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In a move that is likely to provoke anger from Latin American countries, the United States announced yesterday (Friday), on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, that it will consider selecting candidates from around the world for the position of the next Secretary-General.

The election of the tenth Secretary-General of the United Nations is scheduled for next year, succeeding António Guterres, for a term of 5 years starting on January 1, 2027.

Typically, regions take turns holding this position, and Latin America and the Caribbean are at the top of the list this time.

Nominating Competitors

The race officially begins when the United Nations Security Council (composed of 15 members) and the President of the General Assembly (composed of 193 members) send a joint letter by the end of this year requesting nominations, with competitors to be nominated by one of the member states.

Ricardo Moscoso, Panama's Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations at the Security Council, said yesterday, "We hope that during this process, the leadership experiences in developing countries for this vital position, especially from the Latin American and Caribbean region, will be taken into account."

A Woman to Lead the Organization

The process of selecting the Secretary-General requires consensus among the five permanent members who hold veto power over the candidate.

In this context, Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya considered that the rotation of the Secretary-General position among regions is a tradition, not a rule, noting that he would not oppose a woman winning the position of Secretary-General, but on "the basis of merit, not gender."

The United Nations is under increasing pressure to select its first female Secretary-General, as Danish Ambassador to the UN Christina Markus Lassen asserts that it is time for a woman to lead the organization after 80 years of its establishment.

Chile announced that it will nominate former President Michelle Bachelet, while Costa Rica intends to nominate former Vice President Rebeca Grynspan, even though the race has not officially begun yet.

Urgent Reforms

This selection coincides with numerous calls for reforming the international organization, particularly the Security Council, led by a call from Guterres, who believes that the Security Council needs "urgent reforms." He described in a video speech that the legitimacy of the Security Council is "fragile" and that "reforms in its structure are necessary and long overdue to ensure global order and security."

He pointed out that some members of the Security Council have acted multiple times in violation of the principles of the UN Charter, which has undermined trust in the international organization. He emphasized that the Security Council is not about dominance or empires, highlighting the need to address the imbalance within the council, which requires expanding its membership.

Algeria, Somalia, Kuwait, Jordan, and Tunisia have called for reforming the United Nations system to make it fairer and more effective in dealing with international peace and security issues.

This was stated by representatives from those countries on the occasion of United Nations Day and the 80th anniversary of its founding, which falls on October 24 each year.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also renewed his call yesterday for restructuring the United Nations Security Council to be able to meet the just aspirations of all the world's peoples.

The main reform demands focus on restricting the use of the veto power, which often obstructs humanitarian decisions, particularly those related to Israel, which the United States has consistently vetoed.