Q: You ran an unsuccessful race for the post of UN Secretary-General. To what would you attribute your failure to secure the job?

A: In a personal statement issued after my withdrawal from the race, I indicated that I didn’t feel the time was right for us to analyse reasons for my defeat. But, perhaps, it can be said that 1995 was the zenith of my career and the opportunity should have been seized during that time to field me as a candidate for a senior position in the UN system.

Today, three years after I had left the UN position as Under-Secretary-General, I did not have the visibility that an incumbent foreign minister like Ban Ki-moon had. Nor did I hold the positions that the other candidates held to be able to actively engage governments and be in the mainstream of diplomacy. That was probably one reason.

The other reason is that in today’s globalised world, economic relations matter much more than ideology. And, if any proof was needed that the Cold War has ended, we saw it in this election for UN Secretary-General – with China actually voting in favour of the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Korea, despite the mutual security pact that South Korea has with the US, to say nothing of 40,000 American troops on South Korean soil. Times have changed and we have to acknowledge these realities.

I derived great satisfaction from the fact that an Asian was elected Secretary-General, because that had been a fundamental plank in the Sri Lankan campaign and in my own personal set of beliefs. I am also very happy that a national of a country that has acquired nuclear weapons was not elected, because that would have eroded the moral dimension of the Secretary-General’s office.

Q: Could you analyse how the votes were cast at the election?

A: It’s very difficult for us to analyse who voted for us. I believe that the major Asian countries in the UN Security Council voted for my candidature, but they also probably voted for other Asian candidatures. This meant that they were not conferring on me any special favour. The fact is that there were no negative votes against the South Korean and he was able to succeed.

What is disappointing, however, is that the Western countries did not appear to have voted for me. I would attribute that largely to my postures on disarmament issues. I have adopted a very honest position on nuclear disarmament and I have no regrets, whatsoever, on that. The countries that voted to discourage me came from NATO and they must have feared I would take an activist position on nuclear disarmament, had I become Secretary-General. They didn’t realise that, as Secretary-General, I would have had to divorce my personal views from those of the UN.

Another reason attributed to my defeat was my age, but I think that was more a red herring than a real reason – because the President of Latvia was, in fact, older than I. Boutros Boutros-Ghali assumed duties when he was older than both the President of Latvia and myself.

As far as the Western group was concerned, it could also be that Sri Lanka is not a big investor internationally or a huge market for products. In this globalised world – in the same way that China was influenced to acquiesce vis-à-vis a Korean candidate –many Western candidates were more enticed by economic benefits than by the individual merits of a candidate. Nor did they consider his potential to lift the UN from its present state of ineffectiveness and the bad reputation it has acquired.

Several developing non-aligned countries are non-permanent members of the UN. But there again, the non-aligned ties that Sri Lanka has forged over a long period of time clearly mattered much less during the vote. Here is a sign of the times: that non-alignment and G77 links are less important now than other ties, established more recently, with countries offering benefits in terms of investment and markets.

In summary, I would think the trends of globalisation – and the fact that there was a candidate acceptable to all five permanent members – helped swing the decision in favour of the Korean and against me.

Q: An opinion has been expressed that India fielded a candidate just to cobble your chances. What role did India play in your defeat?

A: At an early stage – when I had accepted the late Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar’s proposal to be a candidate – we did approach our South Asian neighbours and the only lack of enthusiasm we detected was in New Delhi. It was never clearly articulated as to why this was so. Had it been expressed, we could have discussed it with our Indian colleagues.

It was always rumoured that Shashi Tharoor had harboured the ambition and intention of running for the post. I believe that was one of the factors preventing the Indians from endorsing me. It could have been awkward if Tharoor had sought the sponsorship of another country such as the UK where he enjoys, I’m told, nationality.

But the fact that they waited until quite late in the process to announce Tharoor’s candidature was unfortunate and it was certainly seen as a spoiler to my own candidature. Many countries asked us directly, at an early stage, what India’s attitude was to my candidature. We were unable to produce the endorsement that the Thais had from ASEAN in respect of their candidate. If we had a South Asian consensus on my candidature, or on anyone else’s candidature, I think that would have helped the region. South-East Asia had already been represented in this post through what was then Burma and it would have been logical for us to claim that it was South Asia’s turn.

Q: Do you regret vying for the post?

A: I have no regrets whatsoever. When I accepted the government’s offer to run as Sri Lanka’s candidate, I knew it was a gamble. There was as much the prospect of success as there was the spectre of defeat. In a race, you must have the equanimity to accept both. I think I ran a successful race and I was able to present the issues as I wanted them to be presented. I was treated as a serious candidate, with respect; and I am grateful to the government for having given me this opportunity.

Q: Did the prevailing conflict situation in Sri Lanka impact negatively on your candidature?

A: Sri Lanka received considerable adverse international publicity at the time. I have said that I thought it was disproportionate and not commensurate with the situation in other parts of the world. There was, for example, continuing haemorrhaging in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kashmir and other parts of India experiencing Naxalite movements. Sri Lanka, sadly, continues to attract a lot of publicity and I think that also was a negative factor.

Q: Did you receive any direct indication during your campaign that the situation in Sri Lanka might work against you?

A: Nobody asked me directly. However, I heard from the diplomatic missions campaigning for us that this was a factor. Certainly, some of the media reporting indicated that the Sri Lankan conflict was a factor.

Q: It was contended in some quarters that our diplomatic missions did not adequately support your campaign. Would you agree?

A: I think that’s an unfair criticism. If you compare the Sri Lankan diplomatic machine with its Indian and Korean counterparts,, there is no way in which we could have competed. We have, perhaps, one-third the number of diplomatic missions that India and South Korea have. And due to under-resourcing, concurrent accreditation is also restricted to just one visit a year to countries such as Greece, Slovakia and so on.

Secondly, although Sri Lanka is well known internationally and has acquired a reputation – mainly through the successful foreign policy of the late Sirimavo Bandaranaike – we still suffer from the lack of peace and stability. We also don’t have the economic prosperity that must go hand-in-hand with the reputation we have acquired in order to be taken seriously in the chanceries of the world. It’s not surprising, therefore, that wealthier and bigger countries have greater influence, impact and ability to command attention both in the media and the international arena. That’s a fact of life.

Q: How will Ban Ki-moon, the new Secretary-General, influence the manner in which the UN has been conducting itself?

A: I am confident in his wisdom. He has an Asian approach to international affairs – which, I think, brings with it qualities of patience, tolerance and prudence. For example, he knows the situation in East Asia very well, where we have the North Korean nuclear issue to deal with. I do not think it was a coincidence that the nuclear test of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea occurred immediately after the decision was taken to elect Ban Ki-moon as Secretary-General.

One can only hope, therefore, that his deep knowledge of the issue will help resolve it, although China will remain key in the resolution of this problem. I also feel it’s fundamentally a problem between the US and North Korea, and much depends on the attitude of Washington.

Q: What are your future plans?

A: Now that I have been defeated in my quest for the UN Secretary-General’s job, my preference is not to undertake anything full-time, but to concentrate on my existing international commitments. These give me a lot of satisfaction. I also would like to spend some time writing. I have, in the past, written mostly on international affairs. I would like to reflect on the UN in the next book I write.

I’m also thinking of relocating to Kandy, where my wife and I grew up. I continue to be a Senior Adviser to the President, but that’s an honorary position. I’m very much on the periphery. I furnish advice and opinions, as and when necessary, on an ad-hoc basis.

Q: We still have a shell of a peace process left, but there is no change in the status quo. How can this situation be reversed, so that we see some forward movement?

A: First, one must welcome the Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) between the SLFP and the UNP. The President must be given credit for securing a southern consensus. It is left to be seen how this MOU is translated into action, in terms of practical benefits to the country. Nevertheless, it’s a promising development. For the first time in the history of post-independent Sri Lanka, there’s the possibility of a consensus on the part of the southern polity.

I would like to see this emerge now as a practical proposal from the All Party Representatives Committee, a tangible constitutional arrangement in terms of a devolution package within a united Sri Lanka. While that process is going on, it’s difficult to expect the peace talks to reach any finality. These are interdependent processes.

I would also like to see a similar process on the part of the Tamil and Muslim communities. There is no doubt that there are divisions within the Tamil and Muslim communities. I would like to see the non-LTTE Tamil forces establish a coalition and provide the country with a clear idea of what an emerging consensus could be. For instance, Veerasingham Anandasangaree has mentioned the Indian model. Douglas Devananda has also endorsed it from time to time, while sometimes alluding to regional councils.

The Muslim Peace Secretariat was, unfortunately, confined to just two parties: the NUA and the SLMC. It should be more broad-based. I hope that these two parties will try to reorganise the Muslim Peace Secretariat and make it a forum to uphold Muslim interests, to produce a common platform. The Muslims are an important minority in the country. They have traditionally played a significant role, from ancient times. Now, in the making of modern Sri Lanka as a multi-ethnic pluralist society, the Muslims have a vital role to play.

Once we have these three groups producing their own ideas, it will be much easier for us to have some sense of what can be done. In that context, the LTTE will have to formulate its own response to a democratic solution – one that will respect the human rights of everybody.

Q: Are you suggesting this as a road map?

A: They are building blocks towards a solution. What I admire about the Rajapakse approach is that he is building up these blocks before attempting a solution. You might come up with a very good plan, but if spoilers in the political process can prevent it from being implemented, you will find it blowing up in your face.

It is, therefore, much better to make sure that all Muslim opinion is integrated into a platform and that all Tamil opinion – outside the LTTE, because we know it is not in the democratic mainstream – is integrated into a platform.

If all this can then be accommodated in the solution that is being negotiated by the government, it would be a lot easier for us to arrive at a national solution which is acceptable to all.

I personally find that this process of negotiating peace in the glare of publicity – in Geneva or wherever else – is not necessarily the best way forward. I’m not proposing that talks be held secretly, but I think it’s a task for the technocrats to undertake – under the guidance, of course, of their political masters.

As with all international negotiations and other negotiations which have been successful in the past, technicians must start working outside the glare of publicity. They may then report back to the political leadership, whether it be the government or the LTTE. You can’t expect automatic solutions at a two-day meeting in Geneva or Oslo. I think there’s something very wrong in the modality that the Norwegians have proposed and I hope they move away from it.

Q: Isn’t it ominous that talks between the LTTE and the government keep failing?

A: I’m not overly pessimistic that bilateral peace talks between the LTTE and the government are not showing progress right now. What I am concerned about is the lack of peace in the country. The absence of a settlement, agreed upon between the LTTE and government in the short term, is not as important as the restoration of a complete ceasefire and a respect for human rights. In this regard, there has been a sharp deterioration in 2006.

We must return to a better implementation of the 2002 ceasefire, despite all the flaws in the agreement. You can also buttress the ceasefire with parallel human-rights monitoring.

There must be a way in which the Karuna group is given some role, so that it is brought within the discipline of the ceasefire. How that can be done must be discussed, but its members can’t be allowed to get away with violations of the ceasefire simply because they are anti-LTTE.

No violations of law and order can be tolerated by an elected government in a democratic country which holds the rule of law and human rights as fundamental foundations of the nation.

Q: Do you have practical suggestions for a better implementation of the ceasefire agreement?

A: I deplored the decision of the EU members of the SLMM to leave. That was a retrograde step. They could very well have relocated to Colombo and worked here in a reconfiguration of the SLMM. I hope they come back, even at this stage. We need to expand the number of monitors and they should be able to function smoothly. There have been numerous occasions when the LTTE has not permitted them, for example, to go to the airfield that it is suspected to be building. That should not have been tolerated.

As I have said, the ceasefire agreement of 2002 is deeply flawed. But we have to live with the flaws now, because renegotiating such a ceasefire agreement is a huge task. The LTTE will certainly not cooperate, because the current ceasefire agreement is in its favour.

What we can do is to build a parallel human-rights monitoring mechanism. The international community can insist that the LTTE and the government accept that mechanism. The government itself has subscribed to international agreements on human rights. We also have constitutional guarantees of human rights. All these should be a framework for human-rights monitoring that could take place with our own people and with international observers. That will help buttress the existing ceasefire agreement.

Q: How has concern over human rights had an impact on how we are currently viewed by the world?

A: From an understanding that we are victims of terrorism, there is now also a deep concern over two things. One is our failure to produce a concrete proposal to solve the minority problems in this country. The forging of the UNP-SLFP agreement has, to some extent, helped reduce that problem. But the other issue is that there have been a number of human-rights violations and breaches of the ceasefire, where suspicion points to the government. And there has not been sufficient action taken by the state to remove that suspicion or to determine who the culprits are. I think that has resulted in a very serious credibility problem for Sri Lanka, internationally. More seriously, we are losing the moral high ground.

While nobody is looking upon the LTTE as freedom fighters, our own credibility in fighting terrorism is being seriously eroded because of these human-rights violations that are perceived to have been committed by the government. If that perception is wrong, it’s up to us to prove that they’re wrong.

(Courtesy LMD Magazine)

Tags: World News, Sri Lanka, UN

The prestigious ‘Sri Lankan Of The Year’ award was recently bestowed on high-powered diplomat Jayantha Dhanapala by LMD, at a black-tie event in Colombo. The long-serving ambassador was recognised for the outstanding contribution he has made to the nation in 2006, particularly for the impeccable campaign he ran as a contender for the post of UN Secretary-General.

Dhanapala is the career diplomat who was handpicked by outgoing UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to take on the challenging job of Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs. He was mandated to re-establish the Department of Disarmament after the UN reforms of 1997, and headed it from 1998 to 2003.

In addition to the numerous international offices he has held, Dhanapala also served as Sri Lanka’s Secretary-General for Coordinating the Peace Process, until November 2005. He then retired to concentrate on his candidature for post of UN Secretary-General, a campaign he engaged in "with dignity and decorum at all times", according to a spokesperson for LMD. When the fact of his standing for the highest UN office was announced, Dhanapala was a firm favourite – but due to intricacies of the UN system in these globally politically-complex times, he ended up at the rear of the field of main contenders. LMD’s ‘Sri Lankan Of The Year’ then graciously opted out of the race and paved the way for another Asian candidate – Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon –who eventually secured the job. However, as LMD observed at the presentation ceremony, recently – the reality is that in Dhanapala Sri Lanka had (and has) a man with the potential to be arguably the most influential person on the planet!

Despite his withdrawal from the UN race, Dhanapala returned home late last year with some victories, underscores LMD’s forthcoming issue. The widely-read business magazine notes: "Indeed, he didn’t win the race to succeed Kofi Annan as the new Secretary-General of the UN…in fact, he ended up at the rear of the field of main contenders, having started as a veritable firm favourite. It was a year of ups and downs, with the ‘Asian flag’ fluttering incessantly – its turn had come, we were told, even before the starter’s orders…but there were many detractors; amongst them, the most powerful nation on earth."

-The Island

Tags: Sri Lanka, Jayantha Dhanapala

JAPAN: The Council of United Nations University, which met for its annual session earlier this month at UNU Centre in Tokyo, has elected Ambassador Jayantha Dhanapala of Sri Lanka as UNU Council Chair, states a United Nations University press release.

Amb. Dhanapala, who currently serves as Senior Adviser to the President of Sri Lanka, has had a distinguished four-decade career as a diplomat, peace-builder and disarmament expert. In his role as UNU Council Chair, he succeeds Peter Katjavivi, the Republic of Namibia’s Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany.

The Council of United Nations University, which acts as the governing board of UNU, comprises 24 appointed members (who serve as individuals and not as representatives of their home countries), the Rector of UNU and 3 ex-officio members (the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and the Executive Director of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research).

Amb. Dhanapala was appointed to the Council in May 2004 for a six-year term. With UNU Rector Hans van Ginkel planning to retire in 2007, Amb. Dhanapala’s selection as UNU Council Chair comes at a transitional period for the University, and he will play a key role in overseeing the changeover.

“I am deeply honoured to be elected to lead the UNU Council at this time of momentous change for UNU, the entire UN system and the world,” said Amb. Dhanapala.

-Daily News Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka’s unsuccessful candidate for the post of UN Chief said yesterday his candidacy had in no way adversely affected the stature of Sri Lanka in the international arena.

“We can all rest content that, although we did not achieve our goal, we conducted a professional and ethical campaign with transparency, dignity and respect. This is neither the time nor the place to analyze the causes for the failure of my campaign,” Jayantha Dhanapala said in a statement.

He said the Sri Lankan government, in close consultation with him, announced his withdrawal from the contest in the interests of securing a consensus around the most likely Asian candidacy of South Korea’s Ban Ki-Moon.

“I accept the decision of the international community with all respect and humility. I have already congratulated Secretary-General-elect Ban Ki-Moon — whom I have known for some years — on his victory, wishing him a fruitful tenure of office leading the UN to an ampler fulfillment of the Charter in the achievement of international peace and security, human rights and economic and social development.

Consistent with my long-held convictions I am personally delighted that a career diplomat has been elected from an Asian country which is not a nuclear weapon state and is about the same size and population as the states that have previously provided Secretaries-General to the UN,” Mr. Dhanapala said.

He said he was grateful for the consistent support and strong canvassing for his candidature by the former President, the current President, former Foreign Ministers Lakshman Kadirgamar and Anura Bandaranaike and the present Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera. -Daily Mirror

by Namini Wijedasa

Jayantha Dhanapala, who pulled out his candidacy for the post of UN secretary-general, said yesterday that withdrawing had been "the right thing to do at the right moment in the interest of securing a consensus around an Asian candidate".

"Naturally, one is disappointed that the international community did not recognise my experience and qualifications, which were readily conceded by everybody," Dhanapala told the Sunday Island, on his return to Sri Lanka. "It seems to me that decisions (at the Security Council) are more politics-based than merit-based… and I think analysing the politics of it must wait a while."

"I am content that we conducted a very professional, dignified, ethics-based and low-budget campaign focusing on my merits as a candidate," he added. "A withdrawal at this stage was the right thing to do at the right moment in the interest of securing a consensus around an Asian candidate, which has been our principled position from the beginning."

Asked whether the entry of Indian candidate Shashi Tharoor into the race had cobbled his chances, Dhanapala replied: "The absence of a South Asia consensus was certainly a deficiency in my campaign. I don’t think it helped India or Sri Lanka."

He also said that South Korea was a country which had the size and population fitting the profile of countries that have provided secretaries-general in the past.

Dhanapala also had to contend with a concentrated LTTE campaign against him while the political and military situation in the country had attracted considerable attention. "The situation in the country got a disproportionate amount of attention while similar events were also occurring in Kashmir, Assam, Gujarat and southern Thailand," he commented.

"Right now I’m planning to have a long rest," Dhanapala said, when questioned about future plans. "I will continue with my international obligations while mulling over my future plans."

Dhanapala declined to make a more detailed statement—or analysis of the politics behind his poor performance at Security Council straw polls—saying this would come later. "I think it is premature for an analysis of the reasons," he said. "I will make a detailed statement after the election process is completed."

"I would like to thank President Mahinda Rajapakse for his unwavering support of my candidature, Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera for his hard work and tireless canvassing on my behalf, to the foreign ministry staff led by the able Foreign Secretary S. Palhikaara, and to all our diplomatic missions, especially to those accredited to the UN in New York and Geneva," Dhanapala said.

by Jayantha Dhanapala

There are two contrasting job descriptions of the post of Secretary-General (SG) of the United Nations which falls vacant at the end of this year. One is by the first incumbent of this position, Trygve Lie of Norway, who famously called it "the most impossible job in the world". The other is by the first, and so far only, Asian SG – U Thant of Myanmar (formerly Burma) – who wrote, "The Secretary-Generalship is not the most impossible job in the world, although it is certainly one of the most difficult. It is without any question one of the most rewarding."

It would be all too facile and fallacious to draw conclusions from this contrast. It is not a question of hardheaded Western pragmatism versus philosophical Eastern equanimity. Both men worked at the UN during the Cold War era. Trygve Lie was forced to resign because of Soviet antagonism while U Thant declined unanimous offers of a third term. Was it because U Thant was content to be more Secretary than General or was he a more consummate diplomat harmonizing the competing interests of the two super-powers of the time?

Today, times have changed. The Cold war is over. Yet we do have the countervailing imperatives of a unipolar world on the one hand, with one super power possessing an accumulation of military, political, economic and ‘soft’ power on a global scale that is unprecedented in human history. On the other hand, we have a globalized world of rising expectations in a highly integrated political and economic world order where multilateralism is an indispensable foreign policy option for the mighty and the meek and for the rich and the poor. At the apex of this multilateral system is the 61 year old United Nations politically paralyzed when the Permanent Five of the Security Council (P5) disagree – as in the case of Iraq in 2003 – but remarkably effective when they do agree. Based on universally shared values the UN has set and monitored the implementation of norms in a wide range of fields from human rights to international trade. It has been at the forefront in peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance, development policy and many other areas affecting the daily lives of people.

So how important is the choice of the next SG of this world body that everybody wants to reform? Some loudly lament the absence of a formal job description. Do we make the incumbent more effective by spelling out his complex duties? How many incompetent Presidents or unpopular Prime Ministers would have performed better if their written or unwritten constitutions had fleshed out their functions? Do the times determine the job or does the jobholder influence the manner in which the duties are discharged? What qualifications and experience are we looking for or is it, as one veteran UN observer has recently written, mainly a matter of "character and potential"? And if so how do you judge that? By common consent no one has enlarged the scope and stature of the job as much as Dag Hammarskjold (1953-61) did. Was his exemplary character pre-judged? Succeeding him, U Thant (1961-71) brought the UN into calmer waters despite the Vietnam War focussing on what the UN can do rather on what it could not. Was it foreseen that he would be the SG that he turned out to be?

Then there is the procedure for the election on which many views have been expressed. Should it be more transparent and should not the General Assembly have more control? Should the candidates present manicured manifestos and engage in a US Presidential campaign style extravaganza or should they be shrinking violets waiting coyly in the wings till the call comes?

All pertinent questions. Today, those disillusioned by the sullied reputation of the UN seek a Superman as the next SG. The media speculates wildly about past Presidents and current Prime Ministers forgetting that those elected on national mandates are more likely to be Generals than Secretaries. The UN system has already had many such square pegs in round holes. Perhaps what the UN needs today is what it has always needed – a SG who is a tried and tested diplomat with versatility and gravitas derived from experience, a flexible and modest temperament and the limitless patience of a consensus builder. We need someone who will be more of a steady moral compass than a flamboyant political weathercock. History has proved that the Charter’s Article 100 requirement for impartiality is more achievable with the citizens of smaller countries with the least amount of accompanied national baggage of territorial and other disputes in their international relations. We need a strong manager who will delegate and yet be finally the person where the buck stops. And yes – even if it is an oxymoron – we need a practical idealist.

The limitations of the job are well known. 192 sovereign states are unlikely to yield more power or latitude to the office of the SG. Nor will the Security Council be pursuaded to act speedily however often and urgently the SG draws their attention to situations threatening international peace and security under Article 99. Resources will remain unpredictable and limited. Smooth relations with the host country and largest contributor to the Budget are a sine qua non. The SG will remain the lightning conductor when things go wrong whether it is because of what the Security Council, General Assembly or some other part of the complex UN system did or did not do.

The choice will be made in a few weeks. Already some transparency in the process is evident as candidates are scrutinized by civil society and the media. And yet doubts remain about the process. Will new candidates enter the race dodging critical appraisal? Will the choice be made on the basis of realpolitik among the P 5? Will bilateral relations and the propensity for building strategic partnerships, enhanced economic investment, aid and trade between the voter country and the voted individual’s state be the criteria? Or will it be confined to the record of achievements and proven abilities of the candidates? Only time will tell.

(Jayantha Dhanapala is Sri Lanka’s candidate for the post of Secretary-General. He is a former Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the USA and a former UN Under-Secretary-General)

via… The Island

“UNSGslection.org is the website of a campaign organized by a group of Non-governmental organisations calling for a more democratic, transparent and effective selection process that will ensure the appointment of the most qualified candidates as the next Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Among the NGOs are Amnesty International, Third World Network, Equality Now and the World Federalist Movement – Institute of Global Policy. On August 11 a Questionnaire of 14 groups of questions was submitted by them to all four declared candidates. Jayanatha Dhanapala of Sri Lanka was the first to respond followed by India. The responses of the other two candidates are still being awaited.

Here are the questions and answers from Jayantha Dhanapala. The following questions are intended to elicit information on your qualifications, vision, and priority goals as a Secretary-General candidate. In formulating this questionnaire, we have given consideration to areas of particular concern to global civil society groups.

The questionnaire also reflects the selection criteria developed by the UNSGselection.org campaign.

Q: Overview: In what ways have your past experiences, positions, and duties promoted or demonstrated a commitment to the principles of the United Nations?

A: My vision of the UN has always been that of the undisputed centre of a rule-based world order in which sovereign states voluntarily participate. The UN has built and maintained norms that improve the daily lives of people. It must continue to do so to take our world forward to sustainable peace and prosperity.

For five years, from 1987-92, in the senior management position of Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs, I led a vigorous effort to re-establish a role for the UN in multilateral disarmament based on UN Charter provisions and past UN resolutions which call for common security at the lowest level of armaments. Disarmament, it must be recalled, was the subject of the very first UN General Assembly resolution and remains a central pillar of the UN.

During my tenure – I revitalized regional disarmament with the Regional Centres in Lima and Lome being re-opened with new Directors; I chartered, and actively pursued, a new course on small arms and light weapons (SALW) culminating in the 2001 Conference on the Illicit Trade in SALW in all its aspects and the adoption of a Programme of Action by consensus:

I gave active leadership to work on Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) ensuring the successful adoption of a Final Document at the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference of 2000; new guidelines on Terrorism and WMD were developed following the tragedy of 9/11; transparency in armaments and arms expenditure was enhanced through a wider participation in the instruments the UN has had for this purpose; the entry into force and implementation of the Mine Ban Convention was fostered and new initiatives were designed and taken by me such as the voluntary surrender of weapons in Albania with the incentive of development projects; and, on my direction, the Department of Disarmament Affairs originated and implemented a Gender Action Plan and a Disarmament and Peace Education programme for Youth.

In addition, as a member of the UN’s Senior Management Team, I contributed towards collective policy formulation and decision-making within the framework of UN principles.

I also undertook public speaking engagements within the US and in many countries (over a 100 official speeches in 6 continents) on general issues involving the UN such as the rule of law, multilateralism, the UN and Civil Society and international peace and security in order to increase public awareness and support of the UN and its principles.

Prior to that, as Director of the UN Institute for Disarmament Research (1987-92) – conducting independent policy oriented research on disarmament and security – I encouraged wider participation in research projects drawing in young researchers from developing countries and empowering the UN to fulfill its role in disarmament and security by expanding the reservoir of ideas and proposals available to the policy makers and diplomatic practitioners.

Finally, as a diplomat of a small, developing country for 27 years, the UN and its principles always figured prominently in my work – including in my participation in numerous forums and the chairing of several international conferences.

I was motivated in this by a deep-seated conviction that the UN was vital for my country’s peace, development and security and for the world. It is a conviction that goes back to my debut in international affairs when I represented my country as an 18 year-old in the World Youth Forum held in the USA.

Q: Peace and Security: In the past two decades, the UN’s peacekeeping operations have grown to become one of its largest and most prominent functions. What aspects of the current debate on peacekeeping, as reflected, inter alia, in the Brahimi Report on Peacekeeping Operations, are especially important for creating more accountable and effective forces in addressing the most severe challenges to peacekeeping and peacebuilding?

A: Peacekeeping has been transformed dramatically from the time of Dag Hammarksjold not only in terms of the four-fold increase in the number of missions and Blue Helmets and the cost, but also with regard to the nature of peacekeeping with greater risks peacekeepers are exposed to today. Regrettably there has also been a sharp decline in the quality of peacekeepers with outrageous acts of misconduct.

Also regrettable is the reluctance of developed countries to provide peacekeeping troops. A more rapidly deployable peacekeeping force is a basic necessity with peacekeepers being trained so as to avoid the gross indiscipline that we have seen.

The protection of UN peacekeepers, as with all UN field staff, is a vital obligation of member states and they should not be deployed unless there are reasonable guarantees of their safety. The UN is desperately in need of better early warning capability since member states, while not permitting the UN to develop its own means, do not always willingly share the information they obtain through their ‘national technical means’. Better analysis of the information coming into the Situation Room directly linked to a strengthened Lessons Learned Unit is also needed.

The establishment of the Peacebuilding Commission will, hopefully, fill the gaping lacuna of the past and prevent countries recovering from conflict from sliding back into civil war. But for this a major investment of resources will be necessary. A constituency must be built in all countries in support of UN peacekeeping through national parliaments, the media and civil society and for this purpose the services of retired UN peacekeepers at the officer level would be helpful.

There are several additional areas of peace and security where more work needs to be done, including Chapter 6 initiatives for the peaceful settlement of disputes where the Secretary-General has to be more pro-active. Terrorism has become a global phenomenon requiring enhanced global co-operation in observing the existing international legal norms and finalizing a comprehensive convention.

The arms industry has to be engaged in a dialogue within the context of the Global Compact on conforming to codes of conduct. A radical shift of emphasis from conflict resolution and post conflict disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) to conflict prevention and the peaceful settlement of conflicts such as through greater use of the rule of law and the International Court of Justice will require a raft of measures which the Peacebuilding Commission can be expanded to implement.

Q: Protecting Civilians: The UN Charter opens with, “We the peoples of the United Nations,” yet the organization remains a primarily intergovernmental body. The UN Secretary-General therefore is responsible to both the citizens of the world and the Member States. Where is the threshold between the UN’s (and the Secretary- General’s) obligations to protect civilian populations and to respect national sovereignty?

A: The problem of ‘peace enforcement’ by the UN is a complex one, however altruistic the motives may be. In the wake of the genocides of Rwanda and Srebenica there was the ‘humanitarian intervention’ concept which proved very controversial because of the concept of national sovereignty, the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of countries and deep distrust on how the concept would be implemented.

The ‘responsibility to protect’ concept born out of the Canadian Government sponsored International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty provides a more acceptable means for the UN, through prescribed Security Council procedures, to protect the civilians of a country once their government has shown a demonstrable inability or unwillingness to provide that protection.

A first step was taken in the Outcome Document of the 60th UNGA High-level Plenary Meeting which acknowledged, in addition to the responsibility of each state, the responsibility of the international community, through the UN, to help protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. It urged the UNGA to continue consideration of this concept of responsibility to protect in the context of the Charter and international law.

This provides an opening for detailed procedures to be agreed upon in the future for UN action to protect populations in worst case scenarios as well as in other situations. There are other ways in which the UN can interact directly with the peoples of the world such as through civil society groups and NGOs.

There is also the Global Compact through which the UN co-operates with multinational and other companies to ensure that people benefit from their corporate policies through adherence to multilateral norms over a range of subjects.

I am convinced that speedier responses to situations where humanitarian assistance is needed must be undertaken by the UN and the recent establishment of the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) is most welcome.

Q: Human Rights: The current Secretary-General has written, “[The framers of the UN Charter] decided to create an organization to ensure respect for fundamental human rights, establish conditions under which justice and the rule of law could be maintained, and ‘promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom.’” During the past ten years, the Secretary-General has initiated and supported substantial reform of the UN’s human rights machinery in order that human rights could be given its rightful institutional emphasis as one of the three pillars of the United Nations.

If you were selected as the next Secretary-General, what specific steps would you take to follow through on these processes?

A: The existing gamut of human rights instruments in the UN system does afford protection to individual citizens in countries. More countries should be encouraged to sign the First Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights under which communications are received and examined from individuals who claim that their human rights have been violated.

The Human Rights Council, it is hoped, would exercise its functions to protect the civilians of all countries irrespective of political considerations while the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Secretary-General must also be ready to speak out fearlessly in support of the human rights of individual citizens and groups where they are being violated.

Resolutions on country situations have caused controversy in the past and voting has been on political lines. I would like to see more focussed attention and publicity given to the proceedings of the Committees examining country reports under the various human rights instruments, such as the Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) where both Government representatives and NGOs appear before human rights experts.

I would also like to see more attention paid to protecting and promoting the human rights of migrant workers and internally displaced persons. Human rights must also be mainstreamed in the education syllabi of all schools throughout the world and form an integral part of the training of the police and military in all countries. The newly established Human Rights Council has to be monitored and an objective assessment made of its functioning with necessary course corrections made well in time.

Q: Development: What are the main elements of an effective development strategy, and in which areas should ECOSOC, as opposed to international financial institutions, play a leading role? What specific role should the Secretary-General play in promoting the development agenda?

A: We need to await the report of the panel co-chaired by the Prime Ministers of Mozambique, Norway and Pakistan due in September before we arrive at conclusions on how the UN should be restructured in the humanitarian, development and environmental areas.

The enhancement of the role of ECOSOC in particular and closer co-ordination with the international financial institutions, which are themselves being reviewed, and the creation of a sort of Economic Security Council has been proposed.

Given that development is accepted as one of the three pillars of the UN system we need to pursue the goal of sustainable development and the policies that have emerged from the many UN global conferences and summits.

The Millenium Development Goals, adopted by the largest gathering of Heads of State and Government in 2000, represent an accelerated programme focussing attention on achieving eight goals vitally affecting poverty-stricken regions in the world. The Secretary-General needs to be more pro-actively involved in the advocacy and achievement of these goals.

The annual reports of the progress we are making show that, while some advances have been made, we are likely to fall behind especially in sub-Saharan African countries where the poor are getting poorer. We are also not doing well in many regions as far as universal primary education with eight out of ten children out of school living in sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia.

The reasons for this are complex. Poverty cannot be eradicated by increased development assistance alone. Not only must individual governments take responsibility for failures in governance and national development strategies, but there are also natural disasters like droughts and floods and systemic problems that have prevented us from reaching our goals.

Conflicts have also had a direct impact on exacerbating poverty and displacing people. We have also not made sufficient progress in establishing the right global climate through partnerships for development with debt relief and access to markets.

The failure of the Doha Development Round in the WTO is especially unfortunate. The UN must convene a major conference by 2010 to assess what can be done collectively to ensure the achievement of the MDGs. Over one billion of our fellow human beings living under $ 1 per day and 30,000 children dying every day from preventable or treatable causes are tragic realities I find unacceptable.

Q: Governance: Given the current criticism of the UN for a lack of transparency, accountability and democracy, what are the key opportunities in the UN system for increased democratic governance, allowing all actors – Member States, international organizations, and NGOs – fair representation while ensuring effective decision-making?

A: The criticism regarding a democracy deficit in the UN system and a lack of transparency arises from power asymmetries among member states, especially with regard to the functioning of the Security Council, as well as from the perceived exclusion of civil society from decision making. The UN is essentially inter-governmental in structure.

We remain in a Westphalian world order. Consequently greater efforts to open up decision-making processes and involve civil society and other interest groups in a consultative role would help improve the governance of the UN provided all member states co-operate. Some member states already include civil society representatives in their delegations.

Member states are also inconsistent and selective in advocating and accepting the right of NGO participation. For example NGOs are actively encouraged by some in the human rights area but discouraged in the disarmament, development and environment fields and vice versa by others. This cannot be sustained. The year of the Millenium Assembly saw a number of assemblies of parliamentary leaders, NGOs, religious leaders, business leaders and other segments of society.

These assemblies could be held more regularly and feed their ideas, proposals and energy into the UN system. The regional organizations hold regular meetings with the UN at the moment and that has helped to deepen institutional ties and develop greater co-ordination and synergy.

The same could be done with other groups minimizing the sense of exclusion that is now felt.

Q: Gender: How can the UN better promote gender equality and women’s human rights, both at the Secretariat and at the operational level? What specifically would you do to strengthen both the gender mainstreaming efforts at the UN as well as the gender “architecture,” i.e. the agencies charged with advancing gender equality and women’s human rights? How do you envision reaching the UN goal of 50/50 gender balance in the Secretariat?

A: The inclusion of the gender dimension in the MDGs and in human rights is a clear indication of the priority of gender equality and gender mainstreaming in the UN. Gender equality is a cardinal article of faith for me. My record in DDA which, inter alia, formulated the first Gender Action Plan for a UN Department, is evidence of this. Women are clearly a vulnerable group.

We have to move cautiously where complex cultural issues are involved so that our efforts towards achieving desired goals are not counter-productive. At the UN, the achievement of gender equality in Departments and Funds and Agencies must be an important criterion in performance evaluation of senior management.

Target dates and clear-cut strategies of new appointments and promotions must be set and achieved. If the Secretary-General is a male it would be desirable for the Deputy Secretary-General to be a qualified female At the operational level gender mainstreaming must be reflected through consultation with women’s groups and programmes targeted towards improving the specific situation of women.

The architecture of UN institutions dealing with the gender issue in the UN will be the subject of the report of the High-level Panel on United Nations System-wide Coherence in the Areas of Development, Humanitarian Assistance and Environment and it is wise to await their recommendations.

However while a focal point can help co-ordinate and sharpen the impact of the right gender policies, all parts of the UN system have a role in achieving gender equality and gender mainstreaming which cannot be abdicated.

Q: International Justice: How will you support and strengthen the UN’s and Member States’ commitment to international justice mechanisms such as international criminal tribunals, including the International Criminal Court (ICC)?

A: The establishment of ‘conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law’ is a primary Charter ordained task of the UN. The rule of law is a characteristic that distinguishes civilized human society and the UN must be associated with its development, protection and implementation at all levels national, regional and international.

While sovereign states will reserve their right to participate in treaties, the Secretary-General has a duty to advocate the universalisation of international legal instruments whatever his or her own country’s position may be.

The encouragement of parliamentary, professional and civil society groups, such as Parliamentary Judiciary Committees and National Bar Associations, in support of particular legal instruments and bodies is one way of creating public opinion in favour of international law.

The recourse to the International Court of Justice in the case of disputes must be consistently advocated and where rulings are made their implementation must be ensured.

Q: Environment: How can the UN provide more comprehensive and coherent management and monitoring of the multilateral environmental agreements? How can the UN strengthen a sustainable development-oriented agenda throughout both the Secretariat and at the country level?

A: The issue of the report of the High-level Panel referred to under sections 5 and 7 should be awaited but there is clearly need for a more cohesive and influential role for the UN in co-ordinating and implementing environmental agreements.

The Secretary-General must unfailingly advocate the implementation of the Rio principles and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation in all areas of the world. UNEP must expand its scientific role and monitoring of research on global warming and climate change.

A global policy on energy needs to be formulated including on fuel efficiency standards. UN Secretariats and institutions must set an example by using fuel-efficient vehicles, recycling paper and other material as far as possible, economizing in the use of power in offices and adopting other environmentally-friendly practices.

The conservation of water resources, forests, biodiversity and the protection of the environment from hazardous waste must remain a priority.

Coming from a tsunami-affected country I am strongly convinced of the need for effective global systems of early warning of natural disasters and for rapid response systems to help those affected by natural disasters.

Q: Disarmament and non-proliferation: What institutional changes are needed within the United Nations, in particular with respect to the role of the Secretariat, to improve the capacity to respond to global challenges posed by nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons, missiles and other means of their delivery, and the risk of their acquisition by terrorists?

A: The threat from weapons of mass destruction remains since there are still some 27000 nuclear weapons of which 12,000 are deployed many of them on hair-trigger alert. And yet, since the end of the Cold War, the public concern over this is at its lowest level. No meaningful nuclear disarmament measures have been taken for several years.

There are dangers of proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons to states as well as to non-state actors – and their actual use by accident or design – despite the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty and Security Council Resolution 1540.

A sensitization of world public opinion to the need for a revival of disarmament and urgent action over proliferation of WMD can best be undertaken by the UN’s Department for Disarmament Affairs. The existing disarmament machinery, especially the Geneva-based Conference on Disarmament, has been under-utilized and must resume serious work before it is too late.

On conventional arms, with annual military expenditure running at $ 173 per capita or $ 1118 billion in 2005 and the alarming proliferation of small arms and light weapons requires urgent international action through the proposed Arms Trade Treaty and other measures.

Another coalition of dedicated NGOs and like-minded countries that led to the Mine Ban Convention is needed to launch an accelerated process on selected areas in the disarmament field.

Q: UN Reform: The UN has been involved in reform discussions for the past two years.

What do you see as the strengths and weaknesses of the current Secretary-General’s reform recommendations (i.e. “In Larger Freedom,” March 2005)? What are the most important reforms, and what role should the Secretary-General play in promoting those reforms?

A: All institutions must undergo change not necessarily because of wrongdoing. In the UN, the Volcker report and other exposures of malfeasance have made reform more urgent to restore the confidence of the international community in the world body as a repository of noble values and universal principles and to ensure its effective functioning in the future.

This task is unfortunately being undertaken in an atmosphere of deep mistrust among groups and with inadequate consultation with the staff.

The Secretariat’s impartiality as the manager of this change has been doubted making some of its recommendations to be suspect. Reform should not be a battle for the control of the UN. It should be a collective exercise in reviewing the institutions within the UN system, the mandates and the efficiency of the Secretariat, as the machinery to implement the tasks entrusted to it by the member states in a manner that satisfies the interests of all 192 member states.

I have carefully read the many useful reports by governments, task forces and panels of experts of NGOs and others on UN reform. Some reform – such as the review of institutions, their replacement or the establishment of new bodies as well as the review of mandates – are clearly the responsibility of the member states and the Secretary-General’s role can mainly be an advisory one until the main stakeholders take the decisions.

I believe in the importance of maintaining the equilibrium among the principal organs of the UN that is in the Charter. As for Secretariat reform, the Secretary-General as its head must make the recommendations. I have personally experienced the frustration of dysfunctional ‘turf battles’ among UN Departments, Funds and Agencies. There is urgent need for effective and more rigorous oversight mechanisms and a better performance evaluation system for the staff.

Already much of the reform agenda has been accomplished but much remains to be done – as a result of some of the recommendations being presented at different stages – in a time frame that will inevitably spill over into the term of a new Secretary-General. A decompartmentalisation of the Secretariat to ensure more co-ordination, transparency, accountability and efficiency has to be achieved.

The use of Information and Communications Technology must be streamlined within the UN under a Chief Information Officer with due attention to the digital divide that separates some developing countries from the rest of the world.

Q: UN Leadership Roles: How would you distinguish between the roles of the Secretary-General and the Deputy SG? What qualifications would you look for in a candidate for DSG? Do you already have anyone in mind for the post?

A: The Secretary-General is more than the ‘chief administrative officer’ description of the job given in the Charter.

He is the embodiment of all its values, its chief diplomat and the moral compass. He must be the consensus builder and harmoniser among the various groups in the UN membership; the creative source of ideas that serve the people of the world; the chief executive officer of the entire UN system who can be both the international civil servant par excellence accountable to the 192 member states and yet the leader of the world’s most universal body motivating his staff through example and advocacy of UN ideals and principles.

This requires extensive diplomatic experience and a close knowledge of the UN system and its internal operation. Neither a total insider nor a total outsider would fit this role adequately.

Moreover, to adhere to Article 100 of the Charter, the national of a small country with the minimum of accompanied baggage in terms of external disputes with other countries, would be more credible and acceptable than nationals of large and powerful countries with nuclear weapons and/or locked in historical, territorial and other international disputes.

The Deputy Secretary-General (DSG) has authority delegated by the Secretary-General and could undertake the day-to-day administration of the organization as the Chief Operations Officer plus any other area of work entrusted to him or her by the Secretary-General. The DSG must pay close attention to the maintenance of ethical and efficiency standards among the staff while ensuring that staff morale remains high safeguarding staff security and good working conditions.

As stated in Section 7 if the Secretary-General is a male the DSG should preferably be a qualified female. Since public diplomacy is an important task, especially with the major contributors to the UN Budget, the DSG can share this responsibility with the Secretary-General.

Q: South versus North – Mediating Role of Secretary General: Progress on key issues is often undermined by tension between developed and developing countries.

What role can the Secretary-General play in addressing that divide? What experience do you have that would aid you in the considerable task of achieving the compromises and building the consensus necessary for meaningful action?

A: The end of the Cold War brought closure to decades of the contest between East and West opening fresh opportunities for a world order based on the principles of the UN Charter.

However tensions between the developed and industrialized countries of the North and the developing countries of the South have lingered and resurfaced over the UN reform debate and the stalemated Doha Development Round of the WTO.

A world permanently divided between the rich and the poor is a deeply insecure and unsustainable world.

This poses a challenge for the Secretary-General to bridge the gap while retaining the confidence of both groups. While being a diplomat of a developing country, which is a functioning democracy and a pioneer in adopting market driven economic policies in 1977, I have the credibility to launch a dialogue between the North and South.

My diplomatic track record is also that of a consenasus builder with my Presidency of the NPT Review and Extension Conference in 1995 standing out.

My tenure as Permanent Representative of my country to the UN office in Geneva gave me a close knowledge of the issues and my work on disarmament and development helped me understand ground realities in developing countries other than my own.

Excellent relations with the donors, with the international financial institutions, with academia, NGOs and other actors in the development community are vital to achieve success in this area crucial to the alleviation of poverty, the upliftment of human rights and the elimination of conditions that contribute towards conflict and terrorism.

Q: Role of NGOs/Civil Society: What role should civil society and other non-state stakeholders play in the work of the UN? Do you support a greater consultative role for NGOs in intergovernmental decision-making processes, or a decreased role? What measures should a Secretary General take to improve UN-civil society relations?

A: This subject has been partially addressed in section 6. I have consistently advocated a prominent, consistent and active role for NGOs in the UN and in my closing address to the 1995 NPT Conference I acknowledged the ‘encouragement, ideas, public support and advocacy’ contributed by the NGOs and the increasing integration of their expertise and resources within and among states in the UN context.

I am currently a member of several NGOs who work productively with the UN and have therefore seen the relationship from all perspectives. Appropriate screening and monitoring procedures are always a prudent precaution in admitting NGOs to a consultative role in the UN and reviewing their performance.

As a citizen of the South I am acutely conscious of the fact that resource constraints and, in some cases, inadequate political space prevents civil society in developing countries from playing a more active and independent role in the UN.

A more level playing field is needed. NGOs and civil society in all countries have also a major role to play in the public diplomacy needed to support the UN. The Secretary-General must be personally identified with important NGO and civil society events. -The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.

Jayantha Dhanapala was instrumental in taking the peace process where no Sri Lankan had taken it before. It was a pity his policy initiative was compromised by political expediency. Could his candidature for the post of Secretary-General of the United Nations also be subjected to similar forces, courtesy global politics? In LMD’s latest issue, Dr. Jehan Perera, Executive Director of the National Peace Council of Sri Lanka, highlights Dhanapala’s contribution to peace in Sri Lanka. And the business magazine’s August edition, out now, underscores just why Dhanapala would be the most eligible candidate to hold the UN’s top post.

When the diplomat with over four decades of experience took over the leadership of the government’s Peace Secretariat in May 2004, the peace process was heading for disaster. The LTTE had pulled out of peace talks a year earlier – and it had commenced a vicious strategy of assassinating its Tamil political opponents and members of the government’s intelligence apparatus. It had presented an ambitious document for regional self-rule sans the central government. Compounding this negative scenario, the general election of April 2004 had been largely fought on the issue of the peace process. The victorious United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) campaigned on a platform that was critical of the peace process. The alliance highlighted its deficiencies as being unilaterally beneficial to the LTTE. It also accused the former government of having betrayed the country.

As Perera, a highly respected peace Analyst, observes in LMD: "But two unexpected events turned the situation around. The first was the appointment of Sri Lanka’s leading international diplomat to be the Director-General of the Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process (SCOPP). This appointment provided a measure of hope that the government was putting forward the country’s best intellectual resources to serve the cause of peace. Dhanapala’s UN experience, combined with his professionalism and integrity, meant that Sri Lanka had a world-class negotiator taking on the LTTE. However, the hoped-for breakthrough in the peace process was not immediate."

The LMD writer also points out in the magazine’s current edition that the international donor community pushed the Sri Lankan parties to work together towards a negotiated settlement. "It took nearly six months of hard work; but eventually, Dhanapala and his team of negotiators succeeded in reaching an agreement with the LTTE on a joint mechanism for tsunami relief: the Post-Tsunami Operational Management Structure (P-TOMS). This was only the second agreement ever to be signed between the government and the LTTE, the first being the (Ceasefire Agreement) CFA of 2002.The signing of the P-TOMS agreement heralded a possible new phase for the peace process," Perera comments.

"Another major achievement was the marked shift in the attitude of the LTTE, which occurred in the course of the negotiations with Dhanapala and his team of negotiators. A comparison between the P-TOMS and the LTTE’s proposed ISGA proposal showed a vast difference," expounds LMD. [Via... The Island]

Sri Lanka’s widely known International Civil Servant and Senior Presidential Advisor, Dr. Jayantha Dhanapala, is Sri Lanka’s only candidate for the position of UN Secretary General. This truth goes unquestioned in Sri Lanka and among knowledgeable circles abroad and almost the entirety of this country-including the State – could be said to be staunchly backing Dhanapala’s candidacy for the UN’s top job.

We need to reiterate this truth, lest ideas to the contrary be circulated by some misinformed and misguided persons.

If there are pretenders to the candidacy we hope their minds would be disabused of this false notion. Dr. Jayantha Dhanapala is Sri Lanka’s choice for the post of UN Secretary General and there could be no other. This is the stark truth and we hope there would be no quibbling in any quarter about it.

Long before the current race to succeed the incumbent UN Secretary General Kofi Annan got underway, Dhanapala had distinguished himself as a diplomat and International Civil Servant.

His skills as a disarmament expert won for him the position of UN Under Secretary General for Disarmament from 1998 to 2003. Besides, his knowledge of international politics and of the Humanities is both profound and varied.

He served with great distinction as a diplomat in numerous of Lanka’s missions abroad before joining the UN system. As is well known, Dhanapala was UN Secretary General Kofi Annan’s choice in 1997 for dealing with the complex subject of UN reform.

In short, Dhanapala’s credentials are beyond question. He has done Sri Lanka proud and is this country’s unquestioned choice for the post of UN Secretary General, which position would soon fall vacant on Kofi Annan completing his second term as UN Chief.

We wish to remind all concerned that Dhanapala needs our unqualified support and endorsement. Undermining his candidacy would be tantamount to violating the will of the State and of the people. Let us all espouse his cause as one man and not be guilty of engaging in anything approaching treachery and betrayal.

The matter of Dhanapala’s candidacy is something that was considered settled by the State quite some time back. His candidacy has received the blessings of all who matter.

What is left to be done by the Lankan State and the public is to explore every means of promoting Dhanapala’s candidacy. It should be ensured that Dhanapala wins the eminent position he is vying for.

Our front page news story yesterday quoting no less a person than the President’s Secretary should help to defuse all doubts and reservations on this question, if there are any in any quarter. Sri Lanka’s Jayantha Dhanapala must win and we call for a united advocacy of his candidature.

Via… Daily News Editorial

Manjula FERNANDO

COLOMBO: Former UN Under Secretary General Ambassador Jayantha Dhanapala is Sri Lanka’s only candidate to the coveted UN top post, President’s Secretary Lalith Weeratunga asserted yesterday.

Weeratunga said Dhanapala is the only candidate nominated by Sri Lanka for the UN Secretary General’s post which will fall vacant after the current head’s second and final term expires in November.

He said: "There are no other candidates".

It is broadly accepted that an Asian candidate should be elected to head the UN this time, although the big countries have not officially agreed to this principle.

Foreign Secretary S. Palihakkara also confirmed the Presidential Secretary’s statement that there were no moves by the Government to nominate a second candidate.

Palihakkara said: "The Government of Sri Lanka and President Mahinda Rajapaksa has stated very clearly that Dhanapala is the only candidate from Sri Lanka."

The four Asian states which are contesting for the top UN post submitted their nominations as early as June.

South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki Moon, Indian candidate, serving UN Under Secretary General Shashi Tharoor, Thai Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai and Sri Lankan Candidate, Senior Presidential Advisor Jayantha Dhanapala are the only official candidates in the race.

However, some 30 more names including British Prime Minister Tony Blair and former US President Bill Clinton have been suggested and are speculated to enter the fray, to head the most powerful organisation in the world.

Dhanapala served as the UN Under Secretary General for disarmament from 1998 to 2003.

He was handpicked by Kofi Annan to take over the challenging job after UN reforms in 1997.

Source: The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.