Restoring the full functioning of the UN is impossible without a fundamental review of the role and place of the UN Secretariat. Russia insists on reforming this body, said Kirill Logvinov, director of the Department of International Organizations at the Russian Foreign Ministry to TASS.
According to him, today “the Secretariat machine continues to move by inertia“, serving the interests of a Western minority.
“Overcoming this will require a paradigm shift, a fundamentally different vision of the role and place of the Secretariat in the UN system. In other words, the restoration of the full functioning of the UN is impossible without reforming its Secretariat and with the corresponding political will of the future Secretary-General,“ Logvinov emphasized.
In this regard, the Director of the Department of International Organizations at the Russian Foreign Ministry pointed out that in order to function effectively, the UN needs a “conscientious head of the Secretariat, who clearly understands the possibilities and limitations of his mandate, the source of which are the decisions of the member states“, and whose main starting point in his daily work should remain the Charter of the organization.““It is such a candidate who can count on our support both during his appointment and during his term as the highest administrative official of the world organization,“ concluded Logvinov.“
The UN Secretariat is one of the six main organs of the United Nations and serves as its administrative structure. It is responsible for the day-to-day running of the organization and the implementation of the programmes and policies set by the other organs.
The Secretariat is headed by the Secretary-General, who is the highest-ranking official in the UN. The current Secretary-General is António Guterres.
Discussions and nominations for the next Secretary-General are already underway, as Guterres' term is coming to an end.