Antonio Guterres, Refugee Champion To UN Chief

LISBON,, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 06th Oct, 2016 ) - Former Portuguese prime minister Antonio Guterres, nominated Thursday to be the next UN secretary-general, is a self-described man of action who earned his stripes as the world body's refugee chief, tirelessly pressing rich nations to do more.

An engineer by training and fervent Catholic, Guterres, 67, fought unflaggingly for migrants' rights over a decade as UN High Commissioner for Refugees from June 2005 to December 2015. He repeatedly warned that millions of refugees fleeing conflict in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere would turn to Europe if nations such as Turkey and Jordan did not receive more help to cope with their refugee populations.

Wealthy countries had to take in more, he said. "When people say they cannot receive Syrian refugees because they are Muslims, those that say it are supporting terrorist organisations and allowing them to be much more effective in recruiting people," he said in December just before he stepped down as UN refugee chief.

Guterres' two terms at the helm of the UN agency were also marked by a reform of its internal structures which reduced the number of staff at its Geneva headquarters by a third. The overhaul boosted the agency's capacity to respond to international crisis by deploying more staff closer to hotspots.

Former Portuguese president Anibal Cavaco Silva said earlier this year that Guterres had "left a legacy" at the refugee agency "that means today he is a respected voice and all the world listens to him." Guterres vowed Thursday to serve "the most vulnerable" when he takes up the post, such as "the victims of conflict, of terrorism".