India on Tuesday welcomed adoption of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution recommending a second term to Antonio Guterres as UN Secretary-General.
"India welcomes the adoption of United Nations Security Council resolution recommending a second term to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres," tweeted T S Tirumurti, Ambassador of India to the UN.
Antonio Guterres has been elected as the UNSC Chief for a second five-year term of the world organisation beginning January 1, 2022.
As per New York Times, the recommendation, which goes to a ceremonial vote of approval by the 193-member General Assembly in a few weeks, ended any hope among the seven little-known contenders who had aspired to the job, including two women. The secretary general position has been held by a man since the founding of the United Nations in 1945.
"I think he is an excellent secretary general," the ambassador from Estonia, Sven Jurgenson, president of the Security Council for June, told reporters at the United Nations headquarters after the decision. "He has proven worthy of the post."
No other candidate received an endorsement by any United Nations member state, regarded as a prerequisite for serious consideration. In a further signal of support for Guterres, none of the five veto-wielding permanent members of the 15-member council -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- publicly questioned a second term for him.
Guterres, a former prime minister of Portugal, who headed the United Nations refugee agency for 10 years, was victorious in 2016 from a field of 13 official candidates, including seven women. He took office the same year as former President Donald J. Trump, who was known for his disdain of the United Nations and the multilateral diplomacy it embodies.
( With inputs from ANI )
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