THE ROLE OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

Equal parts diplomat and advocate, civil servant and CEO, the Secretary-General is a symbol of United Nations ideals and a spokesman for the interests of the world's peoples, in particular the poor and vulnerable among them. The current Secretary-General, and the seventh occupant of the post, is Mr. Kofi A. Annan of Ghana, who took office on 1 January 1997.

The Charter describes the Secretary-General as "chief administrative officer" of the Organization, who shall act in that capacity and perform "such other functions as are entrusted" to him or her by the Security Council, General Assembly, Economic and Social Council and other United Nations organs. The Charter also empowers the Secretary-General to "bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security". These guidelines both define the powers of the office and grant it considerable scope for action. The Secretary-General would fail if he did not take careful account of the concerns of Member States, but he must also uphold the values and moral authority of the United Nations, and speak and act for peace, even at the risk, from time to time, of challenging or disagreeing with those same Member States.

That creative tension accompanies the Secretary-General through day-to-day work that includes attendance at sessions of United Nations bodies; consultations with world leaders, government officials, and others; and worldwide travel intended to keep him in touch with the peoples of the Organization's Member States and informed about the vast array of issues of international concern that are on the Organization's agenda. Each year, the Secretary-General issues a report on the work of the United Nations that appraises its activities and outlines future priorities. The Secretary-General is also Chairman of the Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC), which brings together the Executive Heads of all UN funds, programmes and specialized agencies twice a year in order to further coordination and cooperation in the entire range of substantive and management issues facing the United Nations System.

One of the most vital roles played by the Secretary-General is the use of his "good offices" -- steps taken publicly and in private, drawing upon his independence, impartiality and integrity, to prevent international disputes from arising, escalating or spreading. Since becoming Secretary-General, Mr. Annan has made use of his good offices in a range of situations, including Cyprus, East Timor, Iraq, Libya, Nigeria and Western Sahara.

Each Secretary-General also defines his role within the context of his particular time in office. Mr. Annan's efforts have focused on:

Reform

Shortly after taking office, the Secretary-General presented a sweeping reform package aimed at helping the United Nations to change with the times and adapt to a new era of global affairs. Reform measures falling under the authority of the Secretary-General have been largely implemented or set in motion; they have been administrative -- such as a zero-growth budget and rigorous efforts to upgrade management practices -- as well as organizational, with the emphasis on enabling the Organization to respond more effectively to the growing demands placed on it, particularly in the areas of development and peacekeeping. A new post of Deputy Secretary-General was created to assist the Secretary-General in the array of responsibilities assigned to his office; the first holder of this position is Louise FrÈchette, who was Canada's Deputy Minister of National Defence before her appointment in 1998. The General Assembly, meanwhile, continues to consider several key questions of institutional change that fall under its authority, including the size and composition of the Security Council, methods of financing the organization and bringing greater coherence to the wider UN system of specialized agencies.

Africa

The Secretary-General has sought to maintain a focus on Africa and to mobilize international support for Africa's efforts to chart a path to peace and higher levels of development. His approach is encapsulated in a report issued in April 1998, "The causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa", which contains a comprehensive set of "realistic and achievable" measures designed to reduce political tensions and violence within and between African states, and to address such key questions of development as debt, governance and the spread of diseases such as AIDS.

Peace operations

The 1990s saw an upsurge in United Nations peacekeeping and peacemaking activities and dramatic changes in the nature of conflict itself -- primarily a decline in inter-state conflict and a rise in the frequency and brutality of conflicts within states. Difficult experiences in responding to these complex humanitarian emergencies have led the Secretary-General to place great emphasis on ensuring that the United Nations, when asked to undertake a peace operation, is fully equipped to do so -- militarily, financially, and politically. In addition to measures contained in the reform plan, three key reports have contributed to this effort. The first, requested by the General Assembly and submitted by the Secretary-General in November 1999, was a report of the Secretary-General that examined the atrocities committed against the Bosnian Muslim population in July 1995 in the United Nations-designated "safe area" of Srebrenica. The second, commissioned by the Secretary-General and released in December 1999, was an independent inquiry led by Mr. Ingvar Carlsson (the former Prime Minister of Sweden) into the actions of the United Nations during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. The third, released in August 2000, was a comprehensive review of United Nations peace and security activities by a high-level panel appointed by the Secretary-General and chaired by Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi (former Foreign Minister of Algeria). This third report, intended to draw conclusions for the future from the other two, contains wide-ranging recommendations for the United Nations Secretariat and the Member States, particularly those serving on the Security Council. The Secretary-General has begun implementing those which fall within his purview, while others need the approval and support of the legislative bodies of the United Nations.

Global Compact

In January 1999 [at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland], the Secretary-General proposed a "Global Compact" between the United Nations and the world business community. The Compact is aimed at enabling all the world's people to share the benefits of globalization and embedding the global market in values and practices that are fundamental to meeting socio-economic needs. The Compact is based on nine key principles drawn from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Labour Organization fundamental principles on rights at work, and the Rio Principles on environment and development, which enjoy universal consensus among the world's governments. The Secretary-General has asked private sector enterprises to embrace these principles and translate them into corporate practice. He is also encouraging leaders of labour and civil society organizations to participate in the Compact and use it as a forum for dialogue on various contentious issues linked to globalization and development. The first meeting attended by leaders from all three sectors was held in July 2000.

Millennium Report

In April 2000, in preparation for the September 2000 Millennium Summit, the largest-ever gathering of heads of State or Government, the Secretary-General issued his Millennium Report, entitled "We the Peoples: The Role of the United Nations in the 21st Century". The report is the most comprehensive presentation of the UN's mission in its 55-year history, and calls on Member States to commit themselves to an action plan for ending poverty and inequality, improving education, reducing HIV/AIDS, safeguarding the environment and protecting peoples from deadly conflict and violence. Central to the Secretary-General's proposals is the view that globalization is a powerful force offering both opportunities and challenges for nations and people, and must be made to work for all people. The Secretary-General also strongly embraces new information technology and sees a major role for it in fighting poverty, promoting human development and improving United Nations operations. He also proposes an ambitious series of changes for the United Nations itself.

Previous Secretaries-General

Under the Charter, the Secretary-General is appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council. Mr. Annan's predecessors as Secretary-General were: Boutros Boutros-Ghali (Egypt), who held office from January 1992 to December 1996; Javier PÈrez de CuÈllar (Peru), who served from January 1982 to December 1991; Kurt Waldheim (Austria), who held office from January 1972 to December 1981; U Thant (Burma, now Myanmar), who served from November 1961, when he was appointed acting Secretary-General (he was formally appointed Secretary-General in November 1962) to December 1971; Dag Hammarskjˆld (Sweden), who served from April 1953 until his death in a plane crash in Africa in September 1961; and Trygve Lie (Norway), who held office from February 1946 to his resignation in November 1952.