Ban Ki-moon nominated to top UN post for second term

UNITED NATIONS, June 18, Xinhua

The UN Security Council on Friday “adopted by acclamation” a resolution to nominate incumbent UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for a second five-year term, the Council President told reporters here.

Noel Nelson Messone, Gabon’s UN ambassador whose country holds the rotating Council presidency for the month of June, made the announcement to the press here after the 15-nation Security Council met behind closed doors to consider the recommendation for the appointment of the UN secretary-general.

The “Security Council adopted by acclamation the following resolution: Security Council, having considered the question of the recommendation for the appointment of the secretary-general of the United

Nations, recommends to the General Assembly that Mr. Ban Ki-moon be appointed secretary-general of the United Nations for a second term of office from Jan. 1, 2012 to Dec. 31, 2016,” Messone said.

Under the UN Charter, the secretary-general is appointed by the UN General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council. The full UN General Assembly is expected to hold a formal vote next week, UN officials said.

Last week, Ban, a South Korean national, put himself forward for re-election as the secretary-general. Ban’s current term expires on Dec. 31, and he has no declared rival for the post. The 67-year-old former South Korean foreign minister succeeded Kofi Annan in January 2007.

His re-election bid won support from the five permanent members of the 15-nation Security Council, Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, who have the veto power on the UN body.

Equal parts diplomats and advocate, civil servant and CEO, the secretary-general is a symbol of United Nations ideals and a spokesman for the interests of the world’s peoples, in particular the poor and vulnerable. The UN Charter describes the secretary-general as “chief administrative officer” of the world body, who shall act in the capacity and perform “such other functions as are entrusted” to him or her by the major UN agencies the Security Council, General Assembly, Economic and Social Council and other UN organs.