UN secretary-general dialogues, decoded

Anyone who’s just entered the international development industry has probably struggled with the jargon, from sectorwide acronyms to unique terms used by aid officials and development professionals at certain institutions. Former U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres mentioned this during his own session at the U.N. informal dialogues last week, noting that he tries to avoid using acronyms whenever he speaks — as not everyone will be familiar, for example, with the term IDP, or an internally displaced person. Even so, the three-day public interviews were peppered with development-speak, as well as articles and resolutions unfamiliar to even a seasoned aid worker. Devex collected some of the potentially alien language used during the dialogues and broke the terms down for your future reference. 1. Article 99, Article 100 and Article 101. These three articles from the U.N. Charter, which refer to the responsibilities of the U.N. secretary-general, were popular topics of conversation during the dialogues. Article 99 speaks of the role of the secretary-general to bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter he or she thinks threatens international peace and security. This is often referred to as the secretary-general’s most powerful tool, yet it’s very rarely been used in the history of the intergovernmental organization. Article 100, meanwhile, talks about the responsibility of the secretary-general and his or her staff to remain fully independent in the “discharge of their responsibilities.” And article 101 refers to the responsibility of the secretary-general in appointing staff under the Secretariat. But apart from ensuring appointees’ efficiency, competence and integrity, the regulation prescribes the secretary-general to recruit staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible — a ruling that some member states perceive as not being fully implemented. 2. NAM. Those who tuned into the sessions may remember in particular the representative from Algeria, whose questions centered around how the next secretary-general plans to correct geographical imbalances in U.N. appointments and maintain the office’s political independence. The questions were on behalf of NAM, or the nonaligned movement, which is composed of more than 100 developing country member states, mostly from Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean. The movement dates back to the Cold War, with a main objective of remaining independent and not becoming pawns in the growing tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union. Post-Cold War however, it has turned its focus on members’ political and economic interests, including addressing inequalities resulting from globalization. 3. ACT group. Formed in 2013, the Accountability, Coherence and Transparency group is composed of 27 countries whose aim is to improve the “working methods” of the U.N. Security Council. It separates itself from other intergovernmental efforts focused on the council’s compositional reform, and aims to focus instead on getting the council to make public its consultations, hold more regular briefings and better engage the council with the wider U.N. membership. In 2015, the group came out with a proposed code of conduct for the present and future Security Council, which includes a pledge for members not to vote against resolutions whose aims are to prevent genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. 4. UNSC resolution 1325. This resolution, adopted in 2000, recognizes the role and full participation of women in conflict prevention and peace building, and the importance of mainstreaming and being sensitive to their needs, rights and protection in U.N. field operations. Among its recommended actions is urging member states to increase the number of women in decision-making positions at the national, regional and international level. It also calls on the secretary-general to increase women’s participation in conflict prevention and peace processes, appoint more women special representatives and envoys and provide member states training guidelines and materials focused on the protection of women. In return, the resolution asks member states to increase their support — financial, technical and logistical — for gender-sensitive training efforts by relevant U.N. bodies. 5. HRuF. The Human Rights up Front initiative was launched by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in late 2013. While it names six actionable items, one of its main goals is to be able to candidly inform member states of any serious violations taking place in terms of human rights or the international humanitarian law, in the hopes of moving them to early and preventive action. Devex Professional Membership means access to the latest buzz, innovations, and lifestyle tips for development, health, sustainability and humanitarian professionals like you. Our mission is to do more good for more people. If you think the right information can make a difference, we invite you to join us by making a small investment in Professional Membership.