{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.united-nations-secretary-general","code":"thing-q81066","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q81066/","name":"United Nations Secretary-General","alternateNames":[],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.1.0-research.1","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Society, people and institutions","entryKind":"thing","plane":"SOC","domain":["SOC.PER"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"The Secretary-General of the United Nations is the natural person appointed by the General Assembly on the Security Council's recommendation to serve as the Organization's chief administrative officer, heading the Secretariat, discharging functions assigned by the principal organs, and holding a personal Charter faculty to bring threats to international peace and security to the Council.","purpose":"Enable an AI agent to recognise the United Nations Secretary-General, establish who holds the office at a given time, and assess the authority, constraints and status of actions attributed to that office.","scope":{"in":["Identification of the office and its distinction from each officeholder","Appointment evidence, tenure boundaries and continuity of office","Authority for official acts, entrusted functions and delegation","Secretariat leadership, independence and institutional accountability","Good offices, peace-and-security escalation and official communications"],"out":["An officeholder's complete biography, family and private activities","The United Nations as an organisation and its complete organisational structure","Security Council and General Assembly membership, deliberations and decisions except as authority links","Full models of conflicts, mediation processes and peace operations","Individual staff employment records and complete Secretariat budgets","Treaties and treaty participation, except links identifying a Secretary-General depositary function"],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["The role is the UN Secretariat's chief administrative officer, rather than a generic international-organisation secretary-general. [UN Charter, Article 97](https://www.un.org/en/about-us/un-charter/chapter-15)","Occupancy is established through General Assembly appointment following Security Council recommendation, rather than by election as General Assembly President. [UN Charter, Article 97](https://www.un.org/en/about-us/un-charter/chapter-15)","The role has a personal Article 99 route for bringing possible threats to international peace and security before the Security Council. [UN Charter, Article 99](https://legal.un.org/repertory/art99.shtml)","Official activity must be distinguishable from national representation: the Secretary-General must not seek or receive instructions from governments or other external authorities. [UN Charter, Article 100](https://legal.un.org/repertory/art100.shtml)","An envoy, Deputy Secretary-General or spokesperson acts in a separately evidenced capacity; association with the office alone does not establish occupancy or unrestricted authority to act for it."],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"office-and-tenure","name":"Office and tenure","description":"Identify the continuing institutional role and its successive occupants.","layers":[{"id":"institutional-identity","name":"Institutional identity","description":"Anchor references to this particular UN office.","findings":[{"id":"office-versus-person","name":"Office versus person","description":"Record whether a reference denotes the role, an incumbent, a former incumbent or a candidate.","questions":[{"text":"Does this reference identify the continuing office or a person associated with it?","id":"office-versus-person-q01","kind":"definition"},{"text":"What evidence distinguishes this role from the General Assembly President, Deputy Secretary-General or another organisation's secretary-general?","id":"office-versus-person-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"appointment-and-continuity","name":"Appointment and continuity","description":"Establish occupancy and transitions through dated official evidence.","findings":[{"id":"effective-occupancy","name":"Effective occupancy","description":"Connect recommendation and appointment records to the actual tenure interval, recording uncertainty about exceptional transitions.","questions":[{"text":"Which Security Council recommendation and General Assembly appointment establish this person's tenure?","id":"effective-occupancy-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"What effective dates and subsequent instruments determine who holds the office at the reference time?","id":"effective-occupancy-q02","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"If ordinary occupancy is interrupted, what verified instrument establishes who may exercise which functions?","id":"effective-occupancy-q03","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"authority-and-mandates","name":"Authority and mandates","description":"Connect each contemplated act to its competence, conditions and limits.","layers":[{"id":"competence-and-entrustment","name":"Competence and entrustment","description":"Separate standing authority from functions entrusted for a particular purpose.","findings":[{"id":"action-authority","name":"Action authority","description":"Record the operative authority, task, recipient and restrictions for an act; Article 98 recognises functions entrusted by specified UN organs. [UN Charter, Article 98](https://legal.un.org/repertory/art98.shtml)","questions":[{"text":"Which provision, resolution or instrument supports this specific action by the Secretary-General?","id":"action-authority-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which decisions remain with the General Assembly, Security Council, member states or another competent actor?","id":"action-authority-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"mandate-validity-and-delegation","name":"Mandate validity and delegation","description":"Determine whether an authority remains usable and by whom.","findings":[{"id":"usable-remit","name":"Usable remit","description":"Record amendments, expiry, preconditions and any authority transferred to an envoy, representative or Secretariat official.","questions":[{"text":"Is the mandate still applicable, and which conditions must be satisfied before the proposed act?","id":"usable-remit-q01","kind":"action"},{"text":"What instrument establishes the delegate's remit, duration and reporting relationship?","id":"usable-remit-q02","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"secretariat-stewardship","name":"Secretariat stewardship","description":"Represent administrative responsibility, practical capacity and institutional independence.","layers":[{"id":"administrative-capacity","name":"Administrative capacity","description":"Connect executive responsibilities to applicable rules and available means.","findings":[{"id":"administrative-action-envelope","name":"Administrative action envelope","description":"Record required approvals and resource constraints; staff appointment operates under General Assembly regulations. [UN Charter, Article 101](https://legal.un.org/repertory/art101.shtml)","questions":[{"text":"Which staffing, financial or administrative rules govern the intended decision?","id":"administrative-action-envelope-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which resources and approvals are available, missing or conditional for carrying it out?","id":"administrative-action-envelope-q02","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"independence-and-system-coordination","name":"Independence and system coordination","description":"Assess external influence and the difference between coordination and directive authority.","findings":[{"id":"institutional-relationship-boundaries","name":"Institutional relationship boundaries","description":"Record the capacity in which the Secretary-General engages governments and UN-system executives; the role includes chairing the Chief Executives Board for Coordination. [UN role description](https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/the-role-of-the-secretary-general)","questions":[{"text":"Does the interaction seek legitimate consultation or instructions from an external authority, and what evidence supports that assessment?","id":"institutional-relationship-boundaries-q01","kind":"boundary"},{"text":"For the entity concerned, does the Secretary-General possess directive authority, a coordination role or only persuasive influence?","id":"institutional-relationship-boundaries-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"preventive-diplomacy-and-escalation","name":"Preventive diplomacy and escalation","description":"Represent good offices and the distinct route for raising threats before the Security Council.","layers":[{"id":"good-offices-engagement","name":"Good-offices engagement","description":"Track diplomatic assistance without presuming access, acceptance or success.","findings":[{"id":"engagement-basis-and-access","name":"Engagement basis and access","description":"Record the offer, participants, remit and disclosure limits of good offices, which may operate publicly or privately. [UN role description](https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/the-role-of-the-secretary-general)","questions":[{"text":"What evidence establishes the offer, relevant parties' responses and the Secretary-General's or envoy's remit?","id":"engagement-basis-and-access-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"What contact or facilitation is currently possible, and which access or confidentiality conditions constrain it?","id":"engagement-basis-and-access-q02","kind":"action"},{"text":"Which observations establish engagement progress without assuming that meetings produced agreement?","id":"engagement-basis-and-access-q03","kind":"measurement"}]}]},{"id":"article-99-escalation","name":"Article 99 escalation","description":"Distinguish an evidenced Article 99 action from other warnings and Council briefings.","findings":[{"id":"formal-referral-and-follow-up","name":"Formal referral and follow-up","description":"Record the identified threat, official communication, claimed authority and subsequent Council handling as distinct events.","questions":[{"text":"Which official document establishes use of Article 99 rather than a general appeal or mandate-based report?","id":"formal-referral-and-follow-up-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"What Council response is documented, and which further decisions require the Council's own authority?","id":"formal-referral-and-follow-up-q02","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"official-voice-and-accountability","name":"Official voice and accountability","description":"Establish what the office has said, undertaken and reported.","layers":[{"id":"communication-attribution","name":"Communication attribution","description":"Determine authorship, capacity and intended effect of communications.","findings":[{"id":"attributable-official-act","name":"Attributable official act","description":"Distinguish statements, recommendations, administrative decisions and commitments through the original record and speaking capacity.","questions":[{"text":"Was this issued directly by the Secretary-General, on the Secretary-General's behalf or only reported by a third party?","id":"attributable-official-act-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Does its wording and authority establish advocacy, a recommendation, an administrative decision or a commitment?","id":"attributable-official-act-q02","kind":"definition"}]}]},{"id":"reporting-and-follow-through","name":"Reporting and follow-through","description":"Connect duties and commitments to observable delivery and review.","findings":[{"id":"reporting-obligation-status","name":"Reporting obligation status","description":"Track required recipients, deadlines, submissions and responses, including the annual report to the General Assembly. [UN Charter, Article 98](https://legal.un.org/repertory/art98.shtml)","questions":[{"text":"Which instrument establishes the report or follow-up obligation, its recipient and its due date?","id":"reporting-obligation-status-q01","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"What evidence establishes submission, delay or outstanding follow-up, separately from the merits of the reported results?","id":"reporting-obligation-status-q02","kind":"measurement"}]}]}]},{"id":"evidence-and-external-alignment","name":"Evidence and external alignment","description":"What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.","layers":[{"id":"reported-evidence","name":"Reported evidence","description":"Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.","findings":[{"id":"evidence-kinds","name":"Kinds and varieties","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of United Nations Secretary-General this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-kinds-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-identifiers","name":"Identifiers and schemes","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these identifiers and schemes hold for the sense of United Nations Secretary-General this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-identifiers-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-standards-and-regulation","name":"Standards and regulation","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these standards and regulation hold for the sense of United Nations Secretary-General this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-standards-and-regulation-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-real-world-use","name":"Real-world use","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of United Nations Secretary-General this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-real-world-use-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-measurements","name":"Typical measurements","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these typical measurements hold for the sense of United Nations Secretary-General this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-measurements-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards","name":"Failure modes and hazards","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of United Nations Secretary-General this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-regional-variation","name":"Regional variation","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of United Nations Secretary-General this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-regional-variation-q01","kind":"provenance"}]},{"id":"evidence-neighbours","name":"Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart","description":"Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.","questions":[{"text":"Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of United Nations Secretary-General this model covers, and on what evidence?","id":"evidence-neighbours-q01","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Report the office's functions, appointments and statements from official sources.","Distinguish the office from the person who holds it."],"mustNot":["Impersonate the office holder or create content that falsely appears to come from the office.","Present political opinions about the office holder as fact.","Spread fabricated quotes attributed to the office holder."],"requiresHuman":["Publishing analysis that attributes decisions or failures to the office holder."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["The office's moral authority depends on trust; fabricated statements can inflame crises.","Appointments raise questions of fair representation across regions and genders."],"affectedParties":["Member states","People in crisis areas","The office holder"]},"owners":{"steward":"The member states, through the General Assembly on the Security Council's recommendation.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"Q193391","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q6501749","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.united-nations-secretary-general","Wikidata: Q81066 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q81066)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":["Officeholder at reference time: Person linked to this office through dated appointment evidence","Occupancy status: Appointed but not commenced; serving; tenure ended; vacancy evidenced; unresolved","Tenure interval: Effective start and end dates; duration in calendar days where both are established","Authority basis for an act: Charter provision; organ-entrusted mandate; administrative instrument; established practice; asserted but unverified","Mandate applicability: Applicable; conditional; expired; superseded; disputed; undetermined","Delegated actor: Person or office linked through a delegation instrument, remit and validity interval","Good-offices engagement stage: Offered; acceptance partly evidenced; active; paused; concluded; publicly unknown","Official attribution status: Direct official act; authorised communication on behalf; third-party report; personal act; unresolved","Assessment evidence date: Calendar date or timestamp, with source and applicable reference time"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":[]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["Resolve a named person or statement to the office and the relevant tenure.","Check a proposed official action against its authority, conditions and reserved decisions of other organs.","Trace an envoy's or official's claimed authority back to an applicable delegation.","Track reporting duties, diplomatic engagements and documented follow-up without treating activity as proof of success.","Prepare an evidence-backed briefing or route a request to the appropriate office channel, subject to the agent's own authorisation.","Flag expired mandates, uncertain attribution and unanswered authority questions for review."]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Misidentifying the officeholder or using outdated records can attribute statements and decisions to the wrong person.","Treating statements by the Secretary-General as binding decisions of member states can misrepresent their legal or political effect.","Impersonation and fabricated communications can mislead institutions or the public.","Confusing the office's mandate with the powers of other United Nations organs can distort responsibility and accountability."]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["The Charter of the United Nations, adopted by the founding member states, establishes the office and its principal appointment, administrative and political functions in Articles 97 through 101."]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["The United Nations Secretary-General is encountered in international diplomacy, United Nations administration and public communication about global affairs.","The office coordinates Secretariat work and performs functions entrusted to it by United Nations organs.","Agents assessing statements or actions attributed to the office need to establish the officeholder, date and relevant mandate."]}},"sources":[{"title":"General Assembly resolution 11 (I), Terms of Appointment of the Secretary-General (24 January 1946)","url":"https://undocs.org/A/RES/11(I)","note":"Five-year term of office, conditions of service, and the early constitutional practice that still frames appointment and tenure."},{"title":"The role of the Secretary-General","url":"https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/role-secretary-general","note":"Official description of administrative, political, diplomatic, and public functions as the UN itself presents the office."},{"title":"Secretary or General? The UN Secretary-General in World Politics","url":"","note":"The standing distinction between a clerk-like administrative secretary and an independent political general, plus practice on selection, good offices, and relations with the permanent members."},{"title":"Secretary-General of the United Nations (Q81066)","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q81066","note":"Stable identifier for the office as a position, distinct from items for individual incumbents."},{"title":"Wikipedia: Secretary-General of the United Nations","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secretary-General_of_the_United_Nations","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["With no registry definition recorded, should SOC.PER instances represent officeholders in this capacity, the enduring office, or both through an explicit occupancy relation?","Which authoritative instruments govern temporary inability to serve, vacancy, early departure and exceptional continuity arrangements?","Which appointment conditions are binding for each tenure, and which selection expectations are conventions that should not be treated as eligibility rules?","Which specialised functions, including treaty depositary responsibilities and operation-specific executive duties, need extensions rather than coverage in this core model?","How should confidential diplomatic activity be represented so that missing public evidence remains unknown rather than being interpreted as inactivity or failure?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q81066/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q81066/spec.json"],"providers":["Codex","Grok"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-07T14:28:24Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"not-applicable","interaction.recognition":"not-applicable","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-07T10:10:32+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 4 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.properties":"Plane SOC: no invented physical properties.","interaction.recognition":"The office is an institutional role that cannot be authenticated through physical appearance, clothing or insignia alone."},"score":1.0}}