The post-pandemic recovery plans in our country have some pillars. Among them the recovery of tourism. This is a global problem due to the air transport crisis. It would be illusory to think it can be solved with bilateral actions. An important role can be played by the UNWTO (World Tourism Organization), founded in 1974, and to which nineteen Latin American countries joined from the beginning.
This organization is on the eve of electing its Secretary General. The role that the Organization will play in the post-pandemic world recovery requires that it be a person of great credibility and prestige.
Unfortunately, the pandemic has not allowed the process to continue with due attention, but there are some elements that governments leading the fight against abuse and corruption cannot ignore.
A modification of the electoral calendar, originally justified by the scheduled date to hold the important FITUR Fair in Madrid, has been maintained despite the pandemic having caused it to be postponed until May. This, interpreted by many as ending up excluding the presentation of strong alternative candidacies, has not prevented a small Gulf State, Bahrain from presenting one that has already had some support in two of the five Latin American countries members of the Executive Council of the OMT.
The no more justified advance of the date, and the impossibility for many Ministers of Tourism to travel to Madrid, would transfer the representation of the Member States to their ambassadors, which favors the outgoing Secretary General, since not all countries have a resident ambassador in Spain and personal relationships can lead, by secret ballot, to express votes in contrast to the indications and official positions of the country represented.
The support, by the current Secretary General, of the decision to vote in January has been criticized in an open letter by the last two General Secretaries of the UNWTO. The unusualness of an intervention of this nature, even in diplomatically correct language, is strong proof of the seriousness of the case.
The campaign of the current Secretary General has been criticized with greater weight, due to the unusual nature of the problem, with the accusation of having used institutional opportunities of the Organization for his campaign, preferentially visiting the member countries of the UNWTO Executive Council and taking advantage of these selective visits for promises and commitments, in case of re-election.
Latin America holds the presidency of the Council, through Chile, a country with one of the greatest traditions of rejecting corruption, and second in the list of the perception of corruption in our continent. Such an image cannot be tainted as rumors suggest that it has received important promises.
Latin America has an important minority from the geographical area of the alternative candidate, whose maximum expression has been on several occasions even the highest magistracy in the country. This may be a source of sympathy for the candidacy of Ms Mai Al Khalifa, but it is not a political criterion.
What it is, is to affirm the need for this appointment to be transparent, neat and without doubts about behaviors that may affect the image not only of an Organization but of the United Nations System. The last few years have been difficult for the United Nations, both at the level of the UN itself, and of organizations such as UNESCO and the WHO.
There is no need for a hasty election to add one more organization to that list and time would also allow us to appreciate the eventual foundation of the criticisms mentioned. This should also be in the interest of the outgoing Secretary General.
Latin America has always been very coherent in the UNWTO, as can be seen from the cases of shared election of its representative members in the Executive Council. You can play an important role in this choice and it is in your interest not to be a passive bystander. This is true for the member countries of the Executive Council as well as for those that are not currently.
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