China has backed the prospect of a woman becoming the next Secretary-General of the United Nations, saying it would be “very happy” to see a female leader head the global body.
In its eight-decade history, the UN has never had a woman as Secretary-General.
The selection process for the next UN chief has now begun at the organisation.
Two women -- United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan -- are among the four candidates in the fray for the post of the world's top diplomat.
"We will be happy to see a lady SG (Secretary General), female SG...it has been 80 years, and so if we can have a female SG, China will be very happy to see," Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations Ambassador Fu Cong said here on Monday.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi and Senegal's former president Macky Sall are also vying for the post of the UN chief.
Last month, the four candidates faced questions from UN member states and civil society during extensive interactive dialogues about their vision for the position of the next Secretary-General and why they are the best choice for the top job at the UN.
When asked if China has a preferred candidate among the four nominees for the post of the UN chief, Fu, who is also the President of the Security Council for the month of May, said last week, "If we had, I would not tell you."
He said Beijing does have some criteria for the next Secretary General, adding that the UN is at a very critical juncture and there is a need for a "strong" Secretary General "who is really committed to multilateralism, to enhancing the role of the UN and not to be too much aligned to the policies of one single superpower".
Fu added that China would also like to see the candidate for the next UN chief supporting the three pillars of the United Nations -- peace and security, development and human rights.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres will complete his second five-year term as head of the global organisation in December 2026.
He assumed office in 2017 as the ninth Secretary General of the UN.
The Secretary-General is appointed by the 193-member General Assembly "upon the recommendation of the Security Council", the powerful but divided 15-nation body where China, France, Russia, the UK and the US sit as permanent members and have veto powers.
A UN General Assembly resolution adopted in September last year had noted "with regret" that no woman has ever held the position of Secretary-General and had encouraged member states to "strongly consider nominating women as candidates" for the top post.
While the selection of the Secretary General does not follow any regional rotation, it is being pointed out that the next UN chief should come from Latin America.
Fu described the selection of the Secretary General as "one of the most consequential issues of the latter part of the year" for the membership of the United Nations and noted that more candidates may join the race in the coming weeks and months.
China assumed the monthly rotating presidency of the UN Security Council for May on Friday last.
Fu said under China's presidency of the Security Council, "we will try to come up with a modality" for the selection of the Secretary General within the framework of the 15-nation Council, including hearings among the UNSC members and modalities for the straw poll.
"We will initiate this consultation among the members of the Security Council very early on in our presidency, and we hope that during our presidency, some modality can be agreed upon by the members of the Security Council so the work can really start in earnest in June or July," he said.
(With inputs from PTI)
