Informal interactive dialogue with German candidate for PGA80 Annalena Baerbock
Accountability, Coherence and Transparency (ACT) statement
Delivered by Ms. Kristel Lõuk, Chargé d’Affaires of the Permanent Mission of Estonia to the UN
15 May 2025
President,
I am honoured to take the floor on behalf of the 27[1] members of the Accountability, Coherence and Transparency (ACT) Group.
President, thank you for convening today´s important discussion. Hearings with PGA candidates are a great contribution to the transparency and accountability of the process. And we thank Ms. Baerbock for her engagement and openness.
Next year will no doubt involve a major focus, in the General Assembly and the Security Council, on the selection and appointment of a new Secretary-General. Member States have confirmed through GA revitalization the importance of improving the process for the selection and appointment of next SG. Hearings in the GA are an indispensable part of this process. We would like to ask you two questions:1) How will you use your authority as PGA to ensure that the hearings are more transparent and inclusive – and also engage people beyond NY?
2) The ACT Group calls on the Security Council to enhance transparency during its deliberations on candidates, including regular updates from the President of the Security Council and official announcement of the results of any deliberative mechanism. To this end ACT group welcomes the innovations proposed in the AHWG Co-chairs elements paper, such as General Assembly holding its own informal straw polls. What do you think should the role of the GA be in ensuring greater transparency during the SG selection and appointment process?
Thank you.
[1] Austria, Chile, Costa Rica, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, Gabon, Ghana, Hungary, Ireland, Jordan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Maldives, New Zealand, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Portugal, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Uruguay, and my own country Estonia.