The agitation concerning who replaces Ban Ki-moon as UN Secretary-General seems to have come to an end as the UN Security Council unanimously agreed on a candidate on Thursday. In what came as a surprise decision, despite being a man and from Western Europe, the Security Council through the Russian UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin made the announcement to reporters that former Prime Minister of Portugal, Antonio Guterres was their choice. Guterres, who has served as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, will be voted in formally on Friday morning after which he would be recommended to the UN general assembly for ratification.
Who is Antonio Guterres?
Antonio Guterres was the prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002. Guterres, who is fluent in English, French, Portuguese and Spanish, then turned his vision outwards, eventually serving as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in 2005 before stepping down in 2015. His work in the UNCHR has coincided with perhaps the worst refugee crises in history. His handling of the situation seems to have earned him the respect of the United Nations Security Council. “We have someone who has great political capability, having been prime minister of his country, he is a strong multilateralist, having a run the UNCHR at a time of tremendous challenges, and he has ways of communicating with an audience that [is] inspiring,” Former assistant UN Secretary General Micheal Doyle said yesterday.
Several surprising events
However, the decision looks surprising. First, what happens to the female candidates? Many had thought the next Secretary-General would be a woman, with several high profile women, some of them with UN experiences commensurate with Antonio’s, contesting the elections. However, the woman who finished the closest to the eventual winner, Irina Borkova, finished fourth in the informal voting held yesterday. It is still unclear what influenced the choice of Antonio Guterres, but one thing seems certain; the U.N is not yet ready for a female Secretary-General.
Furthermore, it was Eastern Europe’s time to have a candidate who would become Secretary General, according to some unwritten law not in the UN charter. Africa, Asia, Latin America and other parts of Europe have all had people from their region become Secretary-General. It was Eastern Europe’s turn, or so they thought, having had the highest number of representatives among the candidates contesting for the post. However, it was not to be.
So, this begs the question: what is the motive of the UN Security Council, especially its five permanent members, in voting unanimously for Antonio Guterres? The rumors of an ulterior motive are rife now, basically regarding the UN’s selection process. The choice of Secretary-General is influenced more by the lobbying that goes on behind the scenes than the actual manifestos these candidates have. Perhaps, Antonio was more convincing than his counterparts behind the scenes?
The permanent members of the UN Security Council, Russia and China especially, are countries not too keen on human rights and refugees, which are Antonio’s forte. Furthermore, Russia is in Eastern Europe; Antonio is from Western Europe; it was thought Russia would support a candidate from its own side of Europe as it was their time. It didn’t happen. Was it a coincidence that Russia, accused of Human rights violations in Syria, was the poster boy for this announcement or it was all planned?
Antonio Guterres’ Secretary General status is all but confirmed pending the formal votes today and the UN General Assembly’s ratification. For many who thought three of the biggest jobs would have female leaders by the end of the years (U.S.A., U.K, and the UN), this is not happening, at least not right now.
