One of the best candidates for new Secretary General withdraws

One of the best candidates for new Secretary General withdraws 

President of the General Assembly

President of the Security Council

United Nations

New York, New York

Dear Sirs:

We are now less than four months away from the date on which the new Secretary­ General must take office. In consultation with the General Assembly, the Security Council has the responsibility to guide the selection process to its final resolution in an orderly and timely manner. Out of loyalty to the United Nations and in order to facilitate the advance of the selection process I hereby inform you that today I withdraw my candidacy to the position of Secretary ­General.  I do so with gratitude and with concern.

Deep gratitude to my government and my country, to all other Member States, to civil society and to private sector for the perseverance with which they continue to uphold the values and principles of the United Nations. Above all my gratitude to the staff of the United Nations headquarters and throughout the world. Over the years I have had the privilege of meeting with many Country Teams and recently with numerous civilian and military personnel in UN Peacekeeping Missions. No report can convey the daily challenges faced by those in the field, nor the complexities of the daily dilemmas with which they struggle. Those on the front lines of peace (and most often lack thereof) need our full support.

My candidacy has been based on the principle that we need to embrace and usher in a new era of strengthened multilateralism that brings countries together to collaborate in order to safeguard peace today and at the same time seed the peace of tomorrow. 

We have entered an age of increasing interdependence, in which the purposeful interweaving of our efforts will be critical to our success as we address challenges ranging from peace, conflict

prevention, human rights, migration, disease, depletion of natural resources and climate  change. 

Never before have we had so many issues compounding each other. At the same time, never before have we had such opportunities to advance synergistically for the common good. However, as it has been shown in the climate change negotiations, this will not occur without leadership.

I trust that as the Security Council and the General Assembly move towards the conclusion of this important selection process Member States will be guided by a commitment to provide strong leadership to the United Nations and to the world.

Most cordially,

Christiana Figueres