City Bar and Linklaters Launch Innovative Online Resource to Promote Good Governance in the Selection Process of the Next United Nations Secretary-General

The New York City Bar Association, in collaboration with global law firm Linklaters LLP, today announced the launch of a new Task Force and online resource that will support good governance and transparency in the process to select the next United Nations Secretary-General (UNSG). The next UNSG will take office following the completion of current UNSG Ban Ki-moon’s second term in office at the end of 2016. The online resource provides users with access to relevant and timely information about each of the confirmed candidates for UNSG and enables users to gather a clear understanding of each candidate’s position on critical global issues, including climate change, migration and gender equality. This selection cycle, there has been particular focus on efforts to ensure that the process for selecting the next UNSG, as a representative of the planet’s roughly seven billion people, is more transparent and inclusive. The City Bar’s unique online resource will contribute to these efforts by providing a neutral, well-informed and resourced platform for civil society organizations, NGOs, the media, governments and other parties interested in the UN to educate themselves about the candidates and the selection process more generally. Ulysses Smith, chair of the Task Force, former chair of the City Bar’s United Nations Committee and an associate in Linklaters’ International Governance and Development Practices in New York, which is working on the project pro bono, said, “As a result of various factors, including the prioritization of governance in the UN’s own Sustainable Development Goals, the calls for a more transparent, accountable and participatory process for selecting the next Secretary-General, and for a more effective and accountable UN, have been stronger than they’ve ever been. As lawyers, we have a unique contribution to make to these efforts. In launching this resource, we hope to advance principles of good governance and rule of law, even among the most representative of global institutions, including in the process to fill its biggest and most important job.” Visit the online resource here: http://sgselection2016.org/