UNITED NATIONS (CMC) — For the first time in its history, the United Nations says the 193 member-states, including those of the Caribbean, will be included “totally” in the selection of the next UN secretary-general.

Ban Ki-moon is the eighth UN secretary- general, who first took up office on January 1, 2007. In 2011, he was unanimously re-elected by the General Assembly and will serve until December 31, 2016.

Speaking to reporters at UN Headquarters in New York, UN General Assembly President Mogens Lykketoft pledged to make the process as transparent and inclusive as possible.

He underscored this in a joint letter to the President of the Security Council that was dispatched to all UN member-states on Tuesday, and in which, he said, the UN officially “starts” the process of soliciting candidates leading to the selection and appointment of the next UN chief.

According to the UN Charter, the secretary general is appointed by the General Assembly following the recommendation of the Security Council.

The letter “acknowledges the importance of transparency and inclusivity in the process”, the UN said, adding that it also encourages member-states “to consider presenting women, as well as men, as candidates for the position of secretary general”.

In a new development, the president of the General Assembly and the president of the Security Council “will offer candidates opportunities for informal dialogues or meetings with the members of their respective bodies, [which] can take place before the Council begins its selection by the end of July 2016 and may continue throughout the process of selection,” according to the letter.

“The process is started and the wish is that the membership, for the first time in UN history, is included totally in the discussion of the next secretary-general,” said Lykketoft, adding that he thinks “this is a watershed in the way that we are doing things.”

“Until (today), the selection process of the secretary-general has been very secretive and involving mostly – or only – the permanent five members of the Security Council,” he said, referring to China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

He said while the Permanent Council members “still have a very strong position in selecting proposals for the General Assembly, but I think if, out of this new process we are now embarking on, comes an imminent candidate supported by a majority of the membership, it will actually give the general membership an increased, de facto power in selecting the secretary-general”.

Lykketoft said the presentation of candidates would also give member-states the opportunity to ask questions about their position on UN priorities, such as the Sustainable Development Agenda, peace and security, and other issues.

“But I would also say it would give the opportunity of candidates to answer questions about how should the UN system…possibly be made better to deal with a more holistic view of the world challenges expressed in the Sustainable Development Goals,” he said, expressing the hope that such consultations would illuminate prospective candidates’ political and organisational priorities.