The United States vetoed Boutros Boutros-Ghali for re-election as secretary-general by a 14-1 vote Tuesday in the 15-member Security Council.
Boutros-Ghali refused to withdraw his candidacy despite the veto, setting the stage for a protracted battle in which the United States has so far found itself diplomatically isolated."This is just the opening round," U.N. spokesman Sylvana Foa said. "He's in it until the Security Council makes a final decision" on a new secretary-general.
The Clinton administration offended many key allies in June when it announced it would veto the re-election of the 74-year-old Egyptian diplomat. Senior U.S. officials say replacing Boutros-Ghali is the only way to persuade the Republican-controlled Congress to pay the $1.5 billion that the United States owes the organization.
Africans have insisted that their continent deserves two terms of representation in the post, as has been U.N. tradition.
Ten of the 15 council members co-sponsored a resolution calling for Boutros-Ghali's re-election. African and European diplomats a day earlier had accurately predicted Tuesday's 14-1 vote.
U.S. Ambassador Madeleine Albright told the 14 other council members Monday that she had written instructions to veto the Egyptian diplomat, saying Boutros-Ghali has lost the confidence of Congress.
Ambassador Alfredo Lopes Cabral of Guinea-Bissau said the Africans were standing behind Boutros-Ghali "with all (due) respect for the decision of one country," meaning the United States.
If the United States sticks by its opposition, the process of selecting a new secretary-general could drag on for weeks. The five permanent members - the United States, China, Russia, France and Britain - hold veto power in the council.
It was only the second time in the United Nations' history that a Security Council member used its veto to block a second term for a secretary-general. The United States criticized the Soviet Union for doing so in the 1950s, when it vetoed Trygve Lie's re-election in retaliation for his support of the Korean War.
Diplomatic sources said China could veto any candidate put forward by the United States over objections of the Africans. China considers itself an advocate for Africa and other developing countries.
In an effort to appease the Africans, the United States has agreed to a selection formula weighted in favor of African candidates. The formula calls for limiting the second round of voting to African candidates once Boutros-Ghali is vetoed.
But diplomats said it was unlikely any alternative African candidate could win substantial support as long as Boutros-Ghali remains an active candidate.
Security Council President Nugroho Wisnumurti of Indonesia said he would ask African ambassadors to submit names of alternative African candidates before scheduling another vote. He said there was nothing to preclude the Africans from trying again for Boutros-Ghali.