The UN Needs a Human Rights Champion as Its Next Secretary-General

Author:
Irwin Cotler

On August 5, the United Nations will be one step closer to electing its next Secretary-General, holding its second straw poll to evaluate the candidates. In its review of the field of candidates, Security Council members must look for a candidate that is ready to be a global advocate for human rights. Indeed, given that human rights is one of the three pillars of the UN, the absence of discussion and focus on this crucial election is regrettable.

The next Secretary-General will inherit a position that will be challenged by an unprecedented level of human rights crises. Protracted crises and conflicts in Syria and elsewhere around the world have caused the largest number of displaced persons in modern history. The risk of mass atrocity in Burundi and North Korea remains worryingly high. South Sudan has returned to civil war. Threats and incidence of mass terrorism – from Istanbul to Nice, Baghdad to Brussels, Lahore to Orlando – have intensified. And an increase in government oppression has led to a closing global space for civil society.

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