(UTV | NEW YORK) – The United Nations Security Council(UNSC) has unanimously decided to support the current UN chief Antonio Guterres for a second term as the Secretary-General of the United Nations(UN). The decision was taken by the 15 membered UNSC on Tuesday in a closed-door meeting. Antonio Guterres has remained as the secretary-general since 2017 and his re-election is now expected to be a mere formality.
Apart from Guterres, ten other people were also in the fray for becoming the UN chief. However, none of them could muster the support of even a single country among the 193 countries which are members of the UN. Hence they were not formal candidates.
With the all-powerful Security Council putting its weight behind Guterres and not a single competitor being a formal candidate, he is expected to get elected to the post of secretary-general very easily. While he will need the approval of the UN General Assembly, the process is now seen as a mere formality.
72 years old Antonio Guterres was earlier the Prime Minister of Portugal. He got elected to the post of UN Secretary-General in 2017 and has had to face several challenges including ex American president Donald Trump’s unilateral policies of “America first” which disrupted the global multilateral governance system of the UN. In his second term, getting countries to cooperate to end the COVID-19 pandemic will have to be his priority. He will also have to work towards tackling demands for reforms in the UN from countries like India as well as the decreasing global trust in UN agencies like the World Health Organization(WHO).