India told the Non-aligned Movement (NAM) on Wednesday that it intends to nominate UN Under Secretary-General Shashi Tharoor to succeed Kofi Annan as his second five-year term ends at the end of this year.
"There is likelihood of Shashi Tharoor being endorsed as a candidate for the post of secretary-general by the government of India in the next few days," India's UN Ambassador Nirupam Sen was quoted as saying by diplomats who attended the closed-door meeting.
India's decision to seek the UN's top job immediately set off speculation that New Delhi might abandon its bid for a permanent seat on the powerful Security Council. India is a member of Group of Four with Brazil, Japan and Germany that desperately tried last year to join the ranks of permanent members - Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States - but failed to muster the required two-thirds majority in the 191-member General Assembly. Individuals from member states holding a permanent seat on the Council cannot contest for the post of the secretary-general.
The Indian move also raised speculation about Pakistan joining the contest for the "highest diplomatic job in the world". Journalists questioned Pakistan's UN Ambassador Munir Akram about such a possibility. "We have been giving serious consideration to fielding a candidate," he said. When pressed who was likely to be Pakistan's candidate, the Pakistan ambassador said, "No final decision has yet been taken."
Traditionally, UN top slots have come from small states - Trygve Lie (Norway); Dag Hammarskjold (Sweden); U Thant (Burma, now Myanmar); Kurt Waldhiem (Austria); Javier Perez de Cuellar (Peru) and Boutros Bountros-Ghali (Egypt). Annan, the incumbent is from Ghana. India will be the first big, militarily powerful country to field a candidate.
Tharoor, 50, began his UN career in 1978 and currently heads the UN's Department of Public Information. Born in London, and educated in India and the United States, he is the author of several books. As the campaign for the post gathers pace, diplomats expect more candidates to join the race. The Security Council has already announced that it is due to start the process to select a candidate for the post next month.
The UN Charter states that the secretary-general is confirmed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council. In reality, the five permanent members of the Security Council have the final say since they can veto any of the candidates.
Under the system of geographical rotation, the next UN chief should come from Asia. But the United States Ambassador to the UN, John Bolton, does not agree with that system, insisting that the selection should be on merit.
Three Asians have already declared their candidacy for the job: South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon; Thai Deputy Premier Surakiart Sathirathai; and Sri Lanka's Jayantha Dhanapala, UN under-secretary-general for disarmament from 1998 to 2003.
Surakiart is the official candidate of the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), and he claims support from 128 UN members. However, his campaign is now shadowed by recent political turmoil in Bangkok and the defeat Thailand suffered earlier this month in the election for members of the newly established UN Human Rights Council. Former UN under-secretary-general Dhanapala has had a long career in multilateral diplomacy focusing on peace and security.
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