ASEAN Senior Officials Designates Ambassador Evan P. Garcia as “The ASEAN Candidate” for IOM’s Deputy Director-General

BANGKOK 07 June 2019 — ASEAN Senior Officials has designated Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva and the country’s Candidate for the International Organization for Migration’s Deputy Director-General (IOM DDG) Ambassador Evan P. Garcia as “The ASEAN Candidate” for the said position on 28 May 2019.

“The ASEAN Candidate” not only has backing from individual ASEAN Member States, but of the ASEAN as a regional bloc.  Ambassador Garcia is the first ASEAN Candidate in the United Nations and international organizations.

The designation was approved by the ASEAN Senior Officials after deliberating on procedures for appointing a candidate as “The ASEAN Candidate.”

The Philippines was successful in pushing for this initiative, which is expected to benefit ASEAN candidates for positions in the United Nations and international organizations and bring more attention to a candidate backed by a regional group.

The country initially lobbied for this initiative at the ASEAN SOM in September 2018 in New York in view of a need for a mechanism whereby ASEAN Member States can decide to support a single ASEAN candidate, where conditions are favorable. END