UNGA President announces launch of UN Secretary-General selection campaign

Baku. 16 December. REPORT.AZ/ The next Secretary-General will assume the role in January 2017 and will serve a five year term, which can be renewed by Member States for an additional five years, Report informs referring to the foreign media. 

The letter simply notes "the regional diversity in the selection of previous Secretaries-General".

But the new reforms haven't affected the heart of the selection process, where the 15-member Security Council meets in private and then submits its candidate for General Assembly approval.

Inside the council, the five veto-wielding permanent members have the most say: the United States, Britain, Russia, France and China.

But a United Nations resolution adopted by the General Assembly in September lifted some of the secrecy surrounding the process, asking candidates to present their resumes and lay out their vision for the job.

The letter calls for "candidates to be presented with proven leadership and managerial abilities, extensive experience in global relations and strong diplomatic, communication and multilingual skills".

In a bid to boost transparency, the presidents of the Security Council and the General Assembly - U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power and Mogens Lykketoft of Denmark - sent a letter on Tuesday to United Nations member states to begin the search for Ban's replacement by outlining the process and soliciting candidates.