The New World Disorder

Bolton launches talks on replacing Annan

By EDITH M. LEDERER
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

UNITED NATIONS -- The U.S. ambassador opened Security Council discussions on the next U.N. secretary-general, calling the choice of a replacement for Kofi Annan probably the most important decision the world body will make this year.

U.S. Ambassador John Bolton, the council's president this month, called a meeting of the five veto-wielding permanent members Thursday "to get a sense of where the council is, so that we can begin to move forward on the issue."

Annan's second five-year term ends on Dec. 31 and his successor must be approved by the General Assembly based on a recommendation from the council.

At the moment, the permanent members - the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain - are divided on when to choose the next U.N. chief and where he or she should come from.

By tradition, the job of secretary-general rotates by region - and Asian and African nations, who represent the majority of the 191 U.N. member states, believe it is Asia's turn to lead the United Nations.

"We believe, with more than two billion people, definitely Asia can provide the best qualified candidates," China's U.N. Ambassador Wang Guangya told reporters after Thursday's meeting.

Russian Ambassador Andrey Denisov said choosing an Asian would follow tradition, "and it is better to follow traditions if we do have them, but it doesn't mean that it is strict adherence."

French Ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sabliere said his government believes the Asians "have a priority - but not exclusivity."

But Bolton reiterated Washington's strong opposition to the principle of geographic rotation, a view backed by Britain.

"It's our view that we should pick the best qualified person, whatever region of the world the person comes from," he said. "Obviously, the secretary-general has to have political skills, but our view is the management question is far and away the most important qualification."

Bolton argued that in practice there really is no geographical rotation because three secretary-generals have come from Western Europe, two from Africa, one from Latin America, one from Asia, and none from Eastern Europe.

He also noted that there has never been a woman secretary-general and asked: "If you believe in geographic rotation, do you believe in gender rotation?"

So far, the announced candidates are all Asian men. They include South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon, Thai Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai, who is backed by the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and former U.N. disarmament chief Jayantha Dhanapala of Sri Lanka who recently represented the government in peace talks with the Tamil Tigers.

Equality Now, an advocacy organization which campaigns for women's rights, came up with a sampling of 18 qualified women from all over the world. Its list of candidates includes the presidents of Latvia, Finland and Chile, several current and former senior U.N. officials, and Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize winner who remains under house arrest by the country's military rulers.

Council members expect more candidates to enter the race in the coming months.

Bolton wants the council to decide on a candidate by June, but other members think that's too early.

China's Wang said the council is "informally looking at dates like September, October" to give the next secretary-general time for a transition.

De La Sabliere said there is growing support for a transition of two or three months.

Not only have the five permanent council members started talking about the next secretary-general, so have the 10 elected council members who serve two-year terms. But all 15 members agree that discussions are very preliminary - and there won't be any discussion of candidates for several months.

"I think we get together not to surprise each other," Wang said of the meetings of the five permanent members, known as the P-5. "We believe the P-5 will have a major role to play. Whether they finally agree I'm not sure."