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 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.
The economic and social turmoil as well as poverty and hunger caused by the corona pandemic are likely to play a role for some time to come.
In addition, the UN's ability to act threatens to be further impaired by rising tensions between the USA and China.
Second term was considered certain
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.
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.
Criticism and praise
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 appear to be much more investigative in the future either: Most recently, he emphasized that complex challenges could only be tackled with a “modest approach”.
Also, the UN could do little if “the relations between the greatest powers are still dysfunctional”.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210618-99-49814 / 3
