Arora Akanksha
Personal details
BornJuly 31, 1986
Haryana, India
NationalityCanadian
EducationYork University, Columbia University

Arora Akanksha[a] (born July 31, 1986)[2][3] is an Indo-Canadian auditor and United Nations staff member. She is an audit coordinator for the United Nations Development Programme.[4][5] In February 2021, she announced her intention to challenge incumbent UN Secretary-General António Guterres in the 2021 United Nations leadership selection. However, she was never nominated by a member state, and so her candidacy was never considered by the United Nations Security Council.

Early life

Arora's grandparents came to India as refugees from Pakistan after the Partition of India in 1947.[4] She was born in the Indian state of Haryana and moved to Saudi Arabia at age six.[5] From age 9 to 18, she attended boarding school in India.[4]

Education and career

Arora studied administrative studies at York University in Toronto, Canada.[5] After graduating, she was an auditing manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers Canada. In December 2016, she joined the United Nations.[4] She is an audit coordinator at the United Nations Development Programme. As of 2021, she was a professor at the Ivey Business School.[5]

While working at the UN, she studied public administration as a graduate student at Columbia University.[4]

Candidacy for UN Secretary-General

On February 17, 2021, Arora declared her intention to run for the position of United Nations Secretary-General, saying "We are not living up to our purpose or our promise. We are failing those we are here to serve."[4][6] She believes that the UN is wasteful and paternalistic, and that the organisation is not accomplishing its mission.[5][7] She took a leave of absence from her work as a UN auditor to work on the campaign,[4] which she described as a "David and Goliath story".[8]

Former UN official Edward Mortimer said of her candidacy, "I'm sure she has no chance, and equally sure that she knows that", but that her campaign was a way to show her dissatisfaction with how the UN operates.[4] Former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson said she shared many of Arora's concerns.[4]

In order to be eligible for selection, Arora had to be nominated by at least one member state.[9] She reached out to all 193 U.N. member states, and heard back from only 10 of them. She summarized these responses by saying these countries were "fearful of nominating me because of retaliation from members of the Security Council and the European Union". Arora met with her home country's permanent representative to the United Nations, Bob Rae, on March 15, 2021, but had not heard back from him or Canada as of 18 May 2021.[10]

Incumbent António Guterres was re-elected by acclamation for a second term at the helm of the United Nations in June 2021.[11]

Notes

  1. ^ She uses her family name first and prefers to be called Arora.[1]

References

  1. ^ "Who is Arora Akanksha, the 34-year-old running for UN secretary-general? - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved September 8, 2022.
  2. ^ Agence France-Presse (AFP) (February 19, 2021). "Une Canadienne aspire à devenir secrétaire générale de l'ONU". Le Journal de Montréal. Archived from the original on March 18, 2021. Retrieved February 27, 2021.
  3. ^ "UN secretary-general candidate recalls childhood memories in Saudi Arabia". Arab News. April 4, 2021. Archived from the original on April 4, 2021. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Gladstone, Rick (February 26, 2021). "Who Is Arora Akanksha, the 34-Year-Old Running for U.N. Secretary General?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on March 18, 2021. Retrieved February 27, 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d e Soni, Mallika, ed. (February 27, 2021). "Indian American Arora Akanksha, 34, running for UN chief". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on March 18, 2021. Retrieved February 27, 2021.
  6. ^ "Arora Akanksha Submits Letter to President of the General Assembly and UN Ambassadors on her candidacy for the Secretary-General of the United Nations". UNOW. February 17, 2021. Archived from the original on March 18, 2021. Retrieved February 27, 2021.
  7. ^ "Meet Arora Akanksha, 34-year-old Indian-Canadian running for UN Secretary General". www.businesstoday.in. Archived from the original on March 18, 2021. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
  8. ^ Krishnankutty, Pia (February 13, 2021). "Who is Arora Akanksha, Indian-origin woman running social media campaign to be next UN chief". ThePrint. Archived from the original on March 18, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
  9. ^ "Meet the Canadian millennial running to lead the United Nations". CBC. Archived from the original on April 7, 2021. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  10. ^ Fillion, Stéphanie. "Arora Akanksha Is Done 'Being Nice' In Her Quest To Become U.N. Leader". Forbes. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  11. ^ "Guterres re-elected as secretary-general of the United Nations by acclamation". independent. June 18, 2021. Retrieved June 18, 2021.

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