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"It is a pity that the U.N. has kept 50 percent of humanity out of consideration for its highest position." -- Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 8 2013 (IPS) - Despite adopting scores of pious resolutions on gender empowerment over the last 67 years, the 193-member General Assembly has failed to practice in its own backyard what it has vigourously preached to the outside world.
So far, the U.N’s highest policy making body has elected only three women as its president since 1946: Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit of India (1953), Angie Brooks of Liberia (1969) and Sheikha Haya Rasheed al-Khalifa of Bahrain (2006).
In a letter addressed to over 160 world leaders, who were at the United Nations last week, the New York-based Impact Leadership 21 has called for meaningful steps in establishing “the rights of women and the equality of their participation at all decision-making levels”.
More specifically, the letter makes a strong case for a woman as the next U.N. secretary-general (UNSG) when Ban Ki-moon finishes his current term at the end of 2016.The all-male UNSGs were Trygve Lie of Norway, Dag Hammarskjold of Sweden, U. Thant of Burma (now Myanmar), Kurt Waldheim of Austria, Javier Perez de Cuellar of Peru, Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt, Kofi
Annan of Ghana and current incumbent Ban Ki-moon of South Korea.
Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury, a former permanent representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations and a onetime U.N. under-secretary-general, told IPS the most important “reform” needed for the choice of the U.N. leader is in the mindset of member-states.
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Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (centre) and Vuk Jeremić (right), President of the sixty-seventh session of the General Assembly. Credit:
UN Photo/Devra Berkowitz
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