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| United Nations EditorialGoal Part 1: Write Editorial Goal Part 2: Submit editorial to various regional papers. Deadline: January 2007 Topic: The Selection Process for the United Nations Secretary General - What is the role of the Secretary General? The Charter describes the Secretary-General as "chief administrative officer" of the Organization, who shall act in that capacity and perform "such other functions as are entrusted" to him or her by the Security Council, General Assembly, Economic and Social Council and other United Nations organs. The Charter also empowers the Secretary-General to "bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security". These guidelines both define the powers of the office and grant it considerable scope for action. The Secretary-General would fail if he did not take careful account of the concerns of Member States, but he must also uphold the values and moral authority of the United Nations, and speak and act for peace, even at the risk, from time to time, of challenging or disagreeing with those same Member States. - Who were the previous Secretary Generals? 1) Boutros Boutros-Ghali (Egypt), who held office from January 1992 to December 1996. - What is the Selection Process? The Secretary-General is appointed by the General Assembly, on the recommendation of the Security Council. The Secretary-General's selection is therefore subject to the veto of any of the five permanent members of the Security Council. In addition, the nominees for the Office of Secretary General rotate through the various continents: Africa, Asia, North America, South America, and Australia (once more Anartica is the lonely left out continent) - Question for Discussion Thesis: The incorporation of regionalism into the selection process has a positive effect on that process. Regionalism is defined as the submission of candidates for the post of UN Sec Gen from various regions of the world with the de facto understanding that the post will rotate through these regions. The positive effect of this process may be divided into three seperate components. First, regionalsim mirrors the core values of the United Nations itself. Second, it creates a de facto understanding among the member states that a rough shod version of equality will play out in the selection process. Third, it introduces a new category of political games among the security council and general assembly that is, on balance and based on historical observation, positive. Article on the Selection Process by the BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/world/5388840.stm Another Article on the Process: your link text JOBS: For us to do as we write the article 1) Outreach: Calling newspapers to find out what their editorial page policies. Finding out about the length of letters submitted to the editor. Look to foreign press as well as magazines. Deadline: December 15th Volunteers: Suzy, Nathan 2) Research: We need people to research the various issues. Deadline: December 15th Volunteers: Regina, Nathan, Octavian 3) Writers Deadline: January 8th Volunteers: Scott, Sonam 4) Editors Deadline: January 15th Volunteers: Brian, Noel 5) Project Managers Group members: |
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