UN Security Council has assisted Antonio Guterres in second term | United Nations News
The Secretary-General says he will be “very disappointed” if the UN General Assembly approves a second term.
The United Nations Security Council has backed Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for a second term, requesting that 193 members of the General Assembly elect him for another five-year term starting January 1, 2022.
The UN ambassador to Estonia, Sven Jürgenson, President of the June Council, said the General Assembly should meet to make a decision on June 18.
“He has proven himself to be an important figure in the work and the five years he has been working,” Jürgenson said Tuesday.
“He’s been the secretary general. He’s a bridge builder. He can talk to anyone, and I think that’s what is expected of the secretary general.”
In his remarks, Guterres said: “I am very grateful to the members of the council for trusting me.
“I would be very disappointed if the General Assembly would give me a second chance.”
Guterres replaced Ban Ki-moon in January 2017, after a highly contested competition in October 2016 that originally had 13 candidates – seven women and six men.
It is just a few weeks before US President Donald Trump takes office. Guterres’ longest-running campaign focused on the stability of Trump, who doubted the importance of the UN and many countries.
‘Silence in public’
The United States is the largest economic contributor to the UN, accounting for 22 percent of the fixed budget and nearly a quarter of the budget for stability. U.S. President Joe Biden has already begun reinstating Trump’s cuts to other UN agencies and reuniting with the international community.
A few people did their best to oppose Guterres, but the 72-year-old Portuguese prime minister was not opposed. A person is only eligible for nomination only after he or she has been nominated by a member. Portugal offered a second chance to Guterres, but no one was helped by the member.
Guterres spent much of his time answering questions and answers by UN ambassadors to the General Assembly last month and met with members of the Security Council in private.
He was Portugal’s prime minister from 1995 to 2002 and then head of the UN refugee agency from 2005 to 2015. As secretary-general, Guterres supported climate change, the universal 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 Tigray, Ethiopia.
Human Rights Watch in New York urged Guterres to take part in the second round, saying their “immediate desire” to condemn violence in Myanmar and Belarus should be strengthened and include “strong and secure” governments to be judged.
“Guterres’ first tenure was marked by public silence on human rights abuses in China, Russia, and the United States and its allies,” said Kenneth Roth, chief of Human Rights Watch.
