Security Council Endorses Ban for Second Term as UN Chief

The U.N. Security Council has endorsed Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for a second five-year term as U.N. chief. The South Korean diplomat faces no other candidates and is likely to sail to reappointment in the U.N. General Assembly next week.

The U.N.’s most powerful organ held closed door consultations on Ban’s reappointment Thursday and then endorsed his second term Friday by acclamation in another private meeting. Had any of the five permanent members of the council vetoed recommending Ban's reappointment he would not have been eligible for another term.

After the meeting, the president of the U.N. Security Council for June, Gabonese Ambassador Nelson Messone, read a communiqué from the 15-member council.

"The 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 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2016,” he said.

Speaking from the capital of Brazil, where he is on a Latin American tour, Ban said he was "deeply honored" by the Security Council's vote.

On Tuesday, the 192-member General Assembly is expected to reconfirm Ban in a resolution also to be adopted by acclamation.

Under the U.N. Charter, the post of secretary-general is rotated regionally and is currently held by Asia.

Ban, now 67, moved from being South Korea’s foreign minister to U.N. chief in January 2007. During his tenure he has made climate change, disarmament, gender inequality, and peace and security among his top priorities.

He has been a near-constant traveler, personally extending U.N. and international support to countries in crises from natural disasters to armed conflict.

Ban’s critics say he has not been as outspoken as he should be on issues such as human rights and complain that his “quiet diplomacy” has failed in reigning in the world’s dictators and despots.