THE contest for the next Secretary-General of the United Nations is no ordinary diplomatic contest. It is a moment in which the world must decide not merely who should occupy an office, but what kind of United Nations it wants to build.
And in that contest, Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett’s candidacy deserves to be taken with the utmost seriousness.
Her election would be historic: she would become the first woman and the first Caribbean national to serve as UN Secretary-General, but this cannot be reduced to symbolism. The more compelling argument is that her experience speaks directly to the problems confronting the organisation—war, distrust, climate insecurity, development, institutional paralysis and the widening divide between powerful states and the developing world.
Rodrigues-Birkett brings more than 25 years of public-sector and international experience. She has served as Guyana’s Foreign Minister and Minister of Amerindian Affairs, as an international civil servant, and since 2020 as Guyana’s Permanent Representative to the UN. She led Guyana’s delegation during its 2024–2025 Security Council term and has chaired major multilateral processes.
That is precisely the combination of experience the UN requires in an age when diplomacy is becoming harder, not easier.
Her positions have also been unmistakably firm. On climate change, she has advocated treating climate insecurity as an issue relevant to global peace and security. On UN reform, she has called for a more agile, effective organisation, reform of its systems and practices, and renewed commitment to all three pillars of the UN—peace and security, development and human rights.
Lets not forget that she took a principled position on Israel.
On Gaza, she has been equally forthright and that position appears to be at the centre of reported American perceived opposition to her candidacy. Reports have said Washington is concerned about her description of Israel’s conduct in Gaza as genocide, but to reduce Rodrigues-Birkett’s position to hostility towards Israel would be a serious misreading. She is not hostile and will be fair if given the chance to end the conflict.
Her record shows a diplomat arguing from the framework of international law and civilian protection. Guyana has condemned Hamas’s October 7 attack and called for the unconditional release of hostages. At the same time, Rodrigues-Birkett has insisted that Israel, like every other state, is bound by international humanitarian law.
Whether one accepts that legal characterisation or not, it is difficult to portray it as an argument against Israel’s existence. It is an argument that international law must apply universally.
Indeed, in March 2024, Guyana’s explanation of its abstention on a US-sponsored Security Council resolution explicitly welcomed Washington’s initiative and acknowledged American diplomatic efforts, while arguing that the text did not go far enough in demanding an immediate ceasefire. Guyana simultaneously called for the unconditional release of hostages.
That is diplomacy, not ideological absolutism.
Washington stands to benefit more from the ambassador’s tenure if she is successful, as do the majority of other countries in the UN.
The reported prospect of an American veto therefore raises a larger question.
For the record, President Irfaan Ali has said Guyana has received no communication confirming that Washington intends to veto Rodrigues-Birkett.
But if such opposition ultimately materialises, it would be worth asking whether Washington would be sacrificing a potentially constructive relationship with the next Secretary-General over disagreements with positions that are rooted in the UN Charter and international law.
The United States itself has a profound interest in an effective United Nations. A Secretary-General capable of speaking to developing countries, small states, major powers and competing political blocs is potentially more useful to Washington than an institution viewed increasingly as remote, bureaucratic or politically paralysed.
Rodrigues-Birkett’s candidacy could offer Washington an important diplomatic bridge to the Global South at a time when America’s relationships with developing countries are increasingly consequential.
A Secretary-General from the Caribbean would also bring an understanding of how international decisions affect states that possess neither military power nor economic weight comparable to the major powers.
That perspective should not be viewed as a weakness. It may be one of the office’s greatest potential strengths.
Additionally, Rodrigues-Birkett’s competitors bring formidable qualifications. Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan brings extensive economic and multilateral experience. Rafael Grossi brings deep expertise in nuclear diplomacy and international security. María Fernanda Espinosa brings experience in diplomacy, sustainable development and the UN system.
But Rodrigues-Birkett brings something distinctive: the lived diplomatic perspective of a small developing state, combined with senior governmental experience, international civil-service experience and direct Security Council leadership.
That matters for the Caribbean.
For decades, small island and developing states have lived with consequences they had little role in creating—from climate vulnerability and debt pressures to the effects of distant conflicts and decisions made by powerful countries.
A Caribbean Secretary-General would place those realities much closer to the centre of global diplomacy.
Let’s not forget President Ali’s argument; President Ali understood this when he addressed the General Assembly.
His argument was strongest when he connected Rodrigues-Birkett’s candidacy to UN reform itself. He argued that the organisation needs greater transparency, accountability and responsiveness; a stronger General Assembly; less bureaucratic fragmentation and leadership capable of defending the charter “without fear or favour.”
That is more than a campaign pitch. It is a diagnosis of the institutional crisis confronting the UN.
Ali also made a powerful point about the candidate’s personal journey: an Indigenous woman from a small Guyanese community who entered public life through circumstances far removed from the corridors of global power and eventually arrived at the centre of international diplomacy.
The significance is not that she is Guyanese, nor should she be selected merely because she is Caribbean or a woman.
The significance is that, after decades in which the UN’s highest office has been occupied by men, the organisation now has an opportunity to demonstrate that universality means something in practice.
It’s a moment for the Caribbean because the world does not need a Secretary-General who simply manages the UN’s decline. It needs leadership prepared to defend its principles, reform its machinery, bridge North and South, and restore confidence in multilateralism.
Rodrigues-Birkett has put forward precisely that proposition.
The final decision belongs to the UN’s constitutional process and ultimately to its member states. But her candidacy has earned something that no veto, rumour or geopolitical calculation should deny her a fair hearing on the merits.
And perhaps, at this extraordinary moment in world affairs, a Caribbean woman should finally be given the opportunity to help the world rebuild an institution created to serve all of humanity.
DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.