The process of selecting the next United Nations secretary-general entered a critical stage this month, with the powerful Security Council beginning its consideration of the candidates.
In an unprecedented move in the U.N.'s 70-year history, the General Assembly conducted in April, June and earlier this month its first informal hearings of all 12 candidates whose names had been submitted by their respective sponsoring governments. Now the ball is in the court of the Security Council, which has the responsibility under the U.N. Charter to recommend desirable candidates to the General Assembly for appointment this fall.
Before deciding who to recommend in a formal vote, the council will hold several rounds of what is calls a "straw poll," a mechanism devised to informally gauge the degree of support for each candidate. The first straw poll has been set for July 21, with more to be held before the formal vote expected in October.
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