UN Photo/Mark Garten
On Tuesday, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously voted to give Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and second five year term. The Secretary General is chosen in a two-step process.
Article 97 of the UN Charter states that, “The Secretary-General shall be appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council.” Therefore, a Secretary General needs both the recommendation from the 15 member Security Council as well as a majority vote in the 192 member General Assembly.
This year, current Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon was the only candidate under consideration, almost ensuring him another five year term. Though there is no limit to the number of terms a Secretary General can serve, no Secretary General has served more than two terms.
Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon will begin his next term in January 2012.
Ambassador Susan Rice, Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations stated, “Under the Secretary-General’s leadership, the United Nations has moved to meet the challenges of a new century—one in which we must all work together to find shared solutions to common challenges that pay no heed to borders. Secretary-General Ban has been a champion of peace and security, an advocate for development, and a voice for universal human rights. He has spoken out with compassion for Haiti, for democracy in Cote d’Ivoire, and for the responsibility to protect in Libya. He has urged us all to confront the common challenge of climate change. He has encouraged us to promote truly sustainable development that expands the circle of prosperity. And he has insisted on recognizing that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights are, simply, human rights.”