Guyana’s candidate for the post of United Nations Secretary General (UNSG), Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, has pledged to provide practical and principled leadership if she is selected to the organisation’s highest office. She made the remarks during a Regional Dialogue convened by Uruguay in its capacity as Pro Tempore Presidency of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), where she joined other candidates in the running for the UNSG position from the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region in a dialogue on the future leadership of the global body. According to Ambassador Rodrigues-Birkett, there have been clear calls for a Secretary General (SG) who can increase confidence in the UN, manage geopolitical divisions, lead credible reforms and ensure that there is greater impact on the ground. “I would certainly ensure that we have continuous reform so that the secretariat is not only effective and efficient, but that it is also closer to member states. And on the bigger reforms, the structural reforms, if this is completed by January when the new Secretary General takes office, and if that Secretary General is me, then it would be just a matter of implementation of those reforms,” she explained.

In this regard, the Guyanese diplomat noted, “and so I would have the role of providing to member states the information that they need, the objective information that they need, so that they will make informed decisions on the structural reform. This is very important because the United Nations could look very different to what it is now. And in making those decisions, the information provided should be very objective.” “I intend to also provide leadership that is practical, that is inclusive and that is pragmatic, but that is always principled,” she added.

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