Guterres named as UN chief for second term
US Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was appointed for a second-five year-term on Friday by the 193-member UN General Assembly.
"I will give it my all to guarantee the blossoming of trust between and among nations large and small, to build bridges, and also to engage relentlessly in confidence building," Guterres told the General Assembly after taking the oath of office.
The 15-member Security Council earlier this month recommended the General Assembly re-appoint Guterres. His second term starts on beginning on Jan. 1, 2022.
Guterres succeeded Ban Ki-moon in January 2017, just weeks before Donald Trump became US president. A lot of Guterres' first term was focused on placating Trump, who questioned the worthiness of the US and multilateralism.
The United States may be the largest UN financial contributor, accountable for 22% of the standard budget and around 25 % of the peacekeeping budget. President Joe Biden, who took office in January, has started restoring funding cuts created by Trump to UN agencies and re-engaged with the world body.
US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the United Nations faced historic challenges, but she hoped that with Guterres at the helm "another five years will dsicover more peace, more security, and more prosperity compared to the last."
"It will require hard work, political will, and accountability from all UN member states," she said in a statement, adding every member states should have "an impassioned commitment" to human rights.
Guterres, 72, was prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002 and head of the UN refugee agency from 2005 to 2015. As secretary-general, he is a cheerleader for climate action, COVID-19 vaccines for all and digital cooperation.
When he took the reins as UN chief, the world body was struggling to end wars and cope with humanitarian crises in Syria and Yemen. Those conflicts remain unresolved, and Guterres can be now confronted with emergencies in Myanmar and the Tigray region of Ethiopia.
