UN Security Council Unanimously Recommends Reappointment of UN Secretary-General Guterres

Ahead of the General Assembly on the 18th, Reappointment Seen as Certain
Some Criticize Silence on Human Rights Issues

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has unanimously endorsed the reappointment of current UN Secretary-General Ant?nio Guterres, making his second term highly likely. If the reappointment is approved at the UN General Assembly scheduled for the 18th, Guterres' second five-year term will begin in January next year.

According to foreign media including the Associated Press (AP) on the 8th (local time), the UNSC held a closed meeting to recommend Guterres' reappointment. It is reported that all member state representatives unanimously supported the recommendation. Accordingly, the reappointment agenda for Guterres is expected to pass smoothly at the UN General Assembly scheduled for the 18th.

Guterres, who began his term in January 2017 as the successor to former Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, will start his second five-year term from January next year if the reappointment agenda is approved. Since no other candidate has been officially nominated by member states and he received unanimous support from the Security Council, his reappointment is almost certain.

However, there has been criticism that he failed to raise a proper voice regarding human rights abuses occurring in various regions, including the Xinjiang Uyghur human rights issue, as well as the civil wars in Syria and Myanmar. Immediately after the Security Council's endorsement was announced, Kenneth Roth, Executive Director of the international human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW), issued a critical statement saying, "Guterres' first term is defined by silence on human rights violations by China, Russia, and the United States."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.