…says committed to balancing needs of small, large countries if elected
Guyana’s candidate for the United Nations (UN) Secretary General (SG) post, Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, has made it clear that her allegiance would be to the UN Charter and international law if given an opportunity to serve in the office. She made these remarks during a recent appearance on a Virtual Dialogue on “The Future of Global Leadership”, convened by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) within the framework of the World Governments Summit (WGS). The Ambassador responded to questions about her vision and priorities as a candidate for the position of Secretary General of the UN. Rodrigues-Birkett was specifically asked about how she intends to balance representing both developed and developing countries, especially given the fact that she hailed from a small nation that not only represents many similar global voices but is also seeking the UN’s support on a number of issues. In response, the Ambassador pointed out that while the UN is made up mainly of small countries – with over 100 nations having under 10 million persons, the Secretary General (SG) represents all 193 nations around the world.
“As Secretary General, the only bias I would have is to the [UN] Charter and to international law. And so, whatever I do as Secretary General must be in consonance with the Charter and with international law,” she asserted. According to Rodrigues-Birkett, there must be a balance when it comes to representing large and small and medium-sized countries. In fact, she contended that these nations need each other, arguing that they all face similar global challenges in most cases.
“I do not believe that it is one side or the other. I believe that small countries need large countries, large countries need small countries as well. And when we come to global challenges, it does not stop at the doorstep of any one country. It affects us all as we are seeing right now, for example, with climate change. [And] as we have seen when we have major trade routes affected, it affects us all. Prices go up for all of our countries,” she noted. The Guyanese SG hopeful went onto say add that she would work to ensure that there is balance by, among other things, maintaining very close relationships with all Member States, both through their representatives in New York and also directly at capital level. Moreover, Rodrigues-Birkett further outlined that if elected, among her first priorities in the top international office would be to implemented the host of reforms that were agreed upon by Member States. “The Secretary General is mandated by the Charter to implement the decisions of Member States. But if there are reforms that are not yet decided upon and member states need the relevant information from the Secretary General and the Secretariat, I would endeavour to provide that information, a very objective information, because how we come out of this reform as the United Nations must be guided by the objective information that would guide those reforms. And so…I would want to advance that,” she asserted.
Peace, security
Another issue at the top of her agenda is peace and security. The Ambassador indicated that she would want to have a panoramic view of all of the conflicts existing around the world in order to ascertain where she can utilise the tools available to the SG, and where she would need to go to the Security Council. On the peacekeeping side, she noted that they would have to look at how to advance politically. “As you know, peacekeeping was meant to keep the peace while we seek political solutions. And so, this is what I would also want to do to look at how we could move the needle on some of the conflicts,” she stated. Meanwhile, as part of her immediate plans upon assuming the top-UN post would be to engage the International Financial Institutions (IFIs) with the aim of working with them, and not talking down to them. “Even if we have some small incremental steps that would be very important and systemic, especially for developing countries. These are the things that I would like to see put in place,” she posited. While recognising that some progress was made, Rodrigues-Birkett noted that global humanitarian needs are ballooning and so one of her top priorities in her first 100 days in office would be to address this issue. As she continues her campaign across the globe, Ambassador Rodrigues-Birkett has been stepping up in the race for the UNSG post. In fact, only two weeks ago, she moved into the lead following the second United Nations Security Council (UNSC) straw poll, securing the highest number of “encourage” votes among the candidates. Rodrigues-Birkett received eight encourage votes, three discourage votes and four no-opinion votes in the second round. The result places her narrowly ahead of Rebeca Grynspan, who received seven encourage votes, four discourage votes and four no-opinion votes. The latest result represents a shift from the first straw poll, when Grynspan led the field with 10 encourage votes. Rodrigues-Birkett had secured nine encourage votes, two discourage votes and four no-opinion votes in that round.
While Rodrigues-Birkett’s encourage tally declined by one vote in this second round, Grynspan’s fell by three, allowing the Guyanese candidate to emerge with the highest number of encourage votes in the field.
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