UN: Senior Appointments

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead Excerpts

Thursday 10th September 2015 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead (Lab)]

My Lords, I, too, thank my noble friend for initiating this debate and for his excellent introduction to the issues that we are discussing. This is a timely debate as we mark the 70th birthday of the United Nations in the autumn. There are certainly debates that need to be had on the global challenges that the UN faces on delivering security, on the record of peacekeepers, on the refugee agency and on the perception that the UN is too bureaucratic. Indeed, it is often accused of being incompetent.

We are told that there is evidence at the UN of waste, fraud and abuse by UN staff, and there is a growing consensus that there needs to be improved accountability and comprehensive institutional reform. There are serious questions, too, about a Security Council that frequently seems unable to provide security, and peacekeepers who frequently seem unable to keep the peace. In addition, the Ebola crisis has shone a light on the UN’s failures to deliver on critical health priorities. Also, we are all aware of the challenges that are not being met, as record numbers of men and women and children flee from conflict and persecution.

After 70 years of the work of the United Nations, and $0.5 trillion later, it is time to ask the questions, but we should not neglect to value what has been achieved. Dag Hammarskjöld famously said:

“The UN was created not to lead mankind to heaven, but to save humanity from hell”.

Millions of people have benefited from this remarkable organisation, and when issues of cost are raised it is worth noting what a recent newspaper article said, which was that,

“total UN spending this year is still only about half of New York City’s $75bn budget”.

That comparison puts things into perspective. The conclusion that surely has to be reached is that what existed 70 years ago after the war is very different from what is needed now. Reform is essential, and the UN member states must facilitate that reform since all too often they are seen as providing major obstacles to progress.

Another demand has to be for the proper representation of people from developing countries. I know, from visits to New York, that representatives of the G77 group of developing countries regularly point out that that they are seeing a reduction, not an increase, in the roles that they are offered and feel excluded from decision-making. For a global organisation, this is unacceptable. It will also be unacceptable to maintain and perpetuate the status quo when it comes to the selection of the Secretary-General. Surely we need a Secretary-General who is independent and not beholden, as is currently the case, to the interests of individual member states.

My final point is to draw attention to the fact that in the past 70 years, not a single woman has been at the head of the Security Council. There have been eight general secretaries, all men. They have been selected by back-room dealing dominated by the five world powers, including the UK, that hold the Security Council permanent seats. Does the Minister agree that this has to change and that we surely are right in demanding more transparency about these issues? Does she agree that it would send a powerful message if a woman were at last to be at the helm of the United Nations? After all, the UN talks a lot about equal rights for women; it is time it got behind making sure that this claim is realised. Does the Minister agree that the selection process urgently needs to be revised because it is unacceptable that, since 1995, about only one-quarter of senior posts have been held by women? We must focus on what is needed for the job, but it is time that women were seriously considered for the job of Secretary-General in a way that they have not been before.

A number of countries, led by Colombia, are now promoting the view that it is time a woman led the UN, and there are calls for women to nominate women. We know that now a number of countries have women leaders who are urging that women should be promoted at the UN—and some of us here should be joining those pressures. For instance, I am convinced that if Helen Clark, the head of the UNDP, were interested, she would make an excellent candidate. She is undoubtedly well qualified to be Secretary-General and would bring her great skills, talent and experience to the job.

Finally, will the Minister clarify what was meant in a very interesting Answer I had to a Written Question? I asked how HMG proposed to ensure that suitable women candidates for Secretary-General are given serious consideration. Interestingly, the Answer I was given said that the Government would be encouraging the promotion of more applications from women. I would very much like an assessment of the progress on that initiative.