UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is all set to be re-elected as chief of the world body after the powerful Security Council adopted by acclamation a resolution recommending his name to the General Assembly for a second five-year term beginning January 1, 2022.
The 15-nation Council held a closed meeting on Tuesday where it adopted the resolution recommending Guterres’ name to the 193-member General Assembly for a second term as Secretary-General.
Estonia’s Ambassador to the UN Sven Jrgenson, President of the Council for month of June, told reporters after the meeting that the Council has recommended to the General Assembly that Guterres be appointed as the Secretary-General for a second term of office from January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2026. “Even though we had only one official candidate, the process of the selection has not changed since last time. Now we pass on the torch to the UN General Assembly,” he said.Jurgenson said the vote in the General Assembly to re-elect Guterres could take place on June 18.
“We have all seen actually the Secretary-General in action. I think he has been an excellent Secretary-General. He’s a bridge-builder, his views on the conflict zones in the world and he’s able to speak to everybody. And I think this is something that is expected from the Secretary-General and he has proven worthy of the post already with the five years that he has been in office.”India had expressed its support for re-election of Guterres as UN Chief and welcomed the adoption of the resolution recommending his name. “India welcomes the adoption of @UN #SecurityCouncil resolution recommending a second term to #UnitedNations Secretary-General @antonioguterres,” India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador T S Tirumurti tweeted.Last month, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had met Guterres at the United Nations headquarters and expressed New Delhi’s support to him for his second term as the world’s top diplomat.“India values UNSG’s leadership of the UN, especially in these challenging times. Conveyed our support for his candidature for a second term, Jaishankar had said in a tweet after the meeting.Later a press release issued by the Permanent Mission of the India to the UN also stated that Jaishankar conveyed that India values Secretary General’s leadership of the United Nations, especially in these challenging times. He conveyed India’s support for his candidature for re-election for a second term.Under the UN Charter, the Secretary-General is appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council. Each Secretary-General has the option of a second term if they can garner enough support from Member States.Guterres, the ninth Secretary-General of the United Nations, took oath of office on January 1, 2017 and his first term ends on December 31 this year. Former Prime Minister of Portugal, Guterres served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees from a decade from June 2005 to December 2015.