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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres swore in second term | Stories by Antonio Guterres

Guterres, the only candidate for the UN’s top post, said he had been “brought down and strengthened” with the help of the international community.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has been unanimously elected to a second term of five years with 193 members of the United Nations General Assembly.

The 72-year-old Portuguese, who is the only candidate for the top post in the world, said on Friday he was “disappointed and encouraged” by the aid, adding that his second “driving head” would be “to avoid all parties – from conflict, climate change, epidemics to poverty and inequality ”.

“I will dedicate myself with all my might to the interdependence of nations and countries, to the building of bridges, and the continuous operation,” Guterres told the General Assembly.

Ambassadors in the conference room held hands as Assembly President Volkan Bozkir announced the election of Guterres “out loud”, without voting.

Fifteen members of the Security Council earlier this month called on the General Assembly to elect Guterres. His second term starts on January 1, 2022.

Guterres replaced Ban Ki-moon in January 2017, just weeks before Donald Trump became President of the United States. Guterres’ longest-running campaign focused on the stability of Trump, who doubted the importance of the UN and many countries.

Washington is the largest economic sector in the UN, accounting for 22 percent of the full-time budget and nearly a quarter of the peacekeeping budget. President Joe Biden, who took office in January, has begun restoring funds that were replaced by UN agencies and reuniting with the international community.

‘A Trustworthy Leader’

Among the candidates for Guterres’ election were US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Blinken called Guterres a “result-oriented” and a “skilled leader in difficult work”.

The US “hopes to continue our strong and prosperous relationship… as we move forward with the immediate task of bringing a peaceful world and a better future,” Blinken said. “The United Nations is an important anchor for many things” in which countries work together “to address unprecedented challenges such as the COVID-19 epidemic, climate change, human rights, development, migration, and the crisis.”

For her part, Merkel praised Guterres’ commitment to peace measures in conflict, climate protection and “new global solutions” in her first term and thanked her for helping to establish a COVAX facility for the COVID-19 vaccine in developing countries.

“Coronavirus in particular has shown us that the ability of the United Nations to act quickly to address the current crisis is essential,” he said.

Guterres was Portugal’s prime minister from 1995 to 2002 and the head of the UN refugee agency from 2005 to 2015. As secretary-general, he promoted climate change, the COVID-19 vaccine and digital integration.

After taking the reins as UN leader, the international community fought to end the war and address the economic crisis in Syria and Yemen. The conflict has not been resolved, and Guterres is now facing another crisis in Myanmar and in the Tigray region of Ethiopia.




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