UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was inaugurated in for a 2nd term and pledged to learn from the coronavirus pandemic
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, was re-elected for a second term and committed to learn from the coronavirus outbreak. Our biggest task and opportunity is to use this crisis to change the tide, shift toward a world that learns lessons, the former Portuguese prime minister said as he was re-elected by the United Nations General Assembly for the term 2022-2016.
This would involve supporting a “just, green, and sustainable recovery” that demonstrates the way forward “through enhanced and effective international cooperation to address global concerns,” according to Guterres.
During the swearing-in event, which was addressed by Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the very first chief of state to set foot in the United Nations headquarters in more than a year due to the pandemic, Guterres committed to act independently of member states and organisations.
According to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, making preventive and readiness — in the broad sense of the words — a major priority in the international system is critical.
Guterres stated at a press conference following the event that, The most significant lesson we learnt from the many lessons we learned is that we can’t do anything on our own. The most essential lesson is that we must rebuild trust and solidarity.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken thanked Guterres, stating that his country was looking forward to continuing our solid and productive cooperation with him. Blinken noted that global concerns, demand a collaborative, effective, and results-oriented leader in the United Nations secretariat, and we have that in Antonio Guterres.
Rather than voting, the 193-member General Assembly accepted a resolution extending Guterres’ five-year tenure. On June 8, the UN Security Council gave its assent to the 72-year-reappointment, old’s at a critical step in the nomination process. He previously served as UN High Commissioner for Refugees from 2005 to 2015.
