ICVA's letter to candidates for the post of HCR asking for their views, 11 March 2005

11 March 2005

Re: The Next High Commissioner for Refugees

Dear (name candidate),

I am writing to you with regards to the position of High Commissioner for Refugees. As you may know, in 2000, ICVA wrote to the candidates of whom we were aware offering them a public forum to express their views on the challenges facing the organisation and how they would tackle them.

This year, despite the sudden vacancy, the process to select the next High Commissioner has been made more open with the offer by the Secretary-General's office to states and NGOs to put forward candidates for the position. While this more open process is welcomed, we would like to ensure that the transparency of the process does not end with the submission of candidates.

ICVA is once again writing to the candidates of whom it is aware in order to provide a similar forum through its newsletter Talk Back for the candidates to express their views on how they meet the criteria set forth by the Secretary-General's office. In addition, you may wish to read our recent issue of Talk Back, 7-1 which was a special issue that highlighted a number of concerns and priority areas for the office of the High Commissioner for Refugees, as seen from the perspective of NGOs. We hope that you will also comment on the issues raised in this issue, a copy of which is attached for your reference.

We would like to invite you to provide us with your views on why you feel that you would make a good High Commissioner for Refugees and how you will tackle the various challenges facing the organisation. We would also like to hear how you feel your experience will contribute to your ability to carry out the tasks at hand. In addition, we would be interested to hear of the areas and issues that you would prioritise should you become High Commissioner.

We are requesting that candidates write back to the ICVA Secretariat by Tuesday, 22 March 2005, 18:00 Geneva time (GMT+1), at the latest, by both e-mail (talkback@icva.ch) and fax (+41 22 950 9600). The responses will then be published in another special issue of Talk Back. The ICVA Secretariat will not edit the length or content of the views that you provide.

Please do not hesitate to contact me or the ICVA Secretariat (Mr. Ed Schenkenberg van Mierop, Coordinator) if you have any questions or would like further clarification.

Looking forward to hearing from you,

Sincerely yours,

Elizabeth Ferris
Chair, ICVA Executive Committee

P.S. If ICVA has been misinformed about your candidature we very much apologise for your inconvenience.

Encl. ICVA's Talk Back # 7-1 (9 March 2005)