António Guterres remains UN Secretary General

In tense times, UN Secretary General Guterres has always chosen a cautious - critics say timid - path.

Major challenges await in his second term in office: are quiet tones still enough?

New York (AP) - The Portuguese António Guterres will lead the United Nations for another five years.

As expected, the UN General Assembly called the 72-year-old for a second term on Friday.

A resolution was adopted unanimously.

Guterres ran unopposed and with the support of the powerful Security Council.

In a speech after his appointment, he invoked international cohesion: “It can go in both directions: collapse and eternal crisis or breakthrough and the prospect of a greener, safer and better future for all.

There are reasons to hope ”.

The world is "on the threshold of a new era".

Climate crisis one of the greatest challenges

In addition to numerous regional conflicts - including in Syria, Libya, Yemen and Myanmar - one of the greatest future challenges for Guterres is the fight against the climate crisis.

The UN chief had recently painted the picture of a world on the brink of the abyss and urged the major CO2 producers to make greater efforts.

In addition, the UN's ability to act threatens to be further impaired by rising tensions between the USA and China.

The economic and social turmoil caused by the corona pandemic should also play a role for some time to come. In his speech on Friday, Guterres complained that progress on the UN sustainability goals had recently been undone - among other things in the fight against poverty, the eradication of hunger and gender equality.

The new term of office of the UN chief starts on January 1, 2022 and lasts until the end of 2026. Guterres is the ninth Secretary General and has led the world organization since 2017. His renewed line-up has long been considered safe: Guterres had a good one in recent years Dealing with the influential veto powers USA, China, Russia, Great Britain and France.

Numerous heads of state and government such as Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russia's President Vladimir Putin congratulated the Secretary General.

Criticism and praise

Guterres is considered an astute politician, but a cautious - critics say too timid - mediator in international conflicts in which he seldom achieved greater success.

According to experts, this is also due to the fact that Guterres has been “struggling to survive” over the past five years in view of the attacks by US President Donald Trump against the UN.

The UN chief has also been repeatedly accused of not sufficiently criticizing China for human rights violations such as the Uyghur minority.

However, Guterres was able to draw attention to himself with his focus on more universal topics, such as combating the climate crisis and his work on the Covid-19 pandemic.

There are many indications that the UN chief will not be much more investigative in the future either: On Friday he emphasized again that the complex global problems could only be tackled with a “modest approach” - “One for which the Secretary General alone does not have all the answers Has".

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210618-99-49814 / 4