Ex-PM says ‘astonishing’ NZ hasn’t signed letter in support of UN chief

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Helen Clark, who was prime minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008, says she was shocked at the lack of support her country was expressing for Antonio Guterres, who she said has “come under severe attack” from the Israeli government “for doing his job”, Al Jazeera reports.

“A number of those NZ would normally consider ‘good company’ have signed. Is this a consequence of hard reset of foreign policy?” she asked in a post on X.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz said on Saturday he won’t change his decision to declare the UN secretary-general a “persona non grata” for his failure to “unequivocally condemn” Iran’s missile attack on Israel.

In a joint letter, 104 nations said Guterres had their “full support and confidence” and that Katz’s decision harmed the UN’s “ability to carry out its mandate”.

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