The UN — a new Secretary General

The United Nations (UN) has chosen a new Secretary General to replace Ban Ki-moon at the beginning of next year. To the surprise of none but the disappointment of many it is a man and not a woman. The former Prime minister of Portugal Antonio Gutterres was selected by the Security Council in a rare show on unanimity and unity. The result came after the sixth of a series of straw polls. Mr Gutterres has a useful record in these troubled times as he spent a decade as the UN high commissioner for refugees — and refugees are arguably the greatest human problem faced by the world today, when more people are on the move or displaced since the end of Second World War. There remains a formal vote but it is likely that the decision will be sealed by acclamation.

Insiders were surprised at the sudden end to the process which was expected to run at least to the end of October — and at the successful candidate who would not have been expected to be a first choice for China or Russia given that he has a strong human rights record. In the end Mr Gutterres got 13 of the 15 votes with two abstentions. For Pakistan this may be seen as a ‘good’ result. A man who is sensitive to many of the issues we face and has an understanding of them. Mr Gutterres is seen as accessible by his staffers and he has said that he would continue to be a ‘spokesman for the downtrodden’. The chances of a woman winning what is arguably the hardest job in the world after the American Presidency were never high, and the leading woman contender Irina Bokovo, the current head of Unesco, came fourth.

The UN Secretary General has to balance the titanic forces and currents that swirl in the Security Council, as well as present a face to the world that suggests that the UN is something more than a decoration piece on the global mantelpiece. We wish Mr Gutterres well; he is going to need all the luck he can get.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 7^th, 2016.

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