Slovak FM Lajcak presents his candidacy, vision for UN

Slovak foreign and European affairs minister Miroslav Lajcak presented his candidacy for the UN's secretary-general position and vision for the UN's future on Tuesday in New York, the ministry's press department informed on Wednesday.

It is the first time Slovakia has put forward a candidate for the top position at the UN.

"We need global solutions to tackle the growing number of global problems. The UN is the most universal and relevant organisation on this planet. It has the potential and all the essential tools for addressing global crises," said the minister.

"We only have to find a way of making this system more effective," cited the press department statement from Lajcak in his informal dialogue with ambassadors of member states at the UN.

The system itself isn't set up in an appropriate way so that it can handle contemporary problems. But there are principles that remain universal, such as respect, dialogue, cooperation and the ability to make compromises, said Lajcak.

Lajcak also presented four areas that he considered to be the most important in his vision: conflict prevention and mediation; sustainable development; human rights and international law; and an effective UN Secretariat.

The Slovak minister answered questions from representatives of individual geographical groups for two hours. The questions ranged from UN activities and powers to the selection of employees for the Secretariat to gender equality, peacekeeping missions, human rights, and sustainable development.

The next step in the selection process should be an evaluation of each candidate by the UN Security Council. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's second term ends at the end of 2016. Endit