President Dr. Irfaan Ali has used Guyana’s address to the United Nations General Assembly to make a direct appeal for international support for Guyana’s candidate for the post of UN Secretary-General, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett.

Speaking before world leaders in New York today, Dr. Ali linked the upcoming selection of the next Secretary-General to what he described as an urgent need to restore confidence in the United Nations and strengthen multilateralism.

He said the organisation requires leadership capable of uniting its agencies and institutions, building bridges across international divisions and defending the principles of the UN Charter.

Against that backdrop, the Guyanese head of state formally promoted Rodrigues-Birkett’s candidacy, pointing to her experience representing Guyana and the developing world within the multilateral system.

“The United Nations needs its next Secretary-General to work with all member States to restore confidence in the Organisation, mobilise its energies, and turn the language of multilateralism from aspiration into action,” he said.

The president continued, “Institutions do not reform themselves. They require leadership capable of seeing beyond the present and imagining the institution’s future demands. The United Nations needs leadership that can bring its different organs, agencies and programmes into a greater unity of purpose,” he said.

Dr. Ali also highlighted her personal journey, describing her rise from a small Indigenous community and the barriers she overcame as an Indigenous woman.

“Her upbringing encompassed every struggle. Every aspect of her accomplishments has defined and broken barriers. Her character is built on struggle, sacrifice, and commitment. Her accomplishments are crafted in her humanity,” he said.

He appealed directly to the five permanent members of the Security Council and the wider UN membership to consider her candidacy beyond the size of the country nominating her.

President Ali noted that the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has endorsed the candidacy and urged UN members to assess Rodrigues-Birkett on her experience, expertise, record and vision for the organisation.

The Security Council has the responsibility of recommending a candidate for Secretary-General to the General Assembly.The selection, he added, comes at a critical moment for the organisation, as wars, geopolitical tensions and declining confidence in multilateral institutions place increasing pressure on the international system.

Dr. Ali argued that the choice of the next Secretary-General will therefore help determine the direction of the United Nations as it confronts those challenges.