section_path: Diplomatic career/United Nations secretary-general/Second term
section_name: Second term
paragraph_text: Second term
  
  On 8 June 2021, the United Nations Security Council expressed support for his re-election as secretary-general. On 18 June 2021, Guterres was appointed for a second term by a voting session of the United Nations General Assembly.
  
  In July 2021 Guterres stated it was "highly desirable" to make ecocide a crime at the International Criminal Court.
  
  In April 2022, Guterres went to Ukraine during the Russian invasion. He was surprised to see that the Russian army shelled parts of Kyiv even when he was there. In response to evacuation efforts initiated by the UN on 30 April following Guterres's visit to Ukraine and Russia, dozens of civilians were photographed by Reuters as being allowed by Russian troops to be evacuated from their entrenched positions in the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works in Mariupol. Guterres stated that "instead of hitting the brakes on the decarbonization of the global economy, now is the time to put the pedal to the metal towards a renewable energy future."
  
  In May 2022, Guterres went on a tour through West Africa. There, he met families who had been affected by the Islamist insurgency, and pushed for robust African peace initiatives and other counter-terrorism operations under the wing of the African Union.
  
  On 22 July 2022, together with Turkey, the United Nations under the leadership of Guterres brokered a deal between Russia and Ukraine clearing the way for the export of grain from Ukrainian ports.
  
  In November 2022, Guterres met with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. He praised the ceasefire between the Ethiopian government and Tigray rebels that ended the two-year Tigray War, saying the war in Ethiopia had resulted in "more casualties" than the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
  
  In January 2023, Guterres called for a global effort to transform education and added that it was time to "translate their Summit Commitments into concreate actions", create an inclusive learning environment that supports all students and "to end all the discriminatory laws and practices that hinder access to education".
  
  In April 2023, the 2023 Pentagon document leaks revealed that Guterres was spied on by U.S. intelligence. Previously, the U.S. and other Western nations had accused Guterres to be overly soft on Russian president Vladimir Putin.
  
  In May 2023, Guterres stated that peace negotiations to end the Russo-Ukrainian War were "not possible at this moment", saying it was clear that Russia and Ukraine "are completely absorbed in this war" and "are convinced that they can win."
  
  In July 2023, Guterres proposed the creation of an international body to oversee artificial intelligence. He stated that " Generative AI has enormous potential for good and evil at scale. Its creators themselves have warned that much bigger, potentially catastrophic and existential risks lie ahead". He also said that the United Nations has an opportunity to adopt rules that make consensus and to foster international coordination.
  
  Guterres condemned the actions of Hamas during the Gaza war, but said he was "deeply distressed" by Israel's decision to impose a total blockade on the Gaza Strip. As The Nation mentioned, Guterres condemned Israel for the "clear violations of international humanitarian law" and demanded an immediate ceasefire. After Guterres made statements critical of Israel's actions in Gaza, particularly his claim that Hamas' attack "did not happen in a vacuum", and "the Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation," Israeli ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan demanded Guterres's resignation, calling his statements "pure blood libel ". In the aftermath of Guterres's statement, Israel blocked issuing visas to UN representatives. Following this, Guterres said that he was "shocked by the misrepresentations" of his statement, pointing out he had also said that "...the grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the appalling attacks by Hamas."
  
  In February 2024, Guterres called for a full investigation into the death of Russian opposition activist and political prisoner Alexei Navalny.
  
  In August 2024, Guterres was awarded, unanimously, East-Timorese citizenship by the National Parliament of East Timor for his dedication to the country's independence. On his citizenship acceptance speech Guterres alluded to the fact that "from now on there is a UN Secretary-General who is both Portuguese and East-Timorese". This is first time a UN Secretary-General holds double-citizenship.
  
  In October 2024, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz declared Guterres persona non grata in Israel for his declarations about the October 2024 Iranian strikes against Israel in which he called for a ceasefire but did not mention the Iranian attack on Israel. Later he condemned the Iranian strikes on Israel.
  
  Following Guterres warmly shaking Vladimir Putin 's hand during the 16th BRICS summit on 24 October 2024 in Kazan, Volodymyr Zelenskyy refused to meet with Guterres in Kyiv with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine releasing the statement: "This is a wrong choice that does not advance the cause of peace. It only damages the UN's reputation." and adding "The UN secretary general declined Ukraine's invitation to the first Global Peace Summit in Switzerland. He did, however, accept the invitation to Kazan from war criminal Putin." Putin has been a fugitive since 17 March 2023 when the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant following an investigation of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide by Putin during the Russo-Ukrainian War. On the contrary, scholars like Bahauddin Foizee defended Guterres’s engagement with controversial leaders like Putin as a pragmatic necessity for maintaining diplomacy. Foizee argued that excluding major powers such as Russia from international dialogue could undermine the United Nations’ capacity to facilitate broader peace initiatives.
  
  In December 2024, Gutteres stated that he also wants to see a permanent seat for the African Union on the UN Security Council, for more fairness and justice in this world towards African countries.
  
  On 25 January 2025, Guterres called for Rwanda to remove its troops from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and end its support for the M23 rebels.
  
  On March 18 2025, Antonio Guterres as United Nations Secretary-General said in a statement issued by his spokesperson that he is "shocked" by the Israeli attacks, which have killed "a meaningful number" of civilians, further stating that he "strongly appeals for the ceasefire to be respected, for unimpeded humanitarian assistance to be reestablished and for the remaining hostages to be released unconditionally".