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UNITED NATIONS, June 7 (Xinhua) -- After a second round of auditions of candidates for the next UN secretary-general concluded here on Tuesday, UN General Assembly President Mogens Lykketoft said he will made conclusions on these auditions and report them to the Security Council.
Lykketoft told reporters that he will "summarize the impressions" from the auditions and try to underline his "main conclusions" in a letter to the Security Council which is expected to begin its selection of next UN chief by the end of July this year.
Earlier on Tuesday, another two new candidates for the post presented themselves in front of representatives of UN member states and publicly answered their questions on UN affairs.
Responding to mounting questions on sustainable development, refugee crises as well as counter-terrorism, Argentine Minister of Foreign Affairs Susana Malcorra said the UN should be an "issue-based" organization which can engage major stakeholders of specific problems to find key solutions.
In face of these questions, the other candidate, Slovakian Minister of Foreign Affairs Miroslav Lajcak highlighted his opinion that the UN should become more flexible and constantly adjust to changes outside the organization.
In mid-April, nine candidates went through the same kind of procedures called "informal dialogues" between the 193-member General Assembly and candidates.
The new procedure, initiated for the first time in the UN history, requires those candidates to submit their resumes and take part in interviews which can be watched by people around the world through website.
Lykketoft has also said such an informal dialogue has the potential to affect the election result. The move is widely seen as historic, yet not decisive.
Under the UN Charter, the UN secretary-general shall be appointed by the General Assembly upon recommendation of the Security Council. In practice, the 15-member Security Council, in particular its five permanent members, will make the final choice and send a single candidate to the General Assembly for approval.
Last December, Lykketoft issued a joint letter with Security Council Rotating President Samantha Power to begin soliciting UN chief candidates in a bid to make the selection process as transparent and inclusive as possible.
The letter noted that both the presidents of the General Assembly and the Security Council will offer candidates opportunities for informal dialogues, which can take place before the council's selection by the end of July and may continue throughout the selection process.
Echoing that point, Lykketoft said Tuesday that the process is gradually going over to the Security Council, and if additional candidates show up, they will be given the same chance for presentation however late they are.
Incumbent UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is going to conclude his term at the end of 2016. The council will select the top leader of the world organization later this year.
