That Other Election !

The eyes of the world are firmly focused on November's election to choose the new President of the United States of America.    At the end of the year the Secretary General of the United Nations - Ban Ki-moon - completes his turn and the process of finding a replacement is well under way.

Strangely, the United Nations is not a " Democracy " in the way we usually understand that terminology.  The organization has one hundred and ninety three members who we would expect to have individual equality, but that is not the case.  It is a little like the characters in " Animal Farm ". Some are just more equal that others !

When the United Nations was mooted at the end of the second world war there was a problem.  Five countries were armed with nuclear weapons - and so the United States, China, Russia, Britain and France formed an " inner circle " and each was allowed a " Veto " to remove any matter of their choice from discussion by the forum.   They were also made permanent members of the Security Council.

Selecting a new Secretary General runs a strange course.   These five countries are referred to a " P-5 " and they nominate people who will be acceptable to them and who they hope may also meet the requirements of the other P-5 members.   At present there are twelve nominations, and five of them are women.   This is a break from tradition.  Past Secretary Generals have all been male.   None of these present contenders for the job are citizens of any of the P-5 member countries.

This is time of mulling and horse trading.   Eventually the P-5 will settle on a choice acceptable to all and that person will be presented to the 193 member General Assembly for ratification.  By protocol, all other nominees will withdraw their application to speed that person selected into office.

This list is not yet complete and former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has asked the Federal Government to forward his name as a possible contender.   Rudd is considered controversial for the job and while the government has agreed to give it consideration, it is not high on the rate of urgency.

Some may contend that whoever fills the shoes of the Secretary General has the most difficult and powerless job on the planet.  He - or she - will face a constant battle to beg, borrow or steal both people and money from the member countries to try and keep the agencies of the United Nations running - and saving lives.

The task is legion.   The World Food Programme is always on the brink of disaster, trying to move food through armed blockades to keep refugees from starving to death.    The World Health Organization is at the forefront of stopping contageous diseases from ripping through the world.   It has had success against Malaria but one of its greatest triumphs was stopping Ebola in its tracks in Africa, and now it is battling Ziva of a wide front.

Civil war in both the Middle East and Africa has brought that UNHCR logo to prominence in the tent cities the UN has created to house and shelter the refugees fleeing to safety with just the clothing on their backs.    Along with providing food and shelter it is the UN that is providing schools to try and deliver at least a rudimentary education for the children whose lives have been shattered - and it is United Nations agencies tasked with finding refugees new homes in other countries.

The Secretary General has the task of wheedling and shaming the governments of member countries into contributing soldiers to expand the " Blue Berets " of the troops fighting under a United Nations mandate to separate warring armies in civil wars from decimating helpless civilians.    It also has a hand in trying to right labour abuses which verge on outright slavery - and then there is the World Bank and its ability to place money where it will raise living standards.

The Secretary General must be a very remarkable person.  Part diplomat.  Part magician.   It must be terribly vexing to go to conferences where heads of state big note themselves by publicly promising worthwhile donations, only to have them renege as soon as the spotlight of world publicity moves elsewhere.

The American Presidential election is certainly important, but perhaps it pales into insignificance when compared to the task one person will be handed by years end.   The task the United Nations Secretary General undertakes probably decides the life or death outcome for more citizens of planet Earth than the ruler of any individual world country.    Hopefully, the P-5 will choose well !