Historically, the Secretary General has been a key figure in the search for consensus and has shaped the OAS’s work through their intellectual and political leadership.

For this election, member states put forward two candidates to replace Luis Almagro of Uruguay, who has led the organisation since 2015: Albert Ramdin of Suriname and Rubén Ramírez Lezcano of Paraguay. Once again, only men were nominated. Although Ramírez Lezcano initially appeared to be a very competitive candidate, he recently withdrew from the race, leaving Ramdin as the only candidate.

Ramdin has pledged to reach agreements on issues related to the OAS’s four pillars. Because of his ties to the Caribbean, he is expected to promote the development of that region and strengthen its capacity to respond to natural disasters caused by the climate emergency. He has also stressed the importance of combating democratic erosion through early warning systems and effective dialogue. And he pledged to support the inter-American human rights system.

Since candidacies were presented, rumours have circulated about the alleged alignment of each of the candidates with China and the USA. But these have only been rumours. A majority consensus that included the USA formed in favour of Ramdin, which was a decisive factor in Ramírez Lezcano’s withdrawal.

So far, 77 years after its creation, the OAS – like the United Nations (UN) – has been dominated by men, despite the fact that there is no lack of women in the Americas with the necessary skills and political, parliamentary, judicial and academic experience. There are no female candidates because states do not put them forward. This highlights a huge deficit in democracy and equality.

At its General Assembly last year, the OAS adopted a resolution urging states to propose female candidates for both the General Secretariat and the Assistant Secretariat, pointing out that these positions have always been monopolised by men – and specifically by white men, since they’ve never been held by a person of African descent or an Indigenous person – despite the fact that women make up half the population of the Americas.

This shows that, although the situation has not changed, there is a greater consensus in international forums on the need to break the glass ceilings that limit women’s full participation in decision-making.

On this occasion, a man will once again hold the post of Secretary General. But we hope member states will honour the resolution they adopted and that, for the first time in history, we will have a female Assistant Secretary General.

For the past decade, a group of women and men committed to equality and parity has been running the GQUAL campaign, which has gathered a considerable amount of information on the absence of women in international decision-making positions, including protection bodies and courts.

GQUAL has promoted debate on the right to equality and non-discrimination in international participation in the areas of diplomacy and justice. Lawyer Claudia Martín has developed a legal doctrine on the obligation to ensure equality in international decision-making spaces. For its part, General Recommendation 40 of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has developed standards for the equal and inclusive participation of women.

A key component of our campaign is providing decision-makers with adequate information to promote women candidacies and electoral mechanisms that ensure their full and equal participation.

We recently issued a letter signed by over 400 public figures from the Americas calling for the appointment of a female OAS Secretary General and a gender-balanced pair at the top. This demand has energised the debate and highlighted the importance of broadening the talent pool in the OAS’s leadership. Work in areas such as democracy, development, the environment, human rights and security requires plural perspectives and diverse experiences. The exclusion of women limits the options and talent available to lead the OAS.

The new Secretary General will face major challenges, but also opportunities.

Many of the problems of the Americas are regional in nature and require a regional political response. Among the fundamental issues the new Secretary General will have to address are the erosion of democracy, how to guarantee human rights and effective responses to violence in its various forms, from transnational organised crime to gender-based violence and its most extreme manifestation, femicide. Added to these challenges are enormous inequalities and extreme poverty that devastate parts of the continent, the consequences of the climate emergency and its unequal impacts, and forced migration linked to these.

Whoever takes over the Secretariat will have to work with states, civil society, academia, the private sector and sister institutions to determine how to address each of these challenges.

On human rights, it is essential they commit to strengthening and respecting the autonomy of human rights institutions, particularly the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. This commitment must include respect for their independence and adequate financial support through the OAS’s general budget. These independent, sometimes uncomfortable spaces are fundamental to the preservation of democracy and rights, and to accelerate responses to the climate emergency in a fair, equitable and sustainable manner.

The new Secretary General and Assistant Secretary General should also take decisive steps to ensure the commitment to equality and gender parity internally, by ensuring that inclusive and equitable policies are adopted at all levels of the organisation. In doing this, they will receive the valuable support of the Inter-American Commission on Women.

The OAS’s ability to respond will depend on the political will of its leaders and its ability to overcome financial challenges. The organisation depends on a limited budget and on specific contributions, including from the USA, and on extra-regional cooperation. In a context where states are reducing their contributions, the OAS will be forced to optimise and strategically use its resources to respond to the challenges facing the Americas. The organisation has a key role to play and would benefit from rethinking strategies and broadening alliances in order to make a positive contribution to tackling the challenges of our time.