Caribbean leaders are rallying behind Guyana’s bid for the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General (SG) post. In a June 12 announcement, President Dr Irfaan Ali disclosed that Guyana would be seeking the UN Secretary-General position and nominated former Foreign Affairs Minister and current Permanent Representative of Guyana to the UN, Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, for the role. The tenure of the current UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, will end on December 31, 2026.
Last week, regional leaders gathered for the 51st Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (Caricom), held in Gros Islet, St Lucia. During the four-day high-level engagement, the Heads of Government reaffirmed the Community’s commitment to multilateralism, underpinned by the UN Charter and international law, especially in the face of pressing global challenges confronting the international community.
Moreover, they noted that a new UN Secretary-General is to be appointed during a particularly critical time for the world community. The regional leaders acknowledged with appreciation that several distinguished candidates have been nominated from Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) to fill the post, including a candidate from Guyana.
“Heads of Government strongly welcomed Guyana’s nomination of Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett and expressed their full endorsement for her candidacy,” a communiqué from the Caricom Secretariat stated. Since her nomination, Ambassador Rodrigues has embarked on a global campaign to promote her candidacy among major leaders and organisations. In fact, during the recent Caricom Heads of Government Meeting in St Lucia, she addressed regional leaders on her vision and candidacy for the top UN post.
According to a post on President Ali’s Facebook page, “Her presentation received strong support, with several Member States endorsing her nomination, another significant milestone as our campaign continues to gather regional momentum on the international stage.”
Ambassador Rodrigues is vying for the UNSG post alongside the Former President of Chile and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet; the Former President of the UN General Assembly, Maria Fernanda Espinosa of Ecuador; the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi of Argentina; the Secretary-General of UN Trade and Development, Rebeca Grynspan of Costa Rica; and the Former President of Senegal, Macky Sall.
Only last week, Deputy Secretary-General of Caricom, Dr Armstrong Alexis, lauded Guyana’s bid for the top UN position. During an interview on the sidelines of Caricom Heads of Government in St Lucia on Wednesday, Dr Alexis said this ambitious move by a Caribbean Member State would augur well in positioning the region on the global stage. In addition, “If we succeed in electing a Caricom national as the Secretary-General of the United Nations, that is going to be a huge accomplishment for this region,” the Caricom Deputy SG stated. Already, he pointed out that for the first time, the Caribbean has been able to occupy the seat of the Secretary-General of the Organisation of American States (OAS) in the person of Ambassador Albert Ramdin from Suriname. According to the Caricom Deputy Head, the Caribbean region over recent years has been positioning itself among the international community.
“We are Small Island Developing States, but we are not islands without the capacity, without the capability, without the intelligence to be able to stand among the best and the brightest in this world,” Dr Alexis posited.
Similarly, Guyana’s international profile has been exploding due to its rapidly growing economy-fueled by a burgeoning oil and gas industry coupled with the country’s increasing leadership presence in a number of areas globally such as climate change and food security. In fact, it was on this premise that President Ali said Guyana is seeking the top UNSG seat.
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