The Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) organized a One-Day Seminar on the Politics and Diplomacy of the Selection and Appointment of the United Nations Secretary General on Monday 22 August 2016.  The main objective of the seminar was to distill  a Nigerian and African perspective on the selection and appointment of the UN Secretary-General. In seeking to interrogate the processes of the selection and appointment of the UN Secretary – General, the seminar highlighted and discussed the politics and roles played by the Permanent Five  members of the Security Council vis-a vis the limitation of other members of the UN General Assembly in seeking to democratize the process of the selection and appointment.

In respect of the observations made, it was generally agreed that even though the UN has remained one of the important platforms for the articulation of the Nigeria’s interest and the implementation of its foreign policy, it has been observed that the country has not been in the mainstream of the selection and appointment of the UN Secretary- General.

It is therefore against this background that some recommendations was observed such as, Nigeria should resume its leadership role in African Group within the UN; and that Nigeria should continue to support the reform of the UN, particularly the enlargement of the permanent membership of the UN Security Council. In this regard, it should seek to be a member of the Accountability, Coherence and Transparency Group (ACT) and any other group seeking reform of the UN.

The Seminar covered six (6) papers,  but only four (4) papers was presented, which included the following, The Politics and Diplomacy of the United Nations System presented by Professor Osita Agbu; The Selection, Appointment and Functions of the UN Secretary General: An Interpretative Analysis presented by Professor Amadu Sesay; The African Group in the United Nations: What Role should it play in the Selection and Appointment of the next Secretary- General?  by Ambassador Usman Sarki, but was presented by Professor Charles Dokubo ; and The Future of the Office of the Secretary –General and the UN System  presented by Professor Alaba Ogunsanwo. The two (2) papers that were not presented but the authors had promised to forward their papers to the Director- General included, Contemporary International Politics and the United Nations after the Cold War by Dr. Adekeye Adebayo, The Nigerian Perspective in the Selection and Appointment of the Ninth UN Secretary- General by Professor Sola Ojo.  The proceedings of the Seminar will be published soon.

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