Dubai: The UN secretary-general on Monday defended his pick of former Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad as the UN envoy to Libya — a move that the US opposed, citing solidarity with Israel — during the World Government Summit in Dubai on Monday.
Antonio Guterres said Fayyad is “the right person for the right job, at the right moment” and Libya “requires the kind of capacity that he has; and I think it’s a loss for the Libyan peace process and for the Libyan people that I am not able to appoint him”.
Fayyad served as the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority from 2007 to 2013.
Guterres’ comments came during a brief interaction with CNN anchor Becky Anderson following his main address to the WGS, which ends on Tuesday at the Madinat Jumeirah Resort.
The US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Hayley, recently accused the UN of being “unfairly biased in favour of the Palestinian Authority to the detriment of our allies in Israel”.
On Monday, Anderson asked Guterres at WGS “how do you deal with that?”
‘Dramatic moment’
Guterres replied that “nobody in the UN represents a government or a country. People in the UN have just one area of loyalty that they need to respect — it’s the UN charter”.
He continued the defence of his choice by adding that “I do not think there’s any valid reason to avoid someone that is very competent to do a job that is extremely important in the dramatic moment”.
Guterres added: “Let us not forget that Libya is not just relevant in itself. Libya has been a factor of contamination in the peace and stability in a wide area … and to bring an end to the conflict in Libya is in everybody’s interest.”
Guterres was also asked by Anderson on his “take on Syria, as we are talking conflict and this region”. Guterres said “there is no solution for the Syrian problem without a comprehensive political solution in which all Syrians feel they are properly represented”.
‘No precedence’
Turning to the new US administration — under new US president Donald Trump — Anderson asked Guterres if he felt “concerned” whether the “‘America First’ pitch” is compatible with the “core values” of the UN. Guterres replied “the UN needs to engage constructively with the US administration, as with any other administration in the world. The US is a key partner in global affairs and it would be a mistake to undermine this relationship based on any kind on precedence. There is no precedence. Let’s take things for its face value and let’s do everything possible to make this relationship a constructive relationship”.
During his main address, the UN secretary-general highlighted a “terrible lack of trust between people and their governments” felt by those “left behind by globalisation”. Guterres warned that alienated youth were susceptible to supporting extremism and called for reforms in governance, including in the UN.
