Pres. Ali makes direct appeal to P5 for Rodrigues as next UN chief

(Kaieteur News) – President Irfaan Ali on Thursday made a direct appeal to the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council to endorse Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett as the next UN Secretary-General, urging world leaders to look past Guyana’s size and evaluate her candidacy on its merits.

Addressing the UN General Assembly, President Ali formally placed Rodrigues-Birkett’s nomination before the Security Council and the broader assembly, framing her candidacy as a historic opportunity to elect an Indigenous woman capable of restoring trust in a fractured multilateral system. “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 her,” President Ali said. “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 Security Council, specifically its five permanent members, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China, and Russia, holds the sole responsibility of recommending a Secretary-General candidate to the General Assembly for appointment. Highlighting her journey from a small Indigenous village, President Ali praised Rodrigues-Birkett’s rise against systemic odds, citing her background as foundational to her leadership style. “An Indigenous woman coming from a small Indigenous village, defying the odds.. the odds against Indigenous persons, the odds against women, the odds against poverty…defying every challenge and rising to the top amidst those challenges,” Ali stated. “Her character is built on struggle, sacrifice, and commitment. Her accomplishments are crafted in her humanity.”