UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres officially declared on Monday that he is seeking a second five-year term at the helm of the world body.
Guterres, whose current term ends on Dec. 31, said in a letter to UN General Assembly President Volkan Bozkir that “it would be my honor to continue to serve the organization in pursuing its purposes and fulfilling its noble objectives.”
The former Portuguese prime minister and UN refugee chief was elected by the 193-member assembly to succeed Ban Ki-moon after a hotly contested and transparent race in October 2016 that initially included 13 candidates — seven women and six men.
Photo: AFP
Guterres took office on Jan. 1, 2017.
“I am available to serve a second term as secretary-general of the United Nations, if that will be the will of member states,” Guterres said in the letter obtained by reporters.
Several diplomats have said Guterres was waiting for the results of the US presidential election and would not have sought a second term if US President Donald Trump won.
However, another diplomat familiar with his thinking said that Guterres, after more than 40 years of public service, would have felt he could not desert the UN if Trump had defeated US president-elect Joe Biden.
Trump pulled the US out of the WHO, the UN-backed 2015 Paris climate agreement and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and stopped funding the UN population fund and the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.
Biden has said the US would quickly rejoin the WHO and the climate agreement.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Guterres was responding to a letter from Bozkir on Friday asking his “intentions regarding a second mandate.”
The secretary-general spent time over the holidays speaking to his family, Dujarric said, and “I don’t think any particular elections cycle in any particular country impacted his decision.”
Dujarric said Guterres called Bozkir on Friday and then informed the five permanent members of the Security Council — the US, Russia, China, Britain and France.
The General Assembly elects the secretary-general on the recommendation of the 15-member Security Council where the five permanent members have veto power, so their support is crucial.
Guterres, 71, got his first key vote of support late on Monday.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson “warmly welcomed the secretary-general’s decision to run for a second term and congratulated him on a successful first term,” his office said following a virtual meeting between the two leaders.
Guterres also spoke to leaders of the UN’s regional groups on Friday and sent a letter to the Security Council on Monday, the UN spokesman said.
As for next steps, a General Assembly resolution adopted in September 2015 asks the presidents of the assembly and Security Council to “start the process of soliciting candidates for the position of secretary-general through a joint letter addressed to all member states.”
The 2015 resolution made the previously largely secretive selection of the secretary-general more open and transparent. It allowed member states for the first time to see basic information about all candidates, including their resumes, and to question them at open sessions.
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