to the UN, and Tariq Ahmad, UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Affairs Minister.)
The world’s most-stricken people need the UN to appoint the right person. In this vein, over 60 senior former UN officials and civil society leaders have written to the Secretary-General demanding that he consider the widest range of qualified candidates no matter the flag stamped on their passport. The initiative was coordinated by the United Nations Association-UK and the Foundation for Global Governance and Sustainability with support from Blue Smoke.
What’s up?
As trailed last month, Astrid Schomaker of Germany was appointed as Executive Secretary of the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD); Kristalina Georgieva of Bulgaria was reappointed as Managing Director of the IMF; and Saudi Arabia was appointed as Chair of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).
In each case, the choices were made over civil society objections (including our own). Saudi Arabia was also one of numerous countries elected unopposed to the board of UN Women as part of a bumper load of largely uncontested elections held in the UN Economic and Social Council. Meanwhile, Russia succeeded in scrapping the Security Council’s crucial Panel of Experts on North Korea.
But Russia also dropped its objection to extending the term of Gilles Michaud of Canada as Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security. He serves until July 2026.
As a fan of competitive, transparent selection processes, Blue Smoke is delighted with the news about the recruitment of the new cohort of UN Human Rights Committee members. Nine members of the 18-strong committee will be elected in late May, and for the first time, applicants will publicly present their candidacies, on April 29. The committee is made up of independent experts who are tasked with monitoring the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by its States Parties. In general, UN departments could learn a thing or two from treaty bodies, who publicly list all their vacancies and the CVs of all those who apply.
Gavi, the Global Vaccine Alliance, ended its long wait for a new CEO by appointing Dr. Sania Nishtar of Pakistan. Gavi is a unique public-private partnership of the UN, member states, civil society and the private sector. It has been lacking permanent leadership since August, after Dr. Seth Berkley stepped down and his successor, Dr. Muhammad Ali Pate, decided not to take the job after all.
Julie Bishop, the former Australian Foreign Secretary, has been appointed as the UN’s Special Envoy to Myanmar. The UN does not recognise the ruling military junta, whose forces are now on the back foot after a series of defeats by rebel forces. The choice of Bishop is a little surprising: during her term as Foreign Secretary, she was perceived as a critic of China, and Secretary-General António Guterres is known to shy away from angering permanent members of the Security Council on appointments.
China claims that Myanmar falls within its own sphere of influence and has mostly protected the junta from criticism at the UN, although it allowed one resolution to pass in the Security Council in 2022, demanding an end to the violence in Myanmar. It is possible that, given the sharp divisions over Myanmar within the ASEAN group (who have their own envoy) the Secretary-General thought it wise to appoint someone from the region but outside ASEAN. Recent allegations that the previous Special Envoy was forced out by OCHA (a charge denied by the agency) suggest that Ms. Bishop’s mandate will not be easy.
The International Seabed Authority, the intergovernmental body attached to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) will elect a new Secretary-General this summer. The incumbent, Michael Lodge, a Briton, has already served two four-year terms, but since there is no limit, it is possible that he will stand again. Meanwhile, the Latin American and Caribbean member states, arguing that it is their turn, have nominated Leticia Carvalho of Brazil as a candidate. The appointment comes at a critical time for undersea mining, with some commentators suggesting Lodge is too close to the industry, whereas Carvalho may be more partial to environmental concerns. (See PassBlue’s two-part investigation of Lodge and the seabed authority.)
Robert Petit of Canada was appointed to head up the “IIIM” mechanism established by the UN General Assembly to investigate war crimes in Syria.
Tips
Do you know something more about who is in the running for any of these posts? Or information about another upcoming appointment? Reach out to us in total confidence at hello@bluesmoke.blog. Any information you give us will only be used on the terms you set.
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