New UN chief vows to 'engage personally' in resolving disputes

Guterres, Portugal’s Prime Minister from 1995 to 2002 and former UN High Commissioner for Refugees from 2005 to 2015, became the ninth UN Secretary-General after he was administered the oath of office by General Assembly President Peter Thomson on Monday in a special session of the 193-member world body.

Guterres succeeds Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who steps down at the end of this month after leading the global organisation for the past 10 years. He was elected to the top job in October and takes over on January 1.

Giving a clarion call that the UN 'must be ready to change,' Guterres pledged to reposition development at the centre of the organisation’s work and ensure that the UN can change to effectively meet the myriad challenges facing the international community. “The United Nations needs to be nimble, efficient and effective. It must focus more on delivery and less on process; more on people and less on bureaucracy...The scale of the challenges we face requires us to work together on a deep and continued process of UN reform,” Guterres said after taking the oath of office.

He said globalisation and technological progress have also contributed to growing inequalities, countries are battling youth unemployment and globalisation has also broadened the reach of organised crime and trafficking, deepening the divide between people and political establishments. Guterres said, in the current global environment, fear is driving the decisions of many people around the world. “We must understand their anxieties and meet their needs, without losing sight of our universal values. It is time to reconstruct relations between people and leaders —— national and international; time for leaders to listen and show that they care, about their own people and about the global stability and solidarity on which we all depend. And it is time for the United Nations to do the same: to recognise its shortcomings and to reform the way it works,” he said.