C’bean leaders lobby behind Guyana’s Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett for SG post

Even as the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) backs Guyana’s candidacy for the United Nations (UN) Secretary General (SG) post, Regional Leaders have individually reaffirmed their support for Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett in her bid to secure the top UN office.

The 81st UN General Assembly was held over the past week in New York, where Caribbean Heads of State emphasised the importance of having the female leader at helm of the global organisation to navigate the myriads of challenges and issues around the world.

They believe Ambassador Rodrigues-Birkett, a former Foreign Affairs Minister and Guyana’s current Permanent Representative to the UN, is the best suited candidate to carry out that mandate. The Guyanese diplomat is among seven candidates vying for the top UN post as current Secretary-General António Guterres wraps up his second five-year term in December.

Already, regional leaders have fully endorsed Ambassador Rodrigues-Birkett at the 51st CARICOM Heads of Government Meeting held back in July in Saint Lucia – something which several of them reiterated during their address at the UNGA.

Barbados

Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, was among the leaders who have formally thrown full diplomatic weight before the Guyanese candidate.

“At a moment when the international community is being called upon to renew its faith in multilateralism, we believe that Ambassador Rodrigues-Birkett brings to this task the experience, the skills, and the understanding to serve the entire membership of this organization. Indeed…I believe that others think so too,” PM Mottley stated during her UNGA address.

But even as she supported Guyana’s candidate, the unapologetically outspoken Barbadian Leader addressed her own prospects at the top UN post, saying during an interview on the sidelines of the UNGA that her priority is running her country and taking care of the region. However, PM Mottley did not rule out the possibility of her seeking the position sometime in the future.

St Lucia

Meanwhile, Prime Minister of St Lucia, Philip Pierre, also rallied behind Ambassador Rodrigues-Birkett while addressing the General Assembly.

He said, “St Lucia wishes to express its endorsement of the candidate of the Republic of Guyana, Ms. Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, for the post of Secretary General. Her distinguished record of public and international service speaks directly to the kind of leadership this moment demands.”

The Bahamas

Additionally, Prime Minister of The Bahamas, Philip Davis, contended that the time has come for both a female and a Caribbean nation to be positioned as leader of the UN.

“Change must also reach the leadership of this organisation… [As] a former foreign minister, who has presided over the Security Council, [Ambassador Rodrigues-Birkett] understands what rules mean for nations with no other protection. In 81 years, this organisation has had nine Secretaries General, all of them men. None has come from the Caribbean. We in The Bahamas believe that the time has come for both to change,” PM Davis stressed.

St Vincent and the Grenadines

Similarly, Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Godwin Friday, called for the UN to be more open and inclusive in selecting its new leadership.

“We know [Ambassador Rodrigues-Birkett] as a distinguished diplomat, a principled multilateralist, and a compelling advocate for developing countries and small states… As this is my first time here, like a tourist, I walk the halls of this historic building and admired, on the walls, the impressive portraits of the nine men who have served as Secretary General since 1946. And while I appreciated the outstanding caliber and service of those men, I nevertheless could not resist thinking that after eight decades, surely the time has come for an equally capable woman to be Secretary General. We believe Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett of Guyana is well suited to be that person,” PM Friday stated in his first UNGA address.

Suriname

Additionally, Guyana’s candidate also enjoys renewed support from neighbouring Suriname, as reiterated by President Jennifer Geerlings-Simons in her address to the UN General Assembly.

“As the United Nations approaches change in its highest leadership, current realities and approved mandates require the next Secretary General to portray strong commitment to multilateralism, dialogue and the rule of law. Many capable candidates, including women leaders who have taken up the challenge, have been put forward, and for the first time in history, we have a female candidate from the Caribbean. Caricom endorses this candidate,” President Geerlings-Simons noted.

Belize

Moreover, Prime Minister of Belize, John Briceño, spoke during his UNGA address about the importance of a Caribbean national leading the world organisation.

“[Ambassador Rodrigues-Birkett is] a distinguished daughter of the Caribbean. A Caribbean woman at the helm of the United Nations would be historic. But history alone is not the argument, her record is. The next Secretary-General would inherit an institution under strain, and a world impatient for results. Small and vulnerable States must be placed at the centre of the organisation’s work, not at the margins of decisions that determine our survival. United Nations must become more agile, more representative, and better equipped to deliver,” PM Briceño asserted.

St Kitts and Nevis

Further, Deputy Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis, Geoffrey Hanley, in his UNGA address, also pointed out that the future of multilateralism is dependent on the leadership selected to take on this charge.

“[Ambassador Rodrigues-Birkett’s] understanding of the challenges facing developing nations reflect the leadership this moment demands. Her candidature, as an indigenous woman from a small Developing State, also reaffirms that global leadership must be defined not by the size of a nation, but by the vision, integrity, and capacity of those called to serve,” Deputy PM Hanley noted.

Jamaica

Likewise, Jamaica’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Kamina Johnson-Smith, while addressing the UNGA, noted that Ambassador Rodrigues-Birkett’s candidacy speaks to something much larger.

“The selection of the next Secretary General will be one of the most consequential decisions before Member States this year… Small States have long served the international system as bridge builders, consensus makers, and problem solvers. We learn very early that influence does not depend only on size and power, it can come from credibility, from dialogue, from principle, and the capacity to bring people together. These are the strengthens which a multilateral system needs now more than ever,” the Jamaican Foreign Minister stated.

Gratitude

Following this widespread show of support, Ambassador Rodrigues-Birkett expressed sincere gratitude to the Caribbean leaders for their “…kind words endorsing my candidacy for the position of United Nations Secretary General during [their] intervention at the General Debate of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly. I remain ever grateful for CARICOM’s endorsement.”

President Dr Irfaan Ali, who had nominated Ambassador Rodrigues-Birkett for the UN post back in June, in his UNGA address on Thursday urged the five Permanent Members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to support Guyana’s candidate.

Ahead of the UN General Assembly, the Security Council held its latest straw poll on September 18, which saw Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan taking the lead with 9 encouraging votes and Ambassador Rodrigues-Birkett coming in second with 8 encouraging votes.

To get the job, a candidate needs 9 votes from the 15 members in the Security Council and must avoid a veto from any of the five permanent Security Council members – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Based on international reports, however, the US has decided to block the Guyanese candidate over her description of the situation in Palestine as a “genocide”.

But while he did not mention the reported US veto, President Ali strongly appealed the Permanent Members to considered Guyana’s candidate.

“In the humblest of ways, I call on the P5, the Security Council, and every member here to look beyond the small country that nominated [Ambassador Rodrigues-Birkett]. CARICOM, as a body, has endorsed her. And let us rise to the challenge of giving this indigenous woman the chance of helping us craft together, the United Nations we want to see succeed,” the Guyanese Leader implored.