UN secretary-general defends his decisions

Guterres backs his pick Fayyad for Libya envoy after US snub

The UN secretary-general yesterday defended his choice of former Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad as the UN envoy to Libya — a move that the US opposed, citing solidarity with Israel — during the World Government Summit in Dubai yesterday.

Antonio Guterres said Fayyad is “the right person for the right job, at the right moment” and Libya “requires the kind of capacity that he has; and I think it’s a loss for the Libyan peace process and for the Libyan people that I am not able to appoint him”.

Fayyad served as the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority from 2007 to 2013.

Guterres’ comments came during a brief interaction with CNN anchor Becky Anderson following his main address to the WGS, which ends today at the Madinat Jumeirah Resort.

The US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Hayley, recently accused the UN of being “unfairly biased in favour of the Palestinian Authority to the detriment of our allies in Israel”.

Yesterday Anderson asked Guterres at WGS, “How do you deal with that?”

UN charter

Guterres replied that “nobody in the UN represents a government or a country. People in the UN have just one area of loyalty that they need to respect — it’s the UN charter”.

He continued the defence of his choice by adding that “I do not think there’s any valid reason to avoid someone that is very competent to do a job that is extremely important in the dramatic moment”.

Guterres added: “Let us not forget that Libya is not just relevant in itself. Libya has been a factor of contamination in the peace and stability in a wide area … and to bring an end to the conflict in Libya is in everybody’s interest.”

Guterres was also asked by Anderson on his “take on Syria, as we are talking conflict and this region”.

Guterres said “there is no solution for the Syrian problem without a comprehensive political solution in which all Syrians feel they are properly represented”.

Turning to the new US administration

UN secretary-general

Ahmed Ramzan/Gulf New Antonio Guterres speaks at the main session moderated by Becky Anderson of CNN, at the World Government Summit yesterday. Guterres warned alienated youth were susceptible to supporting extremism and called for reforms in governance, including in the UN.