THE RE-ELECTION OF MR. ANTONIO GUTERRES, THE UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY-GENERAL

Antonio Guteress (right) takes the oath of office for his 2nd term as UNSG administered by Volkan Bozkir, Presedent of the 75th session of the UNGA – UN photo/Eskinder Debebe

The United Nations General Assembly, on 18 June 2021, re-elected Antonio Guterres for a second five-year term as the UN Secretary-General. In his speech on taking the oath of office administered by Mr. Volkan Bozkir, President of the seventy-fifth session of the General Assembly, Mr. Guterres acknowledged the immense responsibilities bestowed on him at this critical moment in history as the UN Secretary-General. He outlined some of the challenges as the ongoing pandemic, climate change, lawlessness in cyberspace, and geopolitical divide. Mr. Guterres, however, pledged to use his second term to “ensure the blossoming of trust between and among nations large and small, to build bridges and to engage relentlessly in confidence-building … and to “seek to inspire hope that we can turn things around, that the impossible is possible.”

It is easier said, but in a very polarized world with a multitude of challenges, Mr. Guterres will need all possible support from every angle of the globe to pilot the affairs of the 193-nation body in the coming five years. We wish him and his deputy, Ms. Amina Mohammed, wisdom, courage, and strength in their very vital role at this crucial moment in history.