The United Nations Organization will be choosing a new secretary-general to replace South Korean Ban Ki-moon in 2017.

The UN General Assembly of 193 diplomatic members are pushing for transparency in the selection process evenif its key five states, the US, China, Russia, Britain and France still make the big decision.

Accordingly, the UN without the big powers would be meaningless.Hand-picking the UN secretary-general is still one of the powerful five states’ trump cards.In the United Nations Organization, believers in true democracy may be disappointed.

Meanwhile, today’s call for transparency is more encouraging.Campaigns have high hopes for a “highly-qualified and visionary leader,” an energetic idealist who will modernize the old UN systems, stand up to the big powers, andshake the world organization.

A UN expert said, the secretary-general is not only a bureaucrat but a world leader who uses his strong political and moral voice, a successful diplomat that is impartial and independent.

According to an UN expert from Amnesty International, the current secretary-general Ban Ki-moon failed to act decisively, as global security has gone backwards. He did not make big decisions without first getting a nod fromWashington, Moscow and Beijing, driven by political expediency, not values.

It is a tough job for the next secretary-general as the globe is getting hotter than the climatologists would like, more refugees than ever before, among the many issues that befalls the world.

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Tidbits:

Seafarers can now easily access up-to-date information and guidance about HIV/AIDS on their mobile devices.

ITF maritime coordinator Jacqueline Smith said: “Seafarers – like many transport workers – are particularly vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. Whether they’re at sea, in port or at home we want to help seafarers keep themselves and their families safe.”

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To improve is to change, to be perfect is to change often. Winston Churchill

By Edgar Allan J. Tac-an