Rethinking the Selection of the UN Secretary-General: Insights from the Global South
Since its launch in 2015, the 1 for 8 Billion campaign has worked to move discussions on the selection of the UN Secretary-General beyond diplomatic circles in New York and into wider public debate across countries and regions. Strengthening Global South participation has remained central to that effort.
In 2025, Southern Voice partnered with five organisations from Argentina, Bangladesh, Tanzania, Pakistan and Tunisia. Together, these organisations produced policy briefs examining the structural conditions shaping the selection of the next UN Secretary-General and their implications for legitimacy, representation, effectiveness, and global governance.
The research highlights how representation shapes institutional credibility and effectiveness. The briefs also show how barriers affecting women and candidates outside traditional centres of power continue to narrow the pool of politically viable candidates.
Synthesis Report
The authority of future UN leadership is closely tied to whether the system reflects the realities and priorities of the regions where the organisation is most operationally engaged. The recommendations across the briefs call for:
- Stronger transparency in the selection process
- Broader participation by Member States and civil society
- Greater political support for women candidates
- Reforms capable of strengthening the legitimacy and independence of future UN leadership
Our 1 for 8 Billion Synthesis Report brings together the key findings, recommendations, and cross-cutting insights emerging from the five policy briefs.
Policy Briefs
The Next United Nations Secretary-General from a Global South Perspective: Legitimacy, Effectiveness, and a Historic Opportunity for Gender Equity
Authors: Gala Díaz Langou, Abril García Mur, and Bruno Muñoz (CIPPEC, Argentina)
This brief argues that the selection process itself shapes the legitimacy, independence, and authority of the future Secretary-General. From a Latin American perspective, it calls for a more transparent and participatory process capable of addressing structural inequalities, particularly the historic exclusion of women, while aligning UN leadership with Global South priorities such as financing, climate action, food security, and inequality reduction.
Rethinking UN Leadership in a Fragmented World: A Bangladesh-Centred Perspective
Authors: Fahmida Khatun, Afrin Mahbub, and Ayesha Suhaima Rab (CPD, Bangladesh)
Drawing on Bangladesh’s experience, this brief examines the kind of leadership the UN requires in a context of interconnected crises and growing institutional strain. It shows that the underrepresentation of women remains structural and begins at the nomination stage, limiting the pool of viable candidates. The brief also highlights the importance of coordination capacity, strategic vision, and protecting vulnerable populations during periods of global instability.
Eighty Years Without a Woman Secretary-General: Gender, Geography, and UN Leadership Legitimacy
Authors: Linda Mhando, Richard Ngilangwa, and Vivian Kazi (ESRF, Tanzania)
This brief examines how the absence of a woman Secretary-General reflects broader imbalances in global governance. From a Tanzanian perspective, it argues that gender representation and geographic balance are essential to the credibility and effectiveness of the UN, particularly at a time when many of the organisation’s most pressing crises are concentrated in the Global South while decision-making power remains concentrated among a small number of actors.
Advancing Transparency, Independence, and Gender-Inclusive Leadership in the 1 for 8 Billion Campaign for the United Nations Secretary-General Selection
Authors: Sadia Satti and Ayesha Naeem (SDPI, Pakistan)
Based on evidence and Pakistan’s experience, this brief analyses how opaque power dynamics and networks dominated by major powers continue to restrict women’s access to UN leadership. It calls for reforms that strengthen transparency, reduce reliance on informal negotiations, and expand the role of non-permanent members of the Security Council in the selection process.
From Electoral Representation to Global Executive Leadership: Lessons from Tunisia for Advocacy in Support of Electing a Woman as Secretary-General of the United Nations
Author: Khaled Mejri (Solidar Tunisie, Tunisia)
Using Tunisia’s experience as a starting point, this brief explores how institutional rules, political dynamics, social norms, and resource inequalities shape women’s access to leadership. It highlights how seemingly neutral processes can continue reproducing exclusion in the absence of corrective mechanisms and underscores the importance of coalition-building, political coordination, and structural reforms to support women candidates in the selection of the next Secretary-General.
Centers involved
