Guyanese envoy calls for UNSC reform amid growing inability to reach consensus

Guyana’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN), Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, has reiterated the urgent need for reform of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), warning that its current structure has made it increasingly difficult for the body to fulfil its mandate of maintaining international peace and security.

Speaking at the UNSC Open Debate on “The United Nations Organisation: Looking into the Future”—a signature event hosted by Russia on October 24, 2025—Ambassador Rodrigues-Birkett emphasised that the inability of Council members to reach consensus on critical issues has eroded global trust in the institution and undermined the principles on which the UN was founded.
“First, let us start right here, the Security Council must be reformed. Notwithstanding the expansive breadth of the work of the United Nations, the reality is that the success or failure of the UN is judged in large measure through the action, or lack thereof, of the Security Council. Regrettably, the Council is increasingly seen to be failing in its sacred responsibility of maintaining international peace and security. We have, in recent years, borne witness to a proliferation of armed conflicts – the highest number since World War II according to the Global Peace Index. At the same time, there is the growing inability of Council members to reach consensus on some of the most critical issues”.
She attributed this paralysis to the structural imbalance of the Council, where the five permanent members (P5)—the United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK), France, Russia, and China—retain veto powers that can override the collective will of the majority of member states. “In no other international structure in the world can 6.6 per cent of the vote cancel 93.3 per cent,” she said, describing the arrangement as a “serious impediment” to progress.
Rodrigues-Birkett called for an expansion of both the permanent and non-permanent categories of membership, with permanent seats for Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean—the only regions currently excluded from permanent representation. She also proposed the introduction of a rotating seat for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to ensure their unique vulnerabilities and perspectives are reflected in global decision-making.
“For the Council’s effectiveness to be restored and its legitimacy affirmed in the public eye, we must change its unrepresentative composition and unfair decision-making rules,” she asserted. “There is too high a premium on international peace and security for the structure which has the responsibility to maintain it to continue being unfit for purpose.”
The Guyanese representative further argued that national interest and international cooperation must not be treated as opposing concepts, noting that the interconnected nature of global crises—such as climate change, food insecurity, and terrorism—demands collective responses. “Advancing the common interest is ultimately in everyone’s national interest,” she said.
Addressing the financial strains facing the UN system, Rodrigues-Birkett endorsed the UN 80 initiative proposed by Secretary-General (SG) António Guterres, which seeks to streamline operations and eliminate inefficiencies. She urged all member states to meet their financial obligations, cautioning that the UN “cannot always be everything to everyone, but must never fail those who are most in need.”
Reflecting on the UN’s 80-year legacy, the Guyanese envoy called on nations to “recalibrate on the strong foundation bequeathed to us and build a United Nations that is fit to respond to the realities of the 21st century.”
“In 1945, our forefathers created a system that has done incalculable good,” she concluded. “We now face a new, if not equally critical, moment. If the United Nations did not exist, we would have to create it. Let us remember—the United Nations is us, and we are the United Nations.”