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The UN confirms again António Guterres as Secretary General in the recovery phase of the pandemic

2021-06-22T16:01:21.836Z


The Portuguese was the only candidate for the position of secretary general of the body, which he has led since 2017


António Guterres is sworn in as UN Secretary General in his second term, this Friday at the organization's headquarters in New York.Eskinder Debebe / EFE

The United Nations General Assembly confirmed this Friday a new mandate of former Portuguese Prime Minister António Guterres as head of the organization for the next five years, from 2022 to 2026. The veteran socialist politician was the secretary general of the multilateral organization since 2017 .

“Extremely honored and grateful for the trust placed in me to serve as UN Secretary General for a second term. Serving the United Nations is an immense privilege and the noblest duty, ”Guterres tweeted, taking the oath underlining the institution's founding promise to act independently of member states or other organizations. The ceremony was attended by the Portuguese president, the conservative Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

“Our greatest challenge, which is at the same time our greatest opportunity, is to use this crisis [of the pandemic] to change the course towards a world capable of drawing lessons from it, and promoting a fair, green, and sustainable recovery and cooperation that addresses global issues, ”Guterres declared in his acceptance speech.

"This step will be a real effort to reinforce what works and to dare to learn lessons from what does not work."

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More specifically, the Portuguese called for the restoration of legality in Myanmar (formerly Burma). "We cannot live in a world where military coups become the norm, it is totally unacceptable," Guterres told reporters. The re-elected secretary general urged the General Assembly to communicate to the ruling military junta that it must restore democracy, release the detainees and put an end to the murders and human rights abuses committed since the February 1 coup. "I hope that the General Assembly is able to send a clear message."

Guterres' confirmation as general secretary has not been a surprise.

He was the only candidate for renewal.

Ten other personalities from different fields aspired to the position at the time but were unable to formalize their candidacies as they did not have the backing of any of the 193 countries that make up the international body.

Return to the face-to-face activity

Although today's ceremony has been face-to-face, with reduced capacity, during the pandemic the UN has closed its New York headquarters and is gradually resuming activity, in a hybrid, remote and face-to-face format, which sprinkles with few appearances the corridors and halls of the building on the banks of the East river. A continuously updated web page informs UN staff and visitors of covid-19 warnings, guidelines, resources and materials to ensure a safe transition.

In his first term, Guterres had to deal with the denial of President Donald Trump, contrary to the policy of alliances and multilateralism that an organization of these characteristics embodies. Focused on limiting the potential damage of the Trumpist White House's unilateral foreign policy, the orderly return of the United States to the fold of the United Nations - in February it announced its reincorporation to the Human Rights Council of the organization - has provided a sigh of relief for the United Nations. Portuguese. Also the appointment as representative of the United States of a veteran official, who speaks the language of diplomacy, like Linda Thomas-Greenfield.

In addition to addressing acute crises such as the latest conflict in Gaza or the disturbing situation in Ethiopia's Tigray region, alleviating the ravages of the pandemic, especially in developing countries, and combating global warming will be again. Guterres' priorities in his second term. With regard to the health emergency, Guterres has been warning of the risks that the incidence of the virus poses for a world weighed down by inequality, as highlighted by the imbalance in the distribution of the vaccine.

However, it has had little room for maneuver, as countries have chosen to fight individual battles against COVID-19 to the detriment of a collective effort, especially in the early stages but also now, as evidenced by the suspension of vaccine exports by India. The global access fund Covax, co-founded by one of the UN agencies, the World Health Organization (WHO), has to be fully used to prevent the most disadvantaged countries from being left behind on immunization, in a split " scandalously uneven ”, as defined by the agency.

Regarding the fight against the climate threat, of which he was the flag in his first term, Guterres also saw his efforts undermined by the withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Agreement.

A global pact to which the new Joe Biden Administration re-enlisted immediately after arriving at the White House.

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Source: elparis

All news articles on 2021-06-22

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