The Next United Nations Secretary General

The next Secretary-General of the United Nations will have a challenging agenda from day one. Civil wars in Syria, South Sudan, Yemen and elsewhere defy the best peacemaking efforts of the international community. A migrant crisis afflicts multiple continents, with the terrible costs borne by the most vulnerable. Agreements on climate change and on sustainable development, now reached, must be implemented. Against all this is the backdrop of the UN itself which, after many years of unprecedented demands, needs to be reformed to better cope with the realities of a multipolar twenty-first century.

What is also unprecedented is the most transparent competition for the post of Secretary-General ever. Never before have candidates been publicly scrutinised in such a way. As part of this process, this series of lectures brings RUSI members into close conversation with the candidates in an informed discussion of the most important priorities for the new Secretary-General.

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