New UN chief to make first address to Security Council
UNITED NATIONS, United States: UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres yesterday delivered his first address to the Security Council since taking office, making the case for a new, more assertive diplomacy backed by world powers.
Guterres took over from Ban Kimoon on January 1 with a pledge to shake up the world body and boost efforts to tackle global crises – from the carnage in Syria to the bloodshed in South Sudan.
The former prime minister of Portugal and UN refugee chief faces a deeply divided Security Council which has been unable to take decisive action to end the war in Syria, now in its sixth year.
“The greatest shortcoming of the international community today is its failure to prevent conflict and maintain global security,” Guterres wrote in an oped published in the US magazine Newsweek on Monday.
“Where wars are already raging, we need mediation, arbitration and creative diplomacy backed by all countries with influence,” he added.
The UN chief’s first formal appearance at the council will be during a debate on conflict prevention led by Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom, whose country holds the council presidency this month.
At least nine of the 15 council members will be represented at the ministerial level to hear Guterres lay out his action plan as the world’s diplomat-in- chief.
Among the expected changes is a more hands- on approach from the new secretary general, in what is seen as a shift from Ban who left most of the mediation to his
Complicating Guterres’ plan to revitalise UN diplomacy however is the question mark hanging over the foreign policy of the new US administration under Presidentelect Donald Trump. — AFP