Who should lead the United Nations?

One might think, therefore, that the process for choosing the secretary-general would be as vigorous, inclusive and transparent as possible. But to date this has not been the case.

Previously, there has been no clarity on when the selection process actually started or, somewhat unbelievably, who was actually running for the job. Also, there has been no formal job description and no real opportunity for substantive and open engagement with the candidates－neither for the full UN membership nor the public.

The UN Charter is clear on the respective roles of the Security Council and the General Assembly in the selection and appointment process and it must be adhered to. But recent changes to the process itself, agreed to by all 193 members of the General Assembly, provide us with a genuine opportunity to make it more transparent, more robust, more inclusive and, ultimately, more effective.

As president of the General Assembly, it is my job to ensure that those changes are implemented. So here's what's happening.

Last December, the president of the Security Council and I set the selection process in motion by issuing a call for candidates to be presented as early as possible. We outlined the central features of the process. We pointed out some of the key criteria for the position and, in light of seven decades of male dominance, we encouraged member states to present both female and male candidates.

To date, eight candidates have been presented and their biographies and related information are now publicly available on my website (www.un.org). But perhaps the greatest opportunity to truly break from the past comes in the form of open dialogues that I will hold with the candidates. These dialogues－referred to by some as the "SG hearings"－will begin on April 12.

Each candidate is expected to prepare a vision statement on the challenges and opportunities facing the UN and the next secretary-general. They will present themselves for two hours of questions from the full UN membership as well as from civil society and each dialogue will be streamed live online. The dialogues will continue with new candidates until the Security Council makes its recommendation. And I expect everyone who is serious about becoming the world's next chief diplomat to engage openly and directly with the full UN membership and the people that he or she will ultimately serve.

Of course, these innovations will not directly transform our world and discussions continue on issues such as the length and renewability of the secretary-general's term and whether the General Assembly should vote on an appointment or not.

But they do have the potential to establish a new standard of transparency and inclusivity in international affairs. They can increase our chances of securing the best possible candidate to lead the UN. And they represent, I believe, a moment in history when the General Assembly－the world's most representative and democratic decision-making body－reasserts itself.

Given the global challenges we face today, this could be a real game-changer.

So, please, go online, participate on social media, make yourself heard and help us find the best possible candidate for UN secretary-general that our world needs.

The author is the president of the 70th session of the UN General Assembly.

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