Felix Dodds comments on sustainable development, coffee & life

By Felix Dodds and Chris Spence  first published by Inter Press Service here. With current UN Secretary-General António Guterres set to step down in 2026, who is in the running to replace him? In this seven-part series, Felix Dodds and Chris Spence reveal who might be in the running and assess their chances. APEX, North Carolina / DUBLIN, Ireland, Apr 23 2024 (IPS) - What makes an effective UN Secretary-General? In our previous posts, we highlighted six possible candidates: Michelle Bachelet (Chile), Rebeca Grynspan (Costa Rica), Maria Fernanda Espinosa (Ecuador), Alicia Bárcena (Mexico), Mia Mottley (Barbados), and Amina J. Mohammed (Nigeria). These are names that have come up in conversations with UN insiders and other experts. All six would offer skills and experiences we believe would be valuable in these fast-paced, uncertain times. With two years to go until the selection process takes place, some might feel it is too early to start this conversation. We disagree. By rai...

The problem of being on a plane or rather five planes for two days is that you miss a lot of things. Ted Cruz and his speech at the Republican Convention and the first straw poll for the next UN Secretary General  As my readers know I have and am a strong supporter that the next UN Secretary General should be a woman and I also support regional rotation. We have to remember that this is decided by the 15 members of the UN Security Council who may work by different criteria than the rest of us. There is no veto in this round by the Permanent Members of the Security Council - the P5 - all the papers of the same color and ask Member states to put their mark against three options encourage, dis-encourage and no opinion. Was I surprised that Former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres   (12 encourage, 0 dis-encourage and 3 no opinion)  top the first poll and is now considered by the media as the front run...

(Taken from UNA-UK Website )  The  eight candidates  vying to be the next leader of the United Nations will be questioned by UN member states in unprecedented meetings at the UN General Assembly on 12-14 April.  The meetings, which will be live streamed online, mark a major success for UNA-UK and our  1 for 7 Billion campaign  - a movement of over 750 organisations and 170 million people which is advocating for a more open and inclusive process to appoint the next UN chief.  Click here for live coverage of the meetings from 2pm-10pm BST on 12-14 April The historic meetings - which represent a major depature from the 'wheeling and dealing' that characterised the former selection process - have attracted significant media attention. 1 for 7 Billion and UNA-UK representatives have emerged as the go-to source of expertise on the reformed process and the implications for the wider UN system. Here are some of the media highlights: BBC News: UN s...

The beginning of the media buzz Now that we know who the  the next Executive Director of UNEP and the  Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, will be. Coffee bar talk has moved on to who the next UN Secretary General will be two names it seems are being talked about if they will throw their hats into the ring they are   Ms. Susana Malcorra (Argentina) and  Alicia Bárcena Ibarra (Mexico) Of course, it helps if you know the process of selection a little better before writing the article. For starters, you cannot have a Permanent Member of the UN Security Council (China, France, Russia, UK and USA [P5]) as the UN Secretary General. The New York Times suggested Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund. She is unfortunately a French national, therefore she isn’t a possible candidate; nor is the excellent suggestion by Slant of Ertharin Cousin, the US World Food Programme head. The UN is a set of checks and balances – just ...