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The Secretary-General stated that he would be “deeply humbled” if the UN General Assembly approves re-election.
The UN Security Council supports the re-election of Secretary-General António Guterres and recommends that the 193-member General Assembly appoint him for another five years starting from January 1, 2022.
Sven Jürgenson, ambassador to the United Nations of Estonia and chairman of the June Council, stated that the General Assembly may meet on June 18 to make appointments.
Jurgensen said on Tuesday: “In his five years in office, he has proven that he is worthy of this position.”
“He has always been an excellent Secretary General. He is a bridge builder… He can talk to everyone, and I think this is what the Secretary General expects.”
Guterres said in a statement: “I am very grateful to the board members for their trust in me.
“If the General Assembly delegates the responsibilities of the second task to me, I will feel deeply humbled.”
Guterres succeeded Ban Ki-moon in January 2017, after a fierce election campaign in October 2016, initially with 13 candidates-seven women and six men.
Just a few weeks ago, US President Donald Trump took office. Guterres spent most of his first term in pacifying Trump, who questioned the value of the United Nations and multilateralism.
‘Public silence’
The United States is the largest financial contributor to the United Nations, accounting for 22% of the regular budget and about a quarter of the peacekeeping budget. US President Joe Biden has begun to resume Trump’s funding cuts for some UN agencies and reconnect with this world agency.
A few people tried to challenge Guterres, but the 72-year-old former Portuguese prime minister did not formally object. A person is considered a candidate only after being nominated by a member state. Portugal proposed Guterres’ re-election, but no one else got the support of the member states.
Guterres held a long public question and answer with UN diplomats at the UN General Assembly last month, and then met with members of the Security Council in private.
He served as the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002, and then as the head of the UN refugee agency from 2005 to 2015. As Secretary General, Guterres supports climate action, COVID-19 vaccine for all, and digital collaboration.
When he was the Secretary-General of the United Nations, this world institution was working to end the war and respond to the humanitarian crises in Syria and Yemen. These conflicts are still unresolved, and Guterres is still facing emergency situations in Myanmar and the Tigray region of Ethiopia.
The New York-based Human Rights Watch organization urged Guterres to take a more public stance during his second term, noting that he was “recently willing” to condemn the abuses in Myanmar and Belarus that should be expanded to include “strong and protected” Governments, these governments should be condemned.
“Guterres’ first term was for the public to remain silent about human rights violations by China, Russia, the United States and their allies,” said Kenneth Ross, executive director of Human Rights Watch.
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