Guyana’s Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, a candidate for the position of United Nations Secretary General (SG), has pledged that, if selected for the organisation’s top post, she will prioritise the critical reforms needed to ensure the UN remains effective, relevant, and equipped to meet the challenges of the present and the future.
She made the remarks during an interview with CGTN’s Elaine Reyes, host of UN Insider, where they discussed UN80, multilateralism, and the prospect of the UN electing its first female SG.
“The UN has stood the test of time. And it’s 80 years now. And I think in any organisation, there comes a time when you have to look at what you have done well, what you can do better. And I think we’re at that time right now. And as you know, reform is in the air. Work has started on that. But I truly believe that there is no alternative to the UN. And we can make it better,” Ambassador Rodrigues-Birkett expressed.
“Even in the situation that the world is in right now, I think that all roads always lead back to the UN,” she added.
According to the UNSG candidate, if selected for the role, among her top priorities would be ensuring she is surrounded by a team that is balanced with the requisite skills needed for the organisation to succeed.
The second priority, she said, would be looking at ‘moving the needle’ on some of the global conflicts.
“There’s also a large humanitarian challenge. The humanitarian needs are ballooning, and the resources are shrinking. But we’re talking here about the lives of people, of men and women and children. And work has been done already on a pact, on a humanitarian pact. And I would like to see how we can accelerate that kind of assistance,” Ambassador Rodrigues-Birkett explained.
“And thirdly, on the development side, where there is development, there is peace. Where there is peace, there is development.   So, we need to accelerate work with the international financial institutions and how we can make access to finance easier, especially for the developing world,” she added.

Fit for purpose
The Guyanese Ambassador has been meeting with various member states, as she has been outlining her vision for implementing reforms if elected to the next UNSG.
Commenting on these engagements, Ambassador Rodrigues-Birkett related that “I’ve heard from member states that they believe in the UN, that we need the UN.”
“But also, I’ve heard from member states is that we need to better the UN and a commitment to do that. So, I think that’s the first, if I may call it, the first hurdle, in the sense that when you listen to people talking about the UN not being fit for purpose, being useless, things like that, I think it’s because they don’t have a perspective on the entire UN. The UN is about peace and security, but the UN is also about development. And the UN has been able to do quite a lot on the ground. And I’ve visited several countries during my time on the Security Council, but even before that, and in my own country, and I’ve seen how the UN functions. And I also see where we can make improvements. And this is why I’m running for Secretary General, because I want to be part of making the UN effective, making the UN efficient, making the UN ready for now and for the future,” she said.

 Reforms
According to Ambassador Rodrigues-Birkett, there are three aspects to the current UN reform.
“One is the improvement in the Secretariat, more effective, more efficient, as I mentioned. The second part is how we deal with the mandates of member states. The Secretary General and the Secretariat are responsible for implementing those mandates. And that work has been done by member states in how we treat with new mandates. For example, we ensure that the cost that is associated when a mandate is created is known before we create those mandates or before member states create those mandates. And so that work is done, that resolution has been passed, and it’s for the Secretary General to implement that. As Secretary General, if I’m appointed, I would ensure that member states are provided with the information whenever those mandates are being created so that they make the decisions based on the information that’s provided to them,” the Guyanese diplomat noted.
The third aspect of reform, she added, would have the deepest impact because it deals with structural alignment of the UN and its agencies.
“And that work is going on at the moment. And should I be appointed, again, the work in the structural alignment would ensure that we deliver better, but it could only do that if what is approved by member states is geared at that delivery. Now, I believe that reform is an ongoing process; it’s not an event. And so, we have to continue to maybe call it adjustments, make adjustments as we go along, always bearing in mind the needs of member states on the ground,” she explained.

Multilateralism
During the interview, Ambassador Rodrigues-Birkett also spoke about the importance of multilateralism, noting that “multilateralism is where we set the norms of the world, is how we set the norms of the world that we all agree to live by.”
“And I haven’t heard any member states say, ‘We are walking away from that.’ “ No one is leaving the UN. No one is leaving the Security Council. And to me, that tells me that that’s a commitment by all of us that multilateralism remains extremely important. And diplomacy is what we have to expand… Because wars don’t end by themselves. They end with diplomacy. And I, as Secretary General, should I be appointed, would ensure that diplomacy is always the first option, mindful of the geopolitical situation that we find ourselves in, but you would see that even when decisions are made outside of the UN, they come back to the UN for validation. We’ve seen that with Haiti. We’ve seen that also with the resolution that was passed in the Security Council on Gaza. The negotiations happened outside of the UN, but it was validated in the UN,” she posited.
“And we have to look at all methods of bringing peace. And so, some may start in the UN, some may start elsewhere, but I believe there’s no alternative to the UN as a validator and as a legitimiser,” she added.

 First female UNSG
The Guyanese diplomat also shared her thoughts on the prospect of becoming the first female UNSG.
“The fact of the matter is the UN has never had a woman Secretary General. So, I think that would send to the world, especially to young women out there, that ceilings can be broken, but it would also send a message to the world that men are with women on this. Because if you look at the United Nations of the 193 member states, less than 25 per cent of the permanent representatives are women. And given the process for the appointment of the Secretary General requires a recommendation from the Security Council, where we have a minority of women, and it goes to the General Assembly, where we have a minority of women as well. If that is approved, it would say that men are with women on this,” she noted.

Selection
The other candidates are María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, nominated by Antigua and Barbuda; Rafael Mariano Grossi, nominated by Argentina; Rebeca Grynspan Mayufis, nominated by Costa Rica; and former Senegalese President Macky Sall, nominated by Burundi. The SG is appointed by the 193-member United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on the recommendation of the Security Council.
While the Council, particularly its five permanent members with veto power, plays a decisive role in recommending a candidate, the final appointment is made by the General Assembly. If elected, Rodrigues-Birkett would become the first woman to serve as UNSG since the organisation was established in 1945, as well as the first Caribbean national to hold the post.
Rodrigues-Birkett has served as Guyana’s Permanent Representative to the UN since 2020. She previously served as Director of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Liaison Office in Geneva from 2017 to 2020, Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2008 to 2015, and Minister of Amerindian Affairs from 2001 to 2008.

The post UNSG campaign: “No alternative to the UN” – Guyana’s Ambassador pledges reform, development focus appeared first on Guyana Times.