The Hon. Minister of Tourism and Hospitality for Zimbabwe  today introduced his position papers on what he calls flawed process surrounding the recent election for Secretary General at the UNWTO Executive Council meeting in Madrid on May 12:

This is a transcript:
Introduction
As you may be aware, five candidates contested for the post of Secretary General of the UNWTO.
The election was held on 12 May, 2017, in Madrid, Spain, within the context of the 105th Meeting of the UNWTO Executive Council.

The election outcome remains inconclusive until the Secretary General-elect obtains the endorsement, by way of voting, of a two-thirds majority of UNWTO members at the forthcoming General Assembly to be held from 13-16 September 2017 in Chengdu, the People’s Republic of China.

The 12 May elections in Madrid were marred by a number of procedural and other irregularities which, taken together, served not only to undermine the integrity of the process but also to cast doubt upon the outcome produced by what was clearly a profoundly flawed process.

As we proceed to the General Assembly in September, 2017, it is therefore incumbent upon all members of the UNWTO to reflect deeply on what transpired in Madrid, to give voice to their concerns and to act, collectively and responsibly, to ensure that the flaws identified in the electoral process and the evident prejudice caused to candidates are addressed : and addressed in a manner which preserves the reputation and dignity of the Organisation and instils confidence in whatever leadership is to be deployed to take the UNWTO forward.

We raise these issues because they have a bearing on the growth of the organisation as well as its performance : hence, we should take collective responsibility to reflect together, courageously and 2

candidly, and to take appropriate corrective measures to serve the best interests of the Organisation.

A Deeply Flawed Process

The primary concern – and this is shared by several global tourism authorities, both public and private – is that the entire electoral process which unfolded in Madrid on 12 May was deeply flawed and, in the immediate run-up to the vote, may well have been deliberately manipulated by a complicit Secretariat to the extent that clear prejudice was caused to the candidates, some more than others.

UNWTO Election – Essential Background

The Secretary General of the UNWTO is an elective post. The mandate is for 4 years, renewable once.

The incumbent Secretary General, Dr Taleb Rifai – a Jordanian national – is nearing the end of his second mandate. That mandate expires on 31 December, 2017. His successor is expected to assume office as from 1 January, 2018 and serve until 31 December, 2021.

The Executive Council comprises 33 member states, from six geographical regions, and constitutes the body which, through the Secretariat, basically runs the Organisation in between meetings of the full membership – known as the General Assembly – which are convened every second year.

With regard to the election of the Secretary General, it is the Executive Council which serves as an Electoral College, and which, by a process of voting, selects a Secretary General-elect whose name is then submitted to the General Assembly for endorsement.

Such endorsement by the General Assembly must be by way of a two thirds majority of member states present and voting. 3

Announcement of a Vacancy – Call for Submissions from Candidates

In October, 2016, a formal announcement of the forthcoming vacancy at the head of the UNWTO was made. The same announcement called for those interested in contesting for the post to submit the requisite documentation to the UNWTO Secretariat (Legal Counsel) by midnight on 11 March, 2017.

The Secretariat also communicated that the election would be held during the 105th Meeting of the Executive Council, to take place in Madrid, Spain, from 11 to 12 May, 2017.

In this case, the requisite documentation was as follows:

 Letter of the Candidate

 Curriculum Vitae of the Candidate (2 pages)

 Statement of Policy and Management Intent (6 pages)

 Certificate of Good Health signed by a recognised medical facility

 Letter of support from the Government of the country nominating the Candidate

The African Candidate

As has been well-documented, the African candidate – in the person of Hon Dr Walter Mzembi (M.P.) of Zimbabwe – announced his intention to run for the post as early as 1 April, 2016. At that stage he had already secured the unanimous endorsement of the 15 Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states. On 17 July, 2016, he received the unanimous endorsement of African Heads of State and Government at the AU Summit held in Kigali, Rwanda.

From that point forward, he campaigned on the basis of being the African Union-endorsed candidate for the post of UNWTO Secretary General. In all instances, African countries were unanimous and party to this endorsement from SADC right up to the AU. 4

The Surprising and Unexpected Entry of Seychelles into the Race – To Confuse and Divide

On 28 December, 2016, the Minister of Tourism of Seychelles, Mr Alain St Ange, announced that he was resigning his Cabinet post in order to enter the contest for the post of UNWTO Secretary General.

This candidature, from another African country, which was to continue until the eve of the election itself – at which point, under pressure from the African Union Commission, the Government of Seychelles withdrew its nomination of Mr St Ange – served to divide Africa and to confuse members of the Executive Council, and is a material component of the flawed electoral process which then ensued.

Submissions Deadline Passed – 7 Valid Candidatures

Following passage of the deadline, and following scrutiny of all documentation submitted by aspiring candidates, the UNWTO Secretariat subsequently announced that there were a total of 7 valid candidatures. A further seven candidatures were pronounced invalid.

On 15 March, 2017, a Note Verbale was sent by UNWTO Secretariat to all Member States informing them of the valid candidatures received. The seven were as follows:

 Armenia – Mr VahanMartirosyan

 Brazil – Mr MarcioFavilla

 Colombia – Mr Jaime Alberto Cabal Sanclemente

 Georgia – Mr ZurabPololikashivili

 South Korea – Ms Dho Young-shim

 Seychelles – Mr Alain St Ange

 Zimbabwe – Mr Walter Mzembi

Armenia Withdraws – 6 Valid Candidatures

On 10 April, 2017, the Secretary General received an e-mail from Mr Vahan Martirosyan (Armenia) informing him that “due to unforeseen circumstances” he was withdrawing his candidature for the post of UNWTO Secretary General.

18 April – UNWTO Communication of the Election

On 18 April, 2017, the UNWTO Secretariat circulated a document to all Executive Council Member States entitled “Recommendation by the Executive Council to the General Assembly of a nominee for the post of Secretary General for the period 2018-2021”.

Apart from listing the valid candidates and attaching, in annexure, their respective CV’s and Statements of Policy and Management Intent, the document also provided a “Reminder of the Rules and Procedures in force for the election of the Secretary General of the Organisation (2018-2021).”

Key elements of this reminder were:

Statutory and Regulatory Texts

Article 22 of the Statutes

“The Secretary General shall be appointed by a two-thirds majority of Full Members present and voting in the Assembly, on the recommendation of the Council, for a term of four years. His appointment shall be renewable.”

Rule 29 of the Rules of Procedure of the Executive Council

(1) “The Council shall recommend to the Assembly a nominee for appointment to the post of Secretary General.

(2) “The recommendation shall be made at a private meeting of the Council.

(3) The recommendation shall be made by a simple majority of the Members of the Council present and voting. If no candidate receives the majority in the first ballot, a second and, if necessary, subsequent ballots shall be held to decide between the two candidates receiving the largest number of votes in the first ballot.”

Rule 16 of the Rules of Procedure of the Executive Council

“ The meetings of the Council shall be public unless it decides otherwise.”

In addition, the UNWTO communication of 18 April, 2017 reminded Executive Council Member States of the agreement reached by the Council at its 104th session in Luxor, Egypt, with regard to the “Procedure for the Nomination of the Secretary General of the (UN) World Tourism Organisation”.

In terms of that agreement, the following rules and procedure apply to the candidature process:

 Only nationals of member states of UNWTO may be candidates;

 Candidates shall be formally proposed to the Executive Council, through the Secretariat, by the governments of the States of which they are nationals;

 Voting shall be conducted by secret ballot in accordance with the Guiding Principles for the Conduct of Elections by Secret Ballot attached to the Rules of Procedure of the General Assembly;

 The vote shall be decided in accordance with Article 30 of the Statutes and Rule 28 of the Council’s Rules of Procedure, by simple majority, defined as 50% plus one of the valid ballots cast;

 The selection of one nominee by the Council shall be conducted, in accordance with Rule 29 of the Council’s Rules of Procedure, during a private meeting, part of which shall be a restrictive meeting, as follows :

a) Discussion of candidates shall be conducted during a restrictive private meeting at which only voting delegations and interpreters shall be present : there shall be no written record and no tape recording of the discussions;

b) During the balloting Secretariat staff necessary to assist with the voting shall be admitted;

 The Executive Council decides not to recommend a candidate proposed by the government of a member State in unjustified arrears (paragraph 12 of the Financing Rules attached to the Statutes);

 The Council shall select only one nominee to be recommended to the Assembly;

The UNWTO communication of 18 April, 2017, also laid down the types of meetings provided for with regard to the nomination of the Secretary General, as agreed under Decision 11(LIV) of the Executive Council.

That Decision provides for two types of meetings – bothprivate – to nominate the Secretary General, namely

 A restrictive private meeting; and

 A normal private meeting;

Elaborating further on the above-cited meetings, the UNWTO communication of 18 April, 2017, reminded Executive Council members of the following:

Restrictive Private Meeting

During the restrictive private meeting, which will precede the normal private meeting, the Executive Council shall conduct a “discussion of candidates”. Only voting delegations and interpreters shall be present during this meeting.

Normal Private Meeting

During the normal private meeting, the Executive Council votes to select a nominee to the post of Secretary General. This meeting may be attended by Full, Associate and Affiliate Members (though, of course, without participating in the vote), which, according to the provisions of Rule 1 of the Rules of Procedure of the Executive Council, have the right to participate in the work of the Council.

Confirmatory Aide-Memoire from UNWTO on the Electoral Process

An Aide-Memoire compiled by the UNWTO Legal Counsel and made available to delegations by the UNWTO Secretariat on 5 8

May, 2017, further clarified the steps to be followed by the Executive Council “for the selection of a nominee for the post of Secretary General in the period 2018-2021”.

Step 1 Presentations by the Candidates

 The Candidates will make an oral presentation of their candidacy (10 minutes each), called by the Spanish alphabetical order of their surnames, as follows :

1) Mr Jaime Alberto Cabal (Colombia)

2) Ms Young-shim Dho (Korea)

3) Mr MarcioFavilla (Brazil)

4) Mr Walter Mzembi (Zimbabwe)

5) Mr ZurabPololikashivili (Georgia)

6) Mr Alain St Ange (Seychelles)

Step 2 Restrictive Private Meeting : Discussion of the Candidates

 Prior to the voting, the Chair will moderate a “discussion on the candidates”in a restrictive private meeting. This restrictive private meeting can be attended only by :

1) Members of the Executive Council (delegations from Full Members), duly accredited;

2) Interpreters and if requested by EC Members, any other staff of the Secretariat;

3) Note : Recording is forbidden and Candidates are NOT allowed at the meeting;

Step 3 Normal Private Meeting: Vote by Secret Ballot

 After the discussion, the Council will convene again in a normal private meeting and will hold voting by secret ballot. The decision will be taken by simple majority. The normal private meeting can be attended only by :

1) All Full Members of the Executive Council, duly accredited;

2) Other UNWTO Full Members, the Representative of Associate Members and the Representative of Affiliate Members of UNWTO, as observers;

3) Chairs of Regional Commissions;

4) Interpreters and necessary staff from the Secretariat

Official Communication from the Government of Seychelles Withdrawing Endorsement of their Candidate – Mr St Ange

On 10 May, 2017 – the day before the official convening of the 105th meeting of the UNWTO Executive Council – the President of the Seychelles addressed a letter to the Secretary General of the UNWTO informing him the Seychelles Government, as the legitimate nominating authority, had withdrawn the candidature of Mr Alain St Ange.

The Secretary General confirmed privately having received the communication from Seychelles on the evening of 10 May.

In accordance with the Rules of Procedure for the Nomination of the Secretary General, it is clear that the validity of a candidate’s candidature reposes on the official nomination thereof by the State of which that candidate is a national.

Once that nomination has been withdrawn, the candidate is no longer a valid candidate and should simply withdraw from the entire process.

Notwithstanding, this eleventh-hour development, Mr St Ange remained visible, present and active in the conference facility, stated that he had engaged legal counsel to challenge (i) the decision communicated by his Head of State, and (ii) to block any movement by the UNWTO Secretariat to remove him from the ballot paper in alignment with the communication from his Government, and maintained that whereas his Government may have withdrawn its nomination of his candidature, he himself, as the candidate, had not withdrawn his candidature.

It appears that, in this approach, he may well have had the active encouragement of the Secretariat – and the Secretary General himself. 

The UNWTO Secretariat Professes Ignorance About the Seychelles Communication

When engaged on the morning of 11 May – i.e. after the start of the Executive Council meeting and just one day before the vote – the Chairman of the Executive Council (Mr Abulfaz Garayev of Azerbaijan) professed ignorance, averring that ‘UNWTO knows nothing about the withdrawal by Seychelles of its nomination of St Ange’s candidature’.

The UNWTO Secretariat – Complicit in Sowing Confusion and Undermining African Unity

Given that the Secretary General himself confirmed1 having received the official communication from the President of Seychelles on the evening of 10 May, it is clear that by failing to communicate this development to the Executive Council Presidium (Azerbaijan, Serbia and Zambia), the Secretary General was complicit in (i) delaying a formal announcement of Mr St Ange from the race and (ii) sowing confusion amongst Executive Council members with regard to the status of the Seychelles candidate.

1The UNWTO Secretary General confirmed this to the AU Ambassador to the UN Organisations in Geneva who had travelled to Madrid to support my campaign in its final stages and who met the Secretary General on the morning of 11 May specifically to seek his confirmation of receipt of the letter from the Seychelles Head of State

The formal announcement of the withdrawal of Mr St Ange as a candidate and the subsequent removal of his name from the ballot paper was only formally communicated to the Executive Council on the morning of 12 May, when the Agenda Item relating to the election was broached – literally minutes before the initiation of the voting process leading to the election of a new Secretary General of the UNWTO.

The UNWTO Secretary General Questions the Legality of the Communication from the Seychelles Head of State

In his announcement on the matter to the Executive Council, the Secretary General stated that he had received a letter from the President of Seychelles informing him that the Government of Seychelles had decided to withdraw its endorsement of Mr St Ange’s candidature.

He went on to characterise the letter from the Seychelles Head of State as “legally flawed”, but did not elaborate upon that statement, nor did he request the UNWTO Legal Counsel to explain what those flaws might be.

Questioning the letter from the President of a nominating country was unwarranted, especially from the Secretary General who has/had at his disposal the means, latitude and mechanisms to contact the government of Seychelles for confirmation.

The Disqualified Seychelles Candidate Is Given the Floor

The Secretary General then gave the floor to the Head of the Seychelles delegation – the Minister of Tourism of Seychelles – to formally announce the withdrawal of Mr St Ange from the race.

In an unprecedented move, the Minister of Tourism of Seychelles then asked for the now disqualified and withdrawn Seychelles candidate, Mr St Ange, to be allowed to address the Executive Council.

Although there were no objections raised by any delegation when the Secretary General asked if Mr St Ange could address the Executive Council, it was clearly improper for the Secretary General to do so – especially for a candidate who had been withdrawn by his government.

The Secretary General gave Mr St Ange the floor.

Mr St Ange spoke for in excess of 15 minutes – far longer than the 10-minute limit allocated to the 5 valid candidates who remained in the race. His address, although carefully worded, was laced with criticism of the African Union – which he accused of arm-twisting his Government, under threat of sanctions, into withdrawing its nomination of his candidature – and was clearly meant to undermine the candidature of Hon Dr Mzembi, the AU endorsed candidate, just few minutes before the voting started.

The address by Mr St Ange and the characterisation of himself and his ‘small island developing state’ as victims of a bullying African Union, undoubtedly influenced opinion within the Council and served to create an unfair, unjust and unequal playing field : one inimical to the conduct of a fair election.

In the same vein, it should be noted that, in the immediate wake of the decision by his Government to withdraw his candidature, Mr St Ange either published or caused to be published media articles such as that attached to this submission, entitled “Seychelles candidate calls for UN to disqualify Zim in UNWTO election alleging that AU blackmailed his country”.

Although his Government had officially communicated that, in withdrawing its nomination of his candidature, it was aligning itself with the AU and the AU-endorsed candidate, Mr St Ange made no effort to endorse the African Union nor the AU-endorsed candidate : nor did he highlight that his country was party to both the SADC and the African Union decisions to endorse Dr Mzembi as the AU candidate for the post of UNWTO Secretary General.

Mr St Ange received sustained applause from the Executive Council members and it is beyond doubt that that specific 15-minute intervention, targeted and critical of the African Union, was designed, well calculated and even facilitated by the Secretariat, to undermine the African Union candidate and to prejudice his chances of winning the election. 13

The Executive Council Is Hurried Towards The Election – No Discussion about or Evaluation ofCandidates

The Chairman of the Executive Council (Mr AbulfazGarayev of Azerbaijan)then proceeded straight to initiate the process leading to the election.

As indicated above, this began with Step 1 – 10-minute presentations by all valid candidates to the Executive Council in the order indicated, but, obviously, without the participation of Mr St Ange – the withdrawn Seychelles candidate.

This process proceeded smoothly and without cause for concern.

Following Step 1, the Chairman announced the beginning of the voting process and requested candidates to leave the room.

Step 2 – the “Discussion on the Candidates” was completely bypassed.

The Executive Council was therefore hurried towards the actual vote without any time or space having been allocated to the stipulated “discussion on the candidates”, or any form or process of discussion about or evaluation of the 5 candidates remaining in the race.

Documentary requirements of all candidates included a 2-page Curriculum Vitae and a 6-page Statement of Policy and Management Intent.

These key documents provide (i) a concise but nevertheless detailed synopsis of the candidate’s academic and professional qualifications relative to the position being sought; and (ii) a comprehensive synopsis of the vision of each candidate for the future development of the UNWTO under his/her leadership.

No effort was made by the Chairman nor by the Secretary General to seek or to encourage any debate or discussion on the candidates, on their relative strengths and weaknesses, or to 

compare, contrast or in any way evaluate their respective visions for the future.

No Discussion on the 10-Minutes Presentations by Candidates

There was no debate or discussion following the 10-minute presentations by each candidate.

There was no explanation given by the Secretariat for the decision to bypass Step 2 and to proceed, with inordinate haste, to Step 3 – the election itself.

The Ballot

The election was held over two rounds of balloting. All 5 candidates participated in the first round. Only the two candidates receiving the highest number of votes from the first round proceeded to a run-off second round vote,

The results of the First and Second rounds are shows as follows:

First Round Country Name of Candidate	Brazil Mr. Márcio Favilla	Colombia Mr. Jaime Alberto Cabal Sanclemente	Georgia Mr. Zurab Pololikashvili	South Korea Ms. Young-shim Dho	Zimbabwe Dr. Walter Mzembi
No of Votes	4	3	8	7	11

WorldTourismWire is standing by its previous articles and will continue to inform readers about relevant issues in regards to the Secretary General election process.

The United Nations World Tourism Organization requested to have this statement published in its full content.WorldTourismWire welcomes any statement, information or clarification by UNWTO or any party with relevant concerns.

The UNWTO Statement reads:
In view of the various articles published by eTN in recent weeks on the process of election of a nominee for the post of Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) for the period 2018-2021, UNWTO would like to state the following:

1. The process of election of a nominee for the post of Secretary General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) for the period 2018-2021 that took place at the 105^th Session of the UNWTO Executive Council on 12 May 2017 in Madrid, Spain, was conducted in full observance of the Organization’s Statutes and Rules of Procedure, including the Presentation by the Candidates, the Restrictive Private Meeting for discussion of the Candidates and the Normal Private Meeting for vote by secret ballot.

2. The various statements published by eTN are not only inaccurate but highly defamatory.

3. As per the UNWTO Statutes and Rules of Procedure, the 105th Session of the UNWTO Executive Council selected one nominee to the post of UNWTO Secretary-General (Mr Zurab Pololikashvili of Georgia). The recommendation of the Executive Council of the one nominee will be submitted to the 22^nd Session of the UNWTO General Assembly for his appointment to the post of Secretary-General in accordance with Article 22 of the UNWTO Statutes.

In the name of truth and accuracy, UNWTO requests eTN to publish the above statement in its full content.
Madrid, 12 June 2017

 

 

According to a new report by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), the global Travel & Tourism sector directly sustains twice as many jobs as the financial sector, and five times as many jobs as the chemicals manufacturing sector.
The WTTC Benchmarking Report 2017 compares Travel & Tourism to eight other sectors, which are considered to have similar breadth and global presence, across 27 countries and six regions.

In 2016, Travel & Tourism supported 108 million jobs directly, and 292 million in total, taking the direct, indirect, and induced impact into account. The report shows that both on direct and total level, Travel & Tourism employs more people than the automotive manufacturing, banking, mining, chemicals manufacturing, and financial services sectors.
It also shows that the power of Travel & Tourism to create jobs is significantly higher than that of financial services when you compare their contribution to GDP. Financial services generates 19.4% of the world’s GDP compared to 10.2% by Travel & Tourism, but the latter supports twice as many jobs worldwide.

Travel & Tourism generated a total of USD$7.6 trillion in GDP in 2016, which makes the sector’s GDP contribution larger than that of banking (USD$4.8 trillion), mining (USD$5.0 trillion), agriculture (USD$5.8 trillion), automotive manufacturing (USD$6.1 trillion), and chemicals manufacturing (USD$6.5 trillion).

Global Travel & Tourism is forecast to grow by 4.0% per year over the next decade, which is significantly faster than the global economy at 2.7% and all other sectors covered in the study apart from the financial sector and banking.
On regional level when we look at total Travel & Tourism GDP and employment generated in 2016 benchmarks as following to the other eight sectors researched in this report:

• Africa: USD$166 billion in GDP and 20.7 million jobs in 2016, making the sector larger than chemicals manufacturing, automotive manufacturing and banking in terms of GDP contribution, and all of these sectors as well as financial services in terms of jobs.

• Americas: USD$2.2 trillion in GDP exceeds that of every sector included in this study except for the construction, financial services, and retail sectors in the Americas. The 42.7 million jobs makes the sector larger than banking, chemicals manufacturing, automotive manufacturing and mining in terms of job creation.

• Asia Pacific: USD$2.3 trillion in GDP makes the sector larger than that of Asia’s mining sector. The 159.2 million supported jobs exceeds the impacts of banking, mining, automotive manufacturing and financial services.

• USD$2.0 trillion in GDP makes the sector larger than mining, agriculture, banking, chemicals manufacturing, and automotive manufacturing in Europe. The 36 million jobs exceeds that of automotive manufacturing, mining, chemicals manufacturing, banking and financial services.

• Middle East: USD$227 billion in GDP exceeds that of the Middle East’s automotive manufacturing, agriculture, banking, and chemicals manufacturing sectors. The 5.7 million supported jobs are larger than that of the automotive manufacturing, banking, financial services, chemicals manufacturing and mining.

David Scowsill, President & CEO, WTTC, said: “It is easy to applaud the efforts or even to criticise the failings of Travel & Tourism in isolation without looking at the picture of our industry separate from the overall industrial context. Our sector contributes 10.2% of global GDP and supports 1 in 10 jobs when you look at the total impact and this research helps to put these achievements in context, and gives a clear picture as to the strength of Travel & Tourism.

Business and leisure travel creates opportunities, empowers communities and enhances local livelihoods. There are still challenges to sustainable growth, and WTTC will continue to urge public and private sector to invest into our sector and implement policies that are favorable for growth while safeguarding the world’s assets.”

The UNWTO General Assembly has not yet voted on the confirmation for Ambassador Zurab Pololikashvil  to become the next UNWTO Secretary-General, but the Georgian Foreign Ministry already announced the outcome on its website and official newsletter.

At this time there is only the recommendation by the UNWTO Executive Council, but not the confirmation. The confirmation by the full General Assembly needs 2/3 of all member countries attending the next General Assembly to confirm the Executive Councils recommendation. The next General Assembly is planned for September in Chengdu, China.

Georgia’s announcements reads:

Georgia’s candidate – Zurab Pololikashvili has become the Secretary General of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) On 12 May 2017, Georgian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of Spain and Georgia’s Permanent Representative to UNWTO, Zurab Pololikashvili was elected Secretary-General of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) for the period 2018-2021.

This is the first case when the Georgian candidate assumed a leading position at a significant international organization.

The elections were conducted within the framework of the 105th session of the Organization’s Executive Council in Madrid. A majority of the Council’s Member States voted in favour for Zurab Pololikashvili.

The election of the Georgian Candidate as UNWTO’s Secretary General highlights Georgia’s role and aspiration to make its own contribution to the implementation of world governance.

Besides, Zurab Pololikashvili’s election to the influential position of the World Tourism Organisation clearly indicates that the international community supports Georgia’s reforms and achievements in the area of tourism.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs highly appreciates the support of all Member States of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), sincerely congratulates Ambassador Zurab Pololikashvili on this victory and wishes him every success in his new important office.

The underlying message is for Georgians to think this election would be good for the country to gain influence. 

For this global influence, Georgia put up a quiet but a very effective fight that made the real winner in this exercise to be Girogi Kvirikashvili, the Prime Minister of Georgia.

PM Giorgi Kvirikashvili, is the one who pitched his Ambassador to Spain, Zurab Pololikashvili as his candidate for UNWTO Secretary General when  he was speaking as a head of state about the UNWTO Sustainable Tourism in January this year at FITUR Madrid. He took advantage of his position as PM when other candidates in the audience felt Georgia was taking the event hostage for the Prime Minister to explain why Zurab should be the next Secretary General.

The Georgia Prime Minister at the same occasion visited the UNWTO headquarter in Madrid.  He was the winner again when UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai rewarded him with the unveiling of an Honorary Plaque at the organization’s headquarters in Madrid, Spain.

Rifa definitely meant well when he said in January: “We are blessed and honored to have the Prime Minister [of Georgia], of whom I think very highly. When it is about Georgia, I am biased. Georgia is a wonderful country, a country full of life and energy, the most beautiful people, happy and smiling, that make you feel at home. I am very touched and honored that the Prime Minister of Georgia took time from his very busy schedule and accepted [our invitation] to be here with us today”, Rifai stated after a meeting with Kvirikashvili.”

The PM responded to UNWTO Secretary Rifai: “The candidate for the position of Secretary-General that Georgia is humbly nominating, Mr. Zurab Pololikashvili, Georgia’s Ambassador to UNWTO and to Spain, with his very strong background in tourism, will become an excellent candidate for this very highly-esteemed position. He will be a worthy successor to uphold the values and priorities deeply entrenched in this organization, with the personal contribution of Mr. Taleb Rifai”.

The PM’s support for his ambassador Zurab was ongoing. Zurab himself hardly made any public statements, and he did not campaign in a visible manner. His only public statements were words of “thank you.”

It appears that under the leadership of the Georgian Prime Minister, the political maneuvering in negotiating votes was made outside the travel and tourism arena and on a head of state or foreign minister level.

The foreign minister for Peru mentioned to an eTN source months before the election that his country already decided to support Georgia, because Georgia had supported Peru a while ago in another matter. Such dealings were obvious and seen with more and more countries.

Georgia cut bilateral deals in exchange for votes. Countries that agreed to such deals may have forgotten their responsibility. As an Executive Council country, not the national interest of that country, but the common interest for a region of 5 countries should play the key role when making decisions as a member of the council. Every 5th member country of UNWTO gets to nominate one Executive Council member.

Even though Zurab was never in the foreground and hardly ever said anything. He usually did not attend any UNWTO events, but the rest of Georgia’s leadership worked tirelessly. Even on the day the Executive Council had already met in Madrid, the Georgian embassy in Madrid delivered tickets to undecided voting Executive Council members to join Zurab at a sold-out football game.

This was not the end of a flawed process.
In October 2016, a formal announcement of the forthcoming vacancy at the head of the UNWTO was made. The same announcement called for those interested in contesting for the post to submit the requisite documentation to the UNWTO Secretariat (Legal Counsel) by midnight on March 11, 2017.

The required documentation for a candidate to submit was as follows:

• Letter of the Candidate
• Curriculum Vitae of the Candidate (2 pages
• Statement of Policy and Management Intent (6 pages)
• Certificate of Good Health signed by a recognized medical facility
• Letter of support from the Government of the country nominating the Candidate
• Only nationals of member states of UNWTO may be candidates
• Candidates shall be formally proposed to the Executive Council, through the Secretariat, by the governments of the States of which they are nationals
• Voting shall be conducted by secret ballot in accordance with the Guiding Principles for the Conduct of Elections by Secret Ballot attached to the Rules of Procedure of the General Assembly
• The vote shall be decided in accordance with Article 30 of the Statutes and Rule 28 of the Council’s Rules of Procedure, by simple majority, defined as 50% plus one of the valid ballots cast
• The selection of one nominee by the Council shall be conducted, in accordance with Rule 29 of the Council’s Rules of Procedure, during a private meeting, part of which shall be a restrictive meeting, as follows:

1. a) Discussion of candidates shall be conducted during a restrictive private meeting at which only voting delegations and interpreters shall be present: there shall be no written record and no tape recording of the discussions
2. b) During the balloting Secretariat staff necessary to assist with the voting shall be admitted

 

An Aide-Memoire compiled by the UNWTO Legal Counsel and made available to delegations by the UNWTO Secretariat further clarified the steps to be followed by the Executive Council “for the selection of a nominee for the post of Secretary General in the period 2018-2021.”

Step 1: Presentations by the Candidates

• The Candidates will make an oral presentation of their candidacy (10 minutes each), called by the Spanish alphabetical order of their surnames.

Step 2: Restrictive Private Meeting: Discussion of the Candidates

• Prior to the voting, the Chair will moderate a “discussion on the candidates” in a restrictive private meeting. This restrictive private meeting can be attended only by:

1) Members of the Executive Council (delegations from Full Members), duly accredited
2) Interpreters and if requested by EC Members, any other staff of the Secretariat
3) Note: Recording is forbidden and Candidates are NOT allowed at the meeting

Step 3: Normal Private Meeting: Vote by Secret Ballot
After the discussion, the Council will convene again in a normal private meeting and will hold voting by secret ballot. The decision will be taken by simple majority. The normal private meeting can be attended only by:

1) All Full Members of the Executive Council, duly accredited
2) Other UNWTO Full Members, the Representative of Associate Members and the Representative of Affiliate Members of UNWTO, as observers
3) Chairs of Regional Commissions
4) Interpreters and necessary staff from the Secretariat

According to information received by eTurboNews from two independent sources, Mr. Abulfaz Garayev of Azerbaijan, the Chairman of the Executive Council, allowed step one to complete but…

Step 2 – the “Discussion on the Candidates” was bypassed.

The Executive Council was, therefore, rushed to vote without any time or any opportunity allocated to the stipulated “discussion on the candidates.” Voters were unable to compare or evaluate the vision the candidates have for the future of UNWTO and world tourism.

Documentary requirements of all candidates included a 2-page Curriculum Vitae and a 6-page Statement of Policy and Management Intent.

These key documents provide a concise but nevertheless detailed synopsis of the candidate’s academic and professional qualifications relative to the position being sought, along with a comprehensive synopsis of the vision of each candidate for the future development of the UNWTO under his/her leadership.

Again, no effort was made by the Chairman nor by the Secretary General to seek or to encourage any debate or discussion on the candidates on their relative strengths and weaknesses to lead this organization.

Since the election, many Executive Council Member States and the General Membership have expressed their concerns at the flawed election process in Madrid – specifically the failure by the Chairman and Secretariat to abide by their own Rules of Procedure.

Georgia has not once commented or answered questions regarding the media raising concerns about the fairness and legality of the election.

In the public eye, Zurab remains a no one. To give his reconfirmation at the upcoming General Assembly a last push needed for Georgia to receive the 2/3 confirmation of all UNWTO member countries, and to lead world tourism, is again none other than Georgia’s Prime Minister, Giorgi Kvirikashvili, who plans to travel to China and witness his ambassador to become the new global leader in world tourism.

Taking the sensitive, important, and strategic role Georgia has as a country, specifically in reference to the European Union and its allies, it would not only be embarrassing but more unlikely for a UNWTO General Assembly to voice its concern that this election process was allowed to proceed.

It may take more than that. It may take the current Secretary General to step in. It may take countries that are concerned about fairness and corruption and the ability to put political priorities aside to take another look at the process, the missing rules and procedures, and the clear violation of some of the remaining procedural requirements in place.