Oftentimes, the United Nations is the only bastion of hope for many people around the world in difficult circumstances. The United Nations that the world requires demands innovative, accountable and efficient leadership to guide it in adapting itself to the challenges that lie ahead.
Informed by the foundational principles of the United Nations Charter, my vision calls for a United Nations that is: centered on people, planet and prosperity; driven by issues; and focused on delivering positive impact.
We must make this Organization work for the people and planet in a manner that promotes the greatest prosperity for all. It must be propelled by the need to address the issues at hand and not by organizational arrangements.
An issues-based approach propels us from the silos that divide us to the issues that connect us. Through pursuing an issues-based approach that connects us and is centered on delivering sustainable impact in support of people, planet and prosperity, we are compelled to promote economies of scale, reduce unnecessary duplication, and be more inclusive and effective in our partnerships.
In today's world, the only way to deliver positive impact is by listening carefully to people and working in unison with local, regional and international partners. The Secretary-General must inculcate a culture of humility in the daily work of the Organization in its effort to faithfully implement and support Member States' decisions and their decision-making processes.
Also, it is not enough for the United Nations to effectively respond to existing crises. It must lead with the foresight to anticipate and prevent crises on the horizon.
Our focus on people, planet and shared prosperity must be premised on the guiding principles of sustainability and building resilience. Promoting sustainable development, as called for in the 2030 Agenda, reduces vulnerability in the long-term. Building resilience necessitates considering women and youth as an integral part of our solutions.
Ensuring reliable financing for development is critical to reduce the vulnerability that incites conflict, generates humanitarian need and imperils human rights. We must think in new ways that profit from South-South cooperation, leveraging triangular support and private-sector engagement to foster sustainable and innovative solutions for all.
Our actions must be imbued with respect for the primacy of national ownership. The Organization must enable collaboration with national and local communities and actors to strengthen their capacities as a first resort in all of its responses.
In an era of great interconnectedness, the problems that confront us transcend borders. It is vital that we work to implement a viable and robust strategy for zero tolerance to terrorism together with a reinvigorated focus on disarmament and nonproliferation. The role of climate change and other environmental pressures in igniting humanitarian need and conflict must be considered.
The Secretary-General must galvanize efforts to end conflict through preventative diplomacy and political dialogue, exercising good offices and leveraging regional partnerships.
All our efforts must be underpinned by the promotion of human rights. The Organization must spare no effort to use the tools at its disposal to promote human rights in a manner that is holistic, inspirational, up-front and that recognizes the responsibility that is incumbent upon sovereign states.
Partnership and inclusivity call on us to build on commonality where it exists, but acknowledge that strength emanates from diversity. We must do more to leverage the influence, political and economic weight, and contextual knowledge of regional actors to promote peace, invest in preparedness and disaster-risk reduction, and cultivate prosperity.
This approach demands a Secretary-General with the courage of conviction to listen to, heed guidance from, propose solutions to and work together with Member States, to find common ground, build confidence and cultivate trust.
As Chief Administrative Officer of the organization, it is incumbent upon the Secretary-General to support the stewardship of reform and review processes in close consultation with Member States. It is also the responsibility of the Secretary-General to foster flexibility and nimbleness, and to provide the managerial oversight to hold the Organization accountable to its membership, to the people around the world it aspires to serve, and to the ideals codified in the Charter.
Accountability implies transparency, performance, and due diligence, beginning with senior leadership and cascading throughout the Organization. It requires an organizational culture that is accountable, action-oriented and focused on impact. The Secretary-General must provide the visionary leadership and strong management to steer the Organization toward this culture. Such an Organization is also fully representative of our world, both in terms of gender and geography. I will strive to achieve these objectives, including gender parity at the top, as a key driver of change.
While serving the United Nations for over a decade in humanitarian, peace and security and management sectors, I have seen the Organization and its membership work closely together to devise creative solutions to respond to unprecedented challenges: This must become the rule.
This post is part of a series produced by The Huffington Post regarding the selection and appointment of the next Secretary-General of the United Nations. A new Secretary-General will take office on January 1, 2017, and each of the declared candidates for the position was invited to participate in this blog series. The President of the General Assembly noted that, this year, the selection process will have more transparency than ever before. The declared candidates for the position are listed by the UN here. To see all the posts in the series, visit here.