Nandi-Ndaitwah puts gender on UN leadership agenda

Pan-African Women’s Organisation (Pawo) says president Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah’s call for a woman to become the next United Nations (UN) secretary general has brought women’s representation in global leadership into sharper focus.

Pawo president Eunice Iipinge describes Nandi-Ndaitwah’s call as a powerful moment, particularly because it came from Namibia’s first woman president.

Speaking to The Namibian yesterday, Iipinge said the president’s decision to end her UN General Assembly address with a call for a woman to lead the organisation was significant for women across Africa.

Nandi-Ndaitwah told the UN General Assembly in New York on Wednesday that Namibia would work with whoever succeeds outgoing secretary general António Guterres, but argued that the time had come for a woman to lead the organisation.

“Since the establishment of the UN in 1945, no woman has served as secretary general of the organisation. The leadership of the organisation has yet to reflect the principle of gender equality that it promotes across the international system. Namibia, therefore, believes that it is time that a woman is elected as secretary general of our organisation,” she said.

The next secretary general is due to take office in January 2027, with the selection process already underway.

Nandi-Ndaitwah also called for reform of the UN Security Council, saying prolonged stalemates were eroding confidence in the international system.

She said reform should be based on equitable representation and reflect contemporary geopolitical realities, with Africa’s common position on the security council reform reaffirmed in the pact for the future.

Political analyst Sakarias Johannes says the call had placed gender representation firmly on the agenda ahead of the leadership transition.

“Her call for a woman to lead the UN is, therefore, more than a symbolic appeal – it puts gender representation on the agenda as the organisation prepares for a leadership transition,” Johannes says.

He says the issue would now be whether UN member states would turn the call into a concrete choice when selecting Guterres’ successor.

Former ambassador Pius Dunaiski says he was not surprised by Nandi-Ndaitwah’s position, given Namibia’s election of its first woman president.

“The speech was not outstanding, but she did speak to our foreign policy outlook and the challenges we are facing, both at domestic and international levels,” Dunaiski says.

On the call for a woman to lead the UN, Dunaiski says Nandi-Ndaitwah was “surely basking in the historic instance when Namibia selected a woman president”.

“The international pressure is on to do so now for the UN. I have no beef about it. It seems that moment has come,” he says.

Landless People’s Movement national youth leader Duminga Ndala says African leaders should use the general assembly to pursue concrete reforms that strengthen the continent’s influence.

Ndala says Africa’s 54 countries remain without permanent representation on the security council and should advance the African Union’s position for at least two permanent African seats, with full prerogatives including veto rights if the veto is retained, and five non-permanent seats.

“The question is not simply whether Africa deserves a seat at the table. It is whether the existing international order can claim legitimacy while a continent of 54 countries remains excluded from permanent representation,” Ndala says.

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