Passing the torch:
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon embraces secretary-general-designate Antonio Guterres on Monday.
UN Secretary-General-designate Antonio Guterres vowed on Monday to reform the UN system to better support global efforts to maintain world peace, promote development and combat climate change.
The former Portuguese prime minister was sworn in on Monday, becoming the ninth UN chief in the body’s 71-year history. He was scheduled to takes over from Ban Ki-moon on Jan 1.
Guterres, 67, performed well in answering questions before assembly members and his executive experience as prime minister and also as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in 2005-15 propelled him to first place among 13 candidates vying for the job in informal polls in the Security Council. After the sixth poll, the council nominated him by acclamation and his name was sent to the assembly for final approval.
After being sworn in by General Assembly President Peter Thomson, Guterres addressed the 193 member nations, saying the UN must work to simplify, decentralize and make more flexible its sprawling bureaucracy.
“It benefits no one if it takes nine months to deploy a staff member to the field,” he said. “The United Nations needs to be nimble, efficient and effective. It must focus more on delivery and less on process, more on people and less on bureaucracy.”
The most serious shortcoming, Guterres said, is the inability to prevent crises. “The United Nations was born from war. Today we must be here for peace,” he said.
“From the most severe crises in Syria, Yemen, South Sudan and elsewhere, to longstanding disputes, including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, we need more mediation, arbitration and creative diplomacy,” he added.
The swearing-in came after the General Assembly paid tribute to Ban, ending with a standing ovation for him.
Speaking of China’s role in UN affairs, Guterres said “China is strongly engaged in creating or helping creating conditions for an effective multilateral approach to global development”.
Noting his recent visit to China, Guterres said it was very clear that China has committed a lot to strengthening multilateralism around the world by creating a new bank as well as the Belt and Road Initiative.
The selection of a new secretary-general had traditionally been decided behind closed doors by a few powerful countries. But this year, the process involved public discussions with each candidate who was campaigning for the job.
Ban served two 5-year terms.
The United Nations was born from war. Today we must be here for peace.” Antonio Guterres, UN secretary-general-designate