CL 123/INF/20

Council

Table of Contents

I. INTRODUCTION

II. CURRENT PROVISIONS IN FAO

A. Relevant constitutional provisions

B. General Rules of the Organization relating to appointment

C. General Rules of the Organization relating to the nomination of the candidates for the post of Director-General

III. HISTORY OF THE PROVISIONS IN FAO

A. Article VII of the Constitution

B. General Rules of the Organization related to appointment and nomination

IV. OTHER UN SYSTEM AGENCIES

APPENDIX A

I. INTRODUCTION

1. In accordance with Rule XXV.7(b) of the General Rules of the Organization (GRO), the Permanent Representative of the Federal Republic of Germany, on behalf of the Members of the European Community that are Members of the Council, i.e. France, Germany, Italy, Portugal and the United Kingdom, requested, by letter dated 24 September 2002, that an item entitled “The Number and Length of Terms of Office of the Director-General, Article VII.1 of the Constitution of FAO” be inserted in the provisional agenda of the Hundred and Twenty-third Session of the Council, scheduled to begin on 28 October 2002¹, “for a discussion with a view to making a recommendation to the FAO Conference in 2003”.

2. The letter also states “(w)e would in this connection like to ask the Secretariat to prepare and circulate the necessary documentation, i.e. an update of the Council document CL 116/INF/15, especially with regard to Article VII.1 of the FAO Constitution and similar provisions in other United Nations agencies taking into account the relevant United Nations General Assembly Resolutions”.

3. This document updates and follows the format of Document CL 116/INF/15 that had already been prepared in connection with the Hundred and Sixteenth Session of the Council, in June 1999. However, in order better to respond to the request made, Appendix A hereto is divided into two parts. Part I provides general information about the procedures for the appointment of the executive heads of other UN system agencies. Part II provides more specific information regarding the number and length of terms of office of the executive heads of other UN system agencies.

II. CURRENT PROVISIONS IN FAO

4. The appointment of the Director-General is governed by Article VII.1 and 2 of the Constitution and Rules XII and XXXVI.1 of the General Rules of the Organization (GRO).

A. RELEVANT CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS

5. At present, the relevant paragraphs of Article VII of the Constitution provide:

“1. There shall be a Director-General of the Organization who shall be appointed by the Conference for a term of six years. He shall be eligible for reappointment.

2. The appointment of the Director-General under this Article shall be made by such procedures and on such terms as the Conference may determine.

…”

B. GENERAL RULES OF THE ORGANIZATION RELATING TO APPOINTMENT

6. The relevant paragraphs of Rule XXXVI (GRO) provide:

“1. In pursuance of paragraph 1 of Article VII of the Constitution, the Director-General of the Organization shall be appointed under the following conditions:

(a) When the term of office of the Director-General is due to expire, the appointment of a new Director-Genera! shall be placed on the agenda of the regular session of the Conference immediately preceding the expiry of the term of office; whenever, for other reasons, the office of the Director-General is vacant, or notice is received of a pending vacancy, the appointment of a new Director-General shall be placed on the agenda of the next session of the Conference which opens not less than 90 days from the occurrence or notice of the pending vacancy. Nominations validly made in accordance with Rule XII.5 of these Rules shall be communicated to the Secretary-General of the Conference and Council by the date set by the Council. The Secretary-General shall circulate these nominations to all Member Nations and Associate Members by the date likewise set by the Council, it being understood that in the case of an election taking place at a regular session of the Conference, such date set by the Council shall be not later than 30 days before the session of the Council provided for in Rule XXV.2(c) of these Rules. As soon as possible after the opening of the Conference session, the General Committee shall determine and announce the date of the election, it being understood that the appointment of the Director-General at a regular session shall begin and be effected within three working days following the opening date of such session.

(b) The Director-General shall be elected by a majority of votes cast. Until a candidate obtains the required majority, the following procedure shall apply:

(i) two ballots shall be held among all candidates;

(ii) the candidate having received the smallest number of votes in the second ballot shall be eliminated;

(iii) thereafter, successive ballots shall be held, and the candidate having received the smallest number of votes in any one of these ballots shall be eliminated, until only three candidates remain;

(iv) two ballots shall be held among the three remaining candidates;

(v) the candidate having received the smallest number of votes during the second ballot referred to in subparagraph (iv) above shall be eliminated;

(vi) a subsequent ballot, or successive ballots if necessary, shall be held among the two remaining candidates until one candidate obtains the required majority;

(vii) in the event of a tie between two or more candidates having received the smallest number of votes in one of the ballots referred to in subparagraphs (ii) or (iii) above, a separate ballot or, if necessary, separate ballots shall be held among such candidates, and the candidate having received the smallest number of votes in such ballot or ballots shall be eliminated;

(viii) in the event of a tie between two candidates having received the smallest number of votes in the second of the two ballots referred to in subparagraph (iv) above, or if all three candidates have received the same number of votes in that ballot, successive ballots shall be held among all three candidates until one candidate has received the smallest number of votes, after which the procedure provided in subparagraph (vi) above shall apply.”

7. Rule Xll.10 (GRO) provides that the “appointment of the (...) Director-General (…) shall be decided by secret ballot (…)”

C. GENERAL RULES OF THE ORGANIZATION RELATING TO THE NOMINATION OF THE CANDIDATES FOR THE POST OF DIRECTOR-GENERAL

8. The nomination of candidates for the post of Director-General is governed, like other nominations, by Rule XlI.5 (GRO) which reads as follows:

“Except as otherwise provided in the Constitution or these Rules, the nomination of any candidate for an elective place to be filled by the Conference or Council shall be made by the government of a Member Nation or by its delegate or representative. Subject to the procedure for nomination provided in the Rules, the appointing body shall determine the nomination procedure.”

III. HISTORY OF THE PROVISIONS IN FAO

A. ARTICLE VII OF THE CONSTITUTION

9. The original version of Article VII of the Constitution, which was in force until 1961, did not specify the term of office of the Director-General but merely provided that he should be appointed by the Conference “on such terms as it may determine”. Each Resolution of the Conference appointing the Director-General also fixed the duration of his term of office. There was no restriction concerning re-eligibility. In practice appointments were normally for two years until 1953, and for four years after that date.

10. In 1961, the Conference amended, by Resolution 22/61, Article VII to provide that the Director-General would hold office for a term of four years, subject to reappointment for a two-year term. It further provided that, following this two-year term, the Director-General could be reappointed for another two-year term, “after which he shall not be eligible for reappointment.” The amendment further provided that “the Constitution, as amended above, shall come into force with the appointment of a Director-General other than the present incumbent”.

11. In 1971, Article VII was again amended, by Resolution 12/71, to provide for a six-year term for the Director-General without the possibility of reappointment. The Resolution provided, however, that the provisions of Article VII, as amended, were to apply to the appointment of any Director-General other than the present incumbent, who was to be eligible for reappointment for a single term of four years.

12. In 1977, by Resolution 17/77, Article VII of the Constitution was amended to provide that the Director-General should be eligible for reappointment. No change was made to the length of the term, i.e. six years. There was, on this occasion, no reservation regarding the application of the revised provisions of Article VII.1 to the then incumbent.

B. GENERAL RULES OF THE ORGANIZATION RELATED TO APPOINTMENT AND NOMINATION

(a) Rule XXXVI (GRO)

13. The original version of Rule XXXVI (GRO) provided for nominations for the post of Director-General to be made by the General Committee to the plenary session of the Conference. The provision read as follows:

“1. In pursuance of Article VII, paragraph 1, of the Constitution, the Director-General of the Organization shall be appointed under the following conditions:

(a) Whenever the office of Director-General is vacant, or notice is received of a pending vacancy, the appointment of a new Director-General shall be placed on the agenda of the next session of the Conference which opens not less than 90 days from the occurrence or notice of the pending vacancy. Before, however, the appointment is considered in a plenary meeting, the General Committee shall submit a nomination (or nominations).

…”

14. At its Ninth Session, in 1957, the Conference eliminated the language providing for nomination(s) to be made by the General Committee. Instead, it provided that “[n]ominations validly made in accordance with Rule XII.5 of these Rules shall be communicated to the Secretary-General by the date set by the Council,” who, in turn, was required to circulate these nominations to all Member Governments and Associate Members. The General Committee was required to set and announce the date of the election.

15. At the Fifteenth Session of the Conference, in 1969, sub-paragraph (a) was again amended to require any election taking place at a regular session of the Conference to be set not later than 30 days before the session of the Council provided for in Rule XXV.2(c) (GRO). The amended sub-paragraph (a) further required that the appointment of the Director-General at a regular session be effected within three working days following the opening of the session.

16. Additionally, a new sub-paragraph (b) was inserted after sub-paragraph (a) specifying in detail the voting procedures for the election of the Director-General as follows:

“(b) The Director-General shall be elected by a majority of votes cast. Until a candidate obtains the required majority, the following procedure shall apply:

(i) Two ballots shall be held among all candidates;

(ii) The candidate having received the smallest number of votes in the second ballot shall be eliminated;

(iii) Thereafter, successive ballots shall be held, and the candidate having received the smallest number of votes in any one of these ballots shall be eliminated, until only three candidates remain;

(iv) Two ballots shall be held among the three remaining candidates;

(v) The candidate having received the smallest number of votes during the second ballot referred to in sub-paragraph (iv) above shall be eliminated;

(vi) A subsequent ballot, or successive ballots if necessary, shall be held among the two remaining candidates until one candidate obtains the required majority;

(vii) In the event of a tie between two or more candidates having received the smallest number of votes in one of the ballots referred to in sub-paragraphs (ii) or (iii) above, a separate ballot or, if necessary, separate ballots shall be held among such candidates, and the candidate having received the smallest number of votes in such ballot or ballots shall be eliminated;

(viii) In the event of a tie between two candidates having received the smallest number of votes in the second of the two ballots referred to in sub-paragraph (iv) above, or fall three candidates have received the same number of votes in that ballot, successive ballots shall be held among all three candidates until one candidate has received the smallest number of votes, after which the procedure in sub paragraph (vi) above shall apply.”

(b) Rule XII.5 (GRO)

17. Current Rule Xll.5 (GRO) requiring nominations for all elective posts to be made by Governments was added at the Ninth Session of the Conference, in 1957.

(c) Rule XII.9 (GRO)

18. Current Rule Xll.9 was added by the Conference in 1957. Initially, a secret vote was taken on “decisions relating to individuals” if so decided by the Chairman of the Conference, or when so requested by at least five delegates. In 1950, the Conference modified the relevant provision, requiring a secret ballot in all elections.

IV. OTHER UN SYSTEM AGENCIES

19. Information concerning arrangements for the election of the executive heads of other UN system agencies is summarized in APPENDIX A hereto.

APPENDIX A

INFORMATION REGARDING OTHER UN SYSTEM AGENCIES

This Appendix provides information regarding other UN system agencies and is divided into two parts. Part I provides general information on the procedures for the appointment of the executive heads of other UN system agencies. Part II provides more specific information regarding the number and length of terms of office of the executive heads of other UN system agencies.

United Nations

• The selection of a candidate to the post of Secretary-General of the United Nations is governed by Article 97 of the Charter of the United Nations (“the Charter”)², Rule 48 of the Provisional Rules of Procedure of the Security Council³ and Rule 141 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Assembly⁴.
   
• No written provisions exist concerning the submission of candidatures. The practice confirms, however, that both self-named candidates and candidates nominated by Members of the United Nations are considered. In practice, the candidates to the post of Secretary-General have always been nationals of countries other than the five permanent members of the Security Council.
   
• In accordance with Articles 18 and 27 of the Charter, the nomination of the Secretary-General by the Security Council requires the affirmative vote of nine members (a special majority), including the concurring votes of the five permanent members.
   
• Upon nomination by the Security Council, the appointment of the Secretary-General by the General Assembly requires only a simple majority of the members present and voting unless the General Assembly decides that a two-thirds majority is needed. The same rules apply to a renewal of appointment of the Secretary-General.
   
• In 1996, in the absence of a pre-determined procedure for the nomination of a candidate to the post of Secretary-General, the President of the Security Council established a precedent by setting guidelines for facilitating and structuring the selection process. These guidelines covered the entire process from the submission of candidatures to the decision of the Security Council. It was specifically underlined that, while the decision of the Security Council should be adopted by vote, efforts should be exerted towards reaching a decision by consensus. All Members of the United Nations were entitled to submit a candidate or candidates, regardless of their nationality, together with a brief curriculum vitae. Candidatures were to be submitted to the President of the Security Council. Straw polls would be conducted using a list of names of candidates drawn up by the President of the Security Council. Further rounds of straw polls, if necessary, would be conducted on the basis of the existing list or an updated list drawn by the President, which could include new names. This process could be repeated in order to reach a decision by consensus, as long as it did not “unduly delay the decision-making process”. According to the guidelines, the agreement reached by the Security Council on a candidate for the post of Secretary-General should be formalized in a private meeting. In addition, the guidelines provided for possible consultations between the President of the Security Council and the President of the General Assembly when necessary.

SPECIALIZED AGENCIES

International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank)

The selection of the President is governed by Article V(5) of the Articles of Agreement of the World Bank, which provides that the President shall be selected by the Executive Directors and shall cease to hold office when the Executive Directors so decide.

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

• The selection of the Managing Director is governed by Article XII, Section 4(a) of the Articles of Agreement of the IMF, which provides that the Managing Director of the IMF is selected by the Executive Board and shall cease to hold office when the Executive Board so decides.
   
• Formally, the decision of the Executive Board may be taken by a majority of the votes cast (calculated by weighted voting); in practice, such decisions are taken by consensus. The Executive Board decision is preceded by broad informal consultations among the Fund’s Governors, other relevant ministers, central bank governors, officials of member countries, and Executive Directors, which conclude with the selection of one name that is then presented to the Executive Board for approval.
   
• Following the selection of the Managing Director, a committee of Executive Directors is designated to discuss a contract of service with him.

International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)

• The appointment of the Secretary-General is governed by Articles 55(h), 58 and 59 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation. In particular, under Article 58, the Council determines, inter alia, the method of appointment and of termination of the Secretary-General.
   
• Ten months prior to the termination of an incumbent Secretary-General’s term of office, the Council informs ICAO Member States that it will appoint a Secretary-General and invites nominations by a specified date. The Council then appoints the Secretary-General from the nominations received and the incumbent, if he/she stands for reappointment.

International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)

• The appointment of the President of IFAD is governed by the Agreement Establishing the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the Rules of Procedure of the Governing Council and the By-laws for the Conduct of the Business of IFAD.
   
• Section 6 of the By-laws for the Conduct of the Business of IFAD provides that when the term of office of the President is due to expire, the appointment of a President shall be placed on the agenda of the annual session of the Governing Council immediately preceding the expiry of the term of office.
   
• Nominations for the office of President may be submitted to the Secretary of the Fund by Members, along with a curriculum vitae. Such nominations must be submitted no less than 60 days before the opening of the session at which the appointment of the President is to be decided. The President must then communicate the nominations to all Members and to the Bureau no less than 40 days prior to the session of the Council.
   
• The President of IFAD is appointed by the Governing Council by a two-thirds majority of the total number of votes cast. Where there is more than one candidate and no candidate receives the required number of votes on the first ballot, successive ballots are held in which the candidate receiving the smallest number of votes is eliminated each time, until such time as one candidate receives at least two-thirds of the total number of votes or the Council decides that such balloting be discontinued and a decision be taken on another date.

International Labour Organisation (ILO)

• The nomination and appointment of the Director General is governed by the Rules Governing the Appointment of the Director General of the ILO (adopted by ILO’s Governing Body on June 23, 1988), and Article 4.6 of the lLO Staff Regulations.
   
• The Director General of ILO is appointed by the Governing Body of the lLO. According to the applicable rules, candidatures for the post of Director General must be sent to the Chairman of the Governing Body at the latest one month prior to the date set by the Governing Body for the election. The candidatures must be submitted by a Member State of the Organization or by a Member of the Governing Body. Candidatures submitted in accordance with these conditions must be communicated to the Members of the Governing Body by the Chairman upon their receipt.
   
• The Rules provide that a candidate is elected only if he or she receives the votes of more than one-half of the Members of the Governing Body. For this purpose, as many ballots shall be held as are necessary to determine which of the candidates has obtained the majority required. After each ballot the candidate who has obtained the lowest number of votes is eliminated. If two or more candidates obtain simultaneously the lowest number of votes, they are eliminated together.
   
• If in the ballot between the remaining candidates they receive the same number of votes and a further ballot still does not produce a majority for one of them, or if one candidate remains but does not obtain the majority required in a further ballot in which his or her name is submitted to the Governing Body for a final vote, the Governing Body may postpone the election and set a new deadline for the submission of candidatures.

International Maritime Organization (IMO)

• The appointment of the Secretary-General of the IMO is governed by Article 22 of the IMO Convention and Rule 52 of the Council Rules of Procedure.
   
• The Secretary-General is appointed by the Council with the approval of the Assembly. Rule 52 provides that, with respect to the appointment of the Secretary General, “the Council shall consider in private meeting its recommendations to the Assembly and vote upon it by secret ballot.”
   
• Article 22 of the IMO Convention provides that the Council shall determine the terms and conditions of service of the Secretary-General, “which terms and conditions shall conform as far as possible with those of the United Nations and its specialized agencies.”

International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

• The nomination and appointment of the Secretary-General is governed by Articles 8 and 9 of the ITU Constitution, Article 2 of the ITU Convention and by the procedures adopted by the Plenipotentiary Conference for this purpose at each session.
   
• The Secretary-General of ITU is appointed by the Plenipotentiary Conference of ITU. Candidatures are presented by the Member States and election procedures are established by each Plenipotentiary Conference. The election procedures adopted in 1994 by the Plenipotentiary Conference for the purpose of electing a Secretary-General provided for the conduct of secret ballots, during which any candidate obtaining a majority of votes would be elected. This majority should be more than half of the delegations present and voting.
   
• However, if after three ballots, no candidate has obtained a majority, a fourth ballot shall be conducted in which the two candidates having the largest number of votes at the third ballot shall be voted upon. If there is a tie between several candidates so that the two candidates to be voted upon at the fourth ballot cannot be selected, up to two additional ballots may be conducted to distinguish between the candidates in question. If there is a tie in the additional ballots, the Chairman shall draw lots to determine the candidate or candidates to be selected among those obtaining the same number of votes. If after the fourth and last ballot, there is a tie, the Chairman shall draw lots to determine the candidate who shall be declared elected.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

• The nomination and appointment of the Director General are governed by the Constitution of UNESCO, the Rules of Procedure of the Executive Board and the Rules of Procedure of the General Conference.
   
• The Director General is nominated by the Executive Board and appointed by the General Conference. At least six months before the expiry of the term of office of the Director General, the Executive Board must invite Member States to suggest, confidentially, the names of persons who might be considered for the post of Director-General and, at the same time, to provide full biographical details of such persons.
   
• The Executive Board then considers, in a private meeting, all the names suggested, together with any proposed by Members of the Board. The Executive Board nominates a candidate to the post of Director General by secret ballot and sends its recommendation, together with a draft contract establishing the terms of appointment, salary, allowances and status, to the General Conference.
   
• The General Conference considers the Executive Board’s nomination and the draft contract in a private meeting and decides by secret ballot. Should the General Conference fail to elect the candidate proposed by the Executive Board, the Executive Board must submit another name within forty-eight hours.

United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)

• The nomination and appointment of the Director General is governed by Articles 11.2 and 9.4(f) of the UNIDO Constitution, Rules 103 and 104 of the Rules of Procedure of the General Conference, and Rule 61 of the Rules of Procedure of the Industrial Development Board (IDB).
   
• The Director General of UNIDO is appointed by the General Conference upon the recommendation of the IDB.
   
• When the term of office of the Director General is due to expire, the appointment of a new Director General is placed on the agenda of the regular session of the General Conference immediately preceding the expiry of the term of office.
   
• A candidate for the post of Director General is nominated in writing by his/her government to the President of the IDB. Nominations of candidates must be received by the President of the Board at the latest two months prior to the opening date of the last regular session of the IDB before the session of the General Conference which is to appoint the Director General. The President must then request the secretariat to circulate such candidatures to all Members without delay. A candidature may be withdrawn at any stage by the candidate or by the nominating government.
   
• Consideration by the IDB of the nominations shall be in private meetings. All decisions as to candidates are taken by secret ballot. A first series of ballots, not exceeding the number of candidates, is taken among all the candidates. If any candidate receives a two-thirds majority of the votes of all Members of the Board, that candidate is recommended to the General Conference. The Rules of Procedure of the IDB provide for a second, third and fourth series of ballots. If no candidate is recommended after a fourth series of ballots, additional candidates may then be nominated, and the balloting process repeated.

Universal Postal Union (UPU)

• The election of the Director General of the International Bureau of the UPU (its secretariat) is governed by Article 109 of the General Regulations of the UPU.
   
• The Director General is elected by the UPU Congress. At least seven months before the opening of Congress, the Director-General of the International Bureau is required to send a memorandum to the Governments of member countries inviting them to submit their applications, if any, for the post of Director General, also indicating whether the incumbent is interested in renewal of the initial term. The applications must reach the International Bureau at least two months before the opening of Congress. The election of the Director General then takes place by secret ballot.

World Health Organization (WHO)

• The nomination and appointment of the Director General is governed by the WHO Constitution, the Rules of Procedure of the Executive Board and the Rules of Procedure of the World Health Assembly.
   
• The Director-General of WHO is nominated by the Executive Board and appointed by the World Health Assembly, which decides by secret ballot.
   
• In 1996, the Executive Board of WHO established an ad hoc working group to make recommendations on nominations and terms of office of the Director General. On the basis of the proposals made by the working group, amendments to the Rules of Procedure of the World Health Assembly and the Rules of Procedure of the Executive Board were adopted by the World Health Assembly and by the Executive Board respectively, to reflect the following:
   
• Candidates for the post of Director General have to fulfil the following criteria established by the WHO Executive Board:

“(i) a strong technical and public health background and extensive experience in international health;

(ii) competency in organizational management;

(iii) proven historical evidence for public health leadership;

(vi) sensitiveness to cultural, social and political differences;

(v) a strong commitment to the work of WHO;

(vi) the good physical condition required of all staff members of the Organization; and

(vii) sufficient skill in at least one of the official working languages of the Executive Board and Health Assembly.”

• In respect of the nomination process, Rule 52 of the Rules of Procedure of the Executive Board provides the following:

“At least six months before the date fixed for the opening of a session of the Board at which a Director General is to be nominated, the Director General shall inform Member States and members of the Board that they may propose persons for nomination by the Board for the post of Director General.

Any Member State or member of the Board may propose for the post of Director-General one or more persons, submitting with the proposal the curriculum vitae or other supporting information for each person. Such proposals shall be sent under confidential sealed cover to the Chairman of the Executive Board (…) so as to reach the headquarters of the Organization not less than two months before the date fixed for the opening of the session.

The Chairman of the Board shall open the proposals received sufficiently in advance of the meeting so as to enable all proposals, curricula vitae and supporting information to be translated, duplicated and dispatched under confidential cover to members of the Board one month before the date fixed for the opening of the session.

If no proposals have been received in time for distribution to members in accordance with this Rule, and in this event only, the Board shall itself establish a list of candidates in alphabetical order composed of the names proposed in secret by the members present and entitled to vote.

All members of the Board shall have the opportunity to participate in an initial screening of all candidatures in order to eliminate those candidates not meeting the criteria set by the Board.

The Board shall decide, by a mechanism to be determined by it, on a short list of candidates. This short list shall be drawn up at the commencement of its session, and the selected candidates shall be interviewed by the Board meeting as a whole at the end of the second week of the session.

The interviews shall consist of a presentation by each selected candidate in addition to answers to questions from members of the Board. If necessary, the Board may extend the session in order to hold the interviews and make its selection.

The Board shall fix a date for the private meeting at which it shall elect a person by secret ballot from amongst the candidates on the short list.

For this purpose each member of the Board shall write on his ballot paper the name of a single candidate chosen from the short list. If no candidate obtains the majority required, the candidate who obtains the least number of votes shall be eliminated at each ballot. If the number of candidates is reduced to two and if there is a tie between these two candidates after three further ballots, the procedure shall be resumed on the basis of the short list originally established at the commencement of the balloting.

The name of the person so nominated shall be announced at a public meeting of the Board and submitted to the Health Assembly.”

World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

• The nomination and appointment of the Director General of WIPO are governed by the WIPO Convention and the Procedures for the Nomination and Appointment of Directors General of WIPO.
   
• The appointment of the Director General of WIPO involves a two-stage procedure. Initially, the WIPO Coordination Committee is responsible for nominating one candidate for appointment to the post of Director General. The Coordination Committee is required to request candidatures from Member States. Once the number of candidates has been reduced to two through formal voting, the candidate is then selected by a final vote. All voting is by secret ballot. The Coordination Committee then communicates the name of the candidate to the Chairman of the General Assembly.
   
• The second stage of the procedure is the appointment by the WIPO General Assembly of the Director General. The appointment of a candidate requires a majority of two-thirds of the votes cast in the General Assembly, as well as in the Assemblies of the Paris and Berne Unions.

World Meteorological Organization (WMO)

• The nomination and appointment of the Secretary-General is governed by Article 21(a) of the WMO Convention and Regulations 195 to 197 of the WMO General Regulations.
   
• The Secretary-General of WMO is appointed by the WMO Congress “on such terms as the Congress may approve.”
   
• When more than two candidates are to be considered by the WMO Congress for the post of Secretary-General, the following procedure⁵ is followed:

“(a) Each principal delegate, or his alternate, of the Members represented in the Congress shall be asked to indicate the candidate he prefers by writing the candidate’s name on the voting slip. All candidates who fail to receive a vote and the candidate who receives the smallest number of votes shall be struck from the list of candidates. In the event of two or more candidates receiving the smallest number of votes, a separate vote of preference shall be taken and the candidate who receives the least number of votes shall be eliminated from the list and the other(s) retained. If in this separate vote of preference more than one candidate receives the smallest number of votes, all these candidates shall be eliminated from the list;

(b) The procedures described in paragraph (a) shall then be repeated with the reduced list of candidates;

(c) This procedure shall continue until one candidate (the “preferred candidate”) remains on the list;

(d) A proposal shall then be submitted to Congress that the preferred candidate be declared appointed. Such a proposal shall be supported by a two-thirds majority of the votes cast for and against in order to be adopted;

(e) If at any stage during the voting procedure described in paragraphs (a) to (c) above, a candidate receives a two-thirds majority of the votes cast for and against, he shall be declared appointed and no further votes shall be taken;

(f) In the event of the two final candidates in the indication-of-preference procedure receiving the same number of votes, a further vote shall take place;

(g) In the event that the proposal described in paragraph (d) is not supported by a two-thirds majority of the votes cast for and against, a further vote shall take place;

(i) In the event of the further votes described in paragraphs (1) and (g) being indecisive, Congress shall decide whether further voting shall take place, whether a new procedure shall be followed, or whether its decision shall be withheld.”

RELATED AGENCIES OF THE UN SYSTEM

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

• The appointment of the Director General is governed by Article VII of the Statute of the IAEA and procedures adopted, and subsequently revised, by the Board of Governors in 1997.
   
• The Director-General is appointed by the Board of Governors with the approval of the General Conference. The revised procedures provide that an item entitled “the appointment of the Director General” is placed on the agenda for the meeting(s) of the Board of Governors immediately following the regular General Conference session for the year before the expiration of the term of office of the Director General. The Board then notifies governments of all Member States that nominations from Member State governments will be accepted up to a specified date. Once received, all nominations are circulated to the Member States.
   
• Following circulation of the nominations, the Chairman of the Board initiates informal consultations with a view to forming a consensus on a candidate at the Board’s next June session at the latest. The Chairman reports the outcome of these informal consultations to the Board no later than the Board’s March session. The Board may arrange for candidates to address it at an open meeting after the closing date for receipt of nominations. With a view to facilitating a consensus, the Board may conduct informal “straw polls” during the consultations.
   
• If a consensus is not reached, a two-stage balloting procedure is used. In the Selection Stage, in a closed session, Board members vote, in a series of rounds, for their preferred candidates. If a candidate receives two-thirds of the votes, the Board moves on to the appointment stage. If no candidate is able to receive the required number of votes, the Board invites Member State governments to nominate a new slate of candidates. Once any candidate receives the support of two-thirds of the Board, the Board initiates the Appointment Stage through an open session. The Board initially proposes the candidate for appointment by acclamation, i.e. without ballot. If, however, a further ballot is desired, the Board, through a secret ballot, again votes. Once a candidate is either appointed by acclamation or after receiving two-thirds of the votes, the appointment is then submitted to the General Conference for approval.
   

United Nations

The Charter of the United Nations remains silent on the term of appointment of the Secretary-General. In 1946, however, the General Assembly adopted during its first session a resolution⁶ concerning the terms of appointment of the Secretary-General resolving that “(t)he first Secretary-General shall be appointed for five years, the appointment being open at the end of that period for a further five-year term.” The said resolution adds that “the General Assembly and the Security Council are free to modify the term of office of future Secretaries-General in the light of experience.”

From a communication received from the United Nations Legal Office, it appears that “although there is a sketchy record from the earlier years, the five year term has emerged as the regular pattern with a gentlemen’s agreement that each region would receive at least two terms”.

General Assembly Resolution 51/241 “Strengthening of the United Nations system” of 31 July 1997

The Annex to General Assembly Resolution 51/241 contains the Report of the Open-ended High-level Working Group on the Strengthening of the United Nations System established by General Assembly Resolution 49/252. Part XXI of the report reads as follows:

“68. Affirming the role of the General Assembly in approving the appointments and extension of terms, uniform terms of office of four years, renewable once, should be introduced for the executive heads of programmes, funds and other bodies of the Assembly and the Economic and Social Council.

69. The specialized agencies are also encouraged to consider uniform terms and term limits for their executive heads”.

Under the terms of Operative Paragraph 1 of Resolution 51/241 the above report was adopted by the General Assembly. Operative Paragraph 5 of the resolution “invites other principal organs, the specialized agencies and other bodies of the United Nations system to implement the measures for strengthening the system that are specified in the text and are within their respective areas of competence, as appropriate”.

SPECIALIZED AGENCIES

International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank)

Article V(5) of the Articles of Agreement of the World Bank provides that the President shall be selected by the Executive Directors and shall cease to hold office when the Executive Directors so decide. The Articles of Agreement of the World Bank do not specify either the length of the term or the number of terms that may be held. Section 13 of the Bank’s By-Laws provide that (…) “(t)he initial contract of the President shall be for a term of five years. Any renewal may be for the same or for a shorter term”.

In 2000 the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund Executive Directors established separate but parallel Working Groups to review the processes for selection of the heads of their respective institutions. The Working Groups issued a Draft Joint Report. In this report, the “Working Groups recommend that the Bank President/Fund Managing Director normally should not be expected to serve more than two terms”⁷.

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

The selection of the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund is governed by Article XII, Section 4(a) of the Articles of Agreement of the IMF, which provides that the Managing Director of the IMF is selected by the Executive Board, and shall cease to hold office when the Executive Board so decides.

The Articles of Agreement do not specify either the length of the term, or the number of terms that may be held. However, reference should be made, in this regard, to the above Draft Joint Report of the Bank Working Group to Review the Process for Selection of the President and the Fund Working Group to Review the Process for Selection of the Managing Director.

The salary and terms of the Managing Director’s contract of service, including the length of his term of office, are determined by the Board of Governors pursuant to Section 14(c) of the Fund’s By-laws. The same By-law provision concerning the contract of service of the Managing Director stipulates that the contract of the Managing Director shall be for a term of five years and may be renewed for the same term or for a shorter term at the discretion of the Executive Board, provided that no person shall be initially appointed to the post of Managing Director after he has reached his sixty-fifth birthday and that no Managing Director shall hold such post beyond his seventieth birthday.

International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)

On 16 December 1966, the Council adopted the “Procedure for Appointment of the Secretary General”. Under this Procedure, the Secretary General shall be appointed for a specified term from three to five years, the exact duration of which will be determined by the Council on each occasion. The more recent practice has been to limit the term to three years. However, there are no limitations as to re-appointment for further terms.

International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)

The term of appointment of the President of IFAD is four years, after which the incumbent shall be eligible for re-appointment for one further term only⁸. The appointment of the President may, however, be terminated by the Governing Council by a two-thirds majority of the total number of votes.

International Labour Organization (ILO)

The term of appointment of the Director General is five years, renewable for such further period or periods as the Governing Body of lLO may decide. No single renewal, however, shall exceed five years.

International Maritime Organization (IMO)

Article 22 of the IMO Convention provides that the Council shall determine the terms and conditions of service of the Secretary-General, “which terms and conditions shall conform as far as possible with those of the United Nations and its specialized agencies”. No specific reference is made therein to length of term to be served by the Secretary-General or any limitations to the number of terms that may be served. Since 1973, the Council has appointed Secretaries-General to four-year terms with provision for renewal for such further periods as may be determined by the Council with the approval of the Assembly.

At its 86^th Session, held from 18 to 22 June 2001, the Council of IMO considered the contract of the Secretary-General who had served three four-year terms and decided to recommend that the Assembly approve the extension of the Secretary-General’s appointment as Secretary-General for a final term of two years. At that Session, the Council of IMO approved Resolution C 74 (86), deciding inter alia that “(f)uture Secretaries-General shall be appointed to an initial term of four years form the first of January of the biennium” and “the appointment may be renewed for one additional term of up to four years”.

International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

Under current practice, the Secretary-General is elected for a four-year term, as the Plenipotentiary Conference of ITU is convened every four years. The Secretary-General is eligible for re-election only once.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

The term of appointment of the Director General is four years, as a result of an amendment adopted in November 2001 by the General Conference. The Director General may be appointed for a further term of four years, but shall not be eligible for re-appointment for a subsequent term.

Prior to the above amendment, the duration of the mandate of the Director-General was six years, non-renewable. The provisions regarding the duration of the mandate, approved in 2001 by the General Conference of UNESCO, do not apply to the present incumbent, elected in 1999 for a six-year mandate. However, should he be re-elected for a second term of office, he would serve for a period of four years.

United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)

The term of appointment of the Director General is four years. The incumbent may be re-appointed for a further term of four years, after which he/she shall not be eligible for re appointment.

Universal Postal Union (UPU)

The Director General is elected for the period between two successive Congresses, the minimum duration of the term being five years. The term of office is renewable only once.

World Health Organization (WHO)

The term of office of the Director-General is five years, renewable only once.

World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)

Under Article 9.3 of the WIPO Convention “(t)he Director General shall be appointed for a fixed term, which shall be not less than six years. He shall be eligible for reappointment for fixed terms”. In September 1998 the Member States adopted an amendment to the WIPO Convention providing that the term of appointment is six years and that the incumbent may be re-appointed for one additional six-year term. This amendment requires ratification by 112 States; as of July 2002 some 40 States had ratified the amendment. However, at the time of adoption of this amendment, the Member States also adopted a policy that the number of terms of the Director General should be limited to two terms of six years each.

World Meteorological Organization (WMO)

The WMO Convention does not contain limitations on the number of terms of office of the Secretary-General.

The General Regulations of WMO made provision for four-year terms. At the 13^th Meteorological Congress, held in 1999, an amendment to the General Regulations – which lay down procedures for the appointment of the Secretary-General - was approved reading as follows: “A Secretary-General may serve a maximum of three four-year terms. This Regulation will take effect from 14^th Congress (in 2003) and will apply to any candidate who may have previously served in post”. The current Secretary-General of WMO, who was appointed for the first time in 1984 for a first four-year term, is serving a fifth four-year term from 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2003.

RELATED AGENCIES OF THE UN SYSTEM

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

The Director-General of IAEA is appointed for a term of four years. There is no restriction on the number of terms that can be served. 

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¹ The letter was also signed by the Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Denmark to FAO following the indication reading: “On behalf of the European Union member states that are currently not members of the FAO Council the above request is hereby supported”.

² Article 97 of the Charter of the United Nations provides that “(t)he Secretary-General shall be appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council”.

³ Rule 48 provides that “(a)ny recommendation to the General Assembly regarding the appointment of the Secretary-General shall be discussed and decided at a private meeting”.

⁴ Rule 141 provides that “(w)hen the Security Council has submitted its recommendation on the appointment of the Secretary-General, the General Assembly shall consider the recommendation and vote upon by secret ballot in private meeting”.

⁵ Regulation 196 of the WMO General Regulations.

⁶ See Chapter XII.1, “Resolutions adopted on the reports of the Fifth Committee”. Resolutions Adopted by the General Assembly During the First Part of its First Session from 10 January to 14 February 1946

⁷ On 25 April 2001, “Executive Directors considered the Draft Joint Report of the Bank Working Group to Review the Process for Selection of the President and the Fund Working Group to Review the Process for Selection of the Managing Director. Executive Directors shared the importance of the objective of a more transparent and open selection process and endorsed the Report as guidance for future selection processes. This endorsement does not constitute a formal decision of Executive Directors adopting the specific recommendations in the Report. Executive Directors further agreed to transmit this Draft Joint Report to the Bank’s Governors/ Executive Directors further agreed that strict parallelism with the Fund should be observed. Subject to the concurrence of the Fund Executive Board, the Report would be made publicly available during the Spring Meetings”.

⁸ The Governing Council may, however, under special circumstances, and on the recommendation of the Executive Board, extend the term of office of the President, but for no more than six months beyond the prescribed four-year term (See Article 6, Section 8 of the Agreement Establishing the International Fund for Agricultural Development).