Hill calls on UN to rev up boss search

David Nason
June 6, 2006
The Australian
Original Source: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,19378260-2702,00.html


AUSTRALIA is urging the UN Security Council's permanent five members to more aggressively headhunt a successor to Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

UN ambassador Robert Hill said the P5 - US, Russia, China, France and the UK - were waiting for nominations instead of trawling the world for the best candidates. 
I've said to the P5 representatives that I think the Annan succession is the most important decision that will be made here this year, the former defence minister told The Australian. 
But the process is too reactive and I don't think that gives you the strongest pool of candidates. I can't think of any major organisation that needs to select a new chief executive that waits for one to emerge rather than proactively seeking to identify someone suitable. 
Mr Annan's term will expire in December, by which time the Security Council is required to submit a candidate for approval by the UN General Assembly. 
Mr Hill said Australia was opposed to an Indian-led push for a series of names to be given to the General Assembly. 
The process should be driven from the top - it should be a top down process, he said. 
He had asked the P5 to look for candidates outside the UN, saying a cleanskin would not face the same cultural hurdles that disadvantaged Mr Annan. The UN is a difficult administration and it gets back to how much flexibility the secretary-general has in running the operation. 
In circumstances where there is limited flexibility and the person comes from within the UN system, I think that can make it more difficult. 
There are no doubt some very good people from within the system, but I think it has been a burden for Kofi Annan. 
Mr Annan was head of UN peacekeeping before taking over the top job in 1996. 
Mr Hill's comments effectively rule out Australian support for two of the four top candidates - former under secretary-general for disarmament affairs Jayantha Dhanapala of Sri Lanka and under secretary-general for public information Shashi Tharoo (India). 
The other top candidates are Thai Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai and South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon. 
There has also been speculation that Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda may enter the contest if East Timorese Foreign Minister and Nobel Peace Prize winner Jose Ramos Horta decides to run. 
Under an informal global power sharing arrangement the next secretary-general must come from Asia, although the US says the rotational system should be abandoned. Mr Hill said Australia supported the rotational system.