Circle of Leadership

1. In 2017, the United Nations Secretary-General launched a new strategy to prevent and end sexual exploitation and abuse by United Nations personnel (A/71/818).  A major element of this new approach was the creation of a Circle of Leadership on the prevention of and response to sexual exploitation and abuse in United Nations operations (Circle of Leadership) made up of global leaders who actively support this agenda.
2. The Circle of Leadership represents a visible and formidable symbol of Members’ commitment to end impunity, to strengthen measures to prevent sexual exploitation and abuse, to respond rapidly and decisively to credible reports of such acts, and to meet the needs of victims quickly and appropriately. It also provides the global high-level political support necessary for success.  On 18 September 2017, the Circle of Leadership was formally established by the Secretary-General at the High-level Meeting on the Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse.  As at 29 April 2021, 95 sitting and former heads of State/Government are Members of the Circle of Leadership.
3. Eight informal expert meetings of Member States whose Head of State/Government are members of the Circle of Leadership have been held to discuss ways to ensure that the political momentum of the Secretary-General’s strategy to prevent sexual exploitation and abuse is sustained and intensified. These meetings took place on: 29 May 2018 (co-sponsors: Australia and Uruguay); 25 June 2018 (co-sponsors:  Finland and Morocco); 27 July 2018 (co-sponsors: The Kingdom of Bhutan and the United Kingdom); 17 August 2018 (co-sponsors: Bangladesh and Italy); 30 August 2018 (co-sponsors: Canada and the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia); 29 April 2019 (co-sponsors: The Republic of Korea and the Republic of South Africa), 10 July 2019 (co-sponsors: Austria and the Arab Republic of Egypt), and 21 July 2020.
4. During these meetings Representatives of the Permanent Missions reiterated the commitment of their Head of State/Government to the Secretary-General’s strategy and the Circle of Leadership.  They welcomed the opportunity to exchange ideas informally on progress made, good practices and related issues. All agreed that continuing expert-level engagement to discuss best practice and promote greater visibility of the Circle of Leadership was critical. 
5. On 27 September 2018, 49 Members of the Secretary-General’s Circle of Leadership on the prevention of and response to sexual exploitation and abuse in United Nations operations, and 21 United Nations Entities joined him in issuing a “Collective Statement” to reaffirm their continued personal commitment as global leaders to support efforts to combat sexual exploitation and abuse across the United Nations system.
6. As part of the Secretary-General’s social media campaign which took place from 24 September to 2 October 2019, reaffirming their support and commitment to the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse, 76 participants responded to the Secretary-General’s tweet, including heads of state or government of the Secretary-General’s Circle of Leadership; Special Representatives of the Secretary-General from peacekeeping and special political missions, Heads and senior officials from across the United Nations as well as members of the Secretary-General’s Civil Society Advisory Board, issued a tweet, all gathered in a Twitter Moment.

Membership of the Secretary-General's Circle of Leadership 

As at 29 April 2021, the membership of the Secretary-General’s Circle of Leadership on the prevention of and response to sexual exploitation and abuse in United Nations operations stands at 95 sitting and former heads of State/Government.

Sitting heads of State/Government

1. Principality of Andorra, Prime Minister Xavier Espot Zamora
2. Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morrison
3. Austria, President Alexander van der Bellen
4. People's Republic of Bangladesh, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina*
5. Belgium, Prime Minister Alexander De Croo
6. Kingdom of Bhutan, Prime Minister Dr. Lotay Tshering
7. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Members of the Presidency Milorad Dodik, Šefik Džaferović and Zeljko Komšić
8. Botswana, President Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi
9. Brazil, President Jair Messias Bolsonaro
10. Bulgaria, President Rumen Radev
11. Burkina Faso, President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré*
12. Republic of Cabo Verde, Prime Minister José Ulisses Correia e Silva
13. Kingdom of Cambodia, Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen
14. Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
15. Republic of Chad, President Idriss Deby Itno*
16. Union of the Comoros, President Azali Assoumani
17. Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, President Alassane Ouattara*
18. Republic of Cyprus, President Nicos Anastasiades
19. Denmark, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen
20. Republic of Djibouti, President and Head of Government Ismael Omar Guelleh*
21. Arab Republic of Egypt, President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi*
22. Republic of Estonia, President Kersti Kaljulaid
23. Republic of Fiji, Prime Minister Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama
24. Finland, President Sauli Niinistö
25. France, President Emmanuel Macron
26. Georgia, President Salome Zourabichvili
27. Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel
28. Ghana, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo*
29. Iceland, Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir
30. India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi*
31. Ireland, Taoiseach Micheál Martin
32. Italy, President of the Council of Ministers Mario Draghi*
33. Japan, Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide
34. Republic of Kenya, President Uhuru Kenyatta
35. Libya, President of the Presidency Council of the Government of National Accord Faiez Mustafa Serraj
36. Republic of Maldives, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih
37. Kingdom of Morocco, King Mohammed VI*
38. Republic of Namibia, President Hage G. Geingob
39. Kingdom of the Netherlands, Prime Minister Mark Rutte
40. Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari*
41. North Macedonia, Prime Minister Zoran Zaev
42. Norway, Prime Minister Erna Solberg
43. Pakistan, Prime Minister Imran Khan*
44. Portugal, Prime Minister António Luís Santos da Costa
45. Republic of Korea, President Jae-in Moon
46. Romania, President Klaus Werner Iohannis
47. Republic of Rwanda, President Paul Kagame*
48. Saint Lucia, Prime Minister Allen Michael Chastanet
49. Republic of Senegal, President Macky Sall*
50. Slovak Republic, President Zuzana Čaputová
51. Republic of South Africa, President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa*
52. Spain, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez
53. Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa
54. Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, President Francisco Guterres Lú Olo
55. Togo, President Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé*
56. Republic of Uganda, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni
57. United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Prime Minister Boris Johnson
58. United States of America, President Joseph R. Biden Jr.
59. Republic of Zambia, President Edgar Chagwa Lungu*

Former heads of State/Government

60. Principality of Andorra, the former Prime Minister Antoni Martí-Petit
61. Argentina, the former President Mauricio Macri
62. Australia, the former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull
63. Belgium, the former Prime Minister Charles Michel
64. Belize, the former Prime Minister Dean Barrow
65. Kingdom of Bhutan, the former Prime Minister Lyonchoen Tshering Tobgay
66. Plurinational State of Bolivia, the former President Evo Morales Ayma
67. Brazil, the former President Michel Temer
68. Denmark, the former Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen
69. Dominican Republic, the former President Danilo Medina Sánchez
70. Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
    the former Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn*
71. Iceland, the former Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson
72. Ireland, the former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar
73. Italy, the former President of the Council of Ministers Paolo Gentiloni
74. Italy, the former President of the Council of Ministers Giuseppe Conte
75. Kingdom of Lesotho, the former Prime Minister Thomas Motsoahae Thabane
76. Republic of Lithuania, the former President Dalia Grybauskaitė
77. Republic of Malawi, the former President Arthur Peter Mutharika
78. Malaysia, the former Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad
79. North Macedonia, the former Prime Minister Oliver Spasovski
80. Palau, the former President Tommy Esang Remengesau Jr.
81. Panama, the former President Juan Carlos Varela Rodríguez
82. Peru, the former President Martin Vizcarra Cornejo
83. Slovak Republic, the former President Andrej Kiska
84. Republic of Slovenia, the former Prime Minister Miro Cerar
85. Republic of Slovenia, the former Prime Minister Marjan Šarec
86. Republic of South Africa, the former President Jacob Zuma
87. Spain, the former Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy Brey
88. Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, the former President Maithripala Sirisena
89. Switzerland, the former President Ueli Maurer
90. Switzerland, the former President Doris Leuthard
91. Switzerland, the former President Alain Berset
92. Switzerland, the former President Simonetta Sommaruga
93. United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the former Prime Minister Theresa May
94. United States of America, the former President Donald J. Trump
95. Uruguay, the former President Tabaré Vázquez*

Note: * Top 20 TCCs or PCCs as at 31 May 2019

• Membership
• Collective statement
• Video messages
• Twitter moment