Guyana has championed United Nations initiatives for 60 years – Govt on membership

…says UNSG nomination a tangible demonstration enduring belief in UN

Guyana has reaffirmed its commitment to the United Nations (UN) as the country celebrates 60 years of membership, pledging to continue being a partner in the global quest for peace and prosperity.

On September 20, 1966, Guyana was admitted as a Member State during the 21st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). Commemorating this milestone achievement, the Guyana Government in a statement on Sunday affirmed the nation’s faith in the UN, and its hope to be “an active rather than a sleeping member” of the global organisation. “Guyana has championed United Nations initiatives promoting sovereign equality, equal rights, self-determination, and people-centred development,” the missive stated. “As we celebrate this 60th anniversary milestone, the Government of Guyana expresses our profound appreciation for the supportive role of the Organisation, including the UN country team, in our country’s pursuit of peace, development and democracy.” In fact, the Government posited that diplomatic activism has been a hallmark of Guyana’s engagement with the UN and the international system writ large. “We recognised in the United Nations the embodiment of the collective aspirations of the world’s people for a most just, equitable and democratic international order. This recognition was born of our own struggles for self-determination. It was also an acknowledgement that multilateralism and collective action were imperatives to effectively confront the challenges facing our world community,” it noted. In the six decades since its admission to the premier international organisation, Guyana has engaged actively and constructively in the work of the UN, in support of peace and security, development, human rights and the rule of International Law. Throughout, it said the country has maintained a principled and purposeful approach. “From the very beginnings of our tenure Guyana was entrusted with positions of leadership and responsibility,” the Government noted. This leadership, it recalled, started with membership to the Council for Namibia tasked with concluding the process of decolonisation of that territory. Moreover, Guyana engaged the major causes of its time such as the struggles against colonialism and apartheid, for a more just international economic and social order especially for small states and for disarmament and nuclear nonproliferation, among others.