Guyana’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN), Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, says while the UN has served the world well over the past 80 years, it is time for that peace-keeping body to undergo crucial change.
Speaking on the Starting Point Podcast, Ambassador Rodrigues-Birkett said, “We’re in the 21st century, and like any organisation…we need to look at what we need to do better, what we need to change and where we’re at…looking to see how we can make the United Nations more fit for purpose.”
Responding to critics of the UN’s failure to end ongoing conflicts and wars, she argued that, in most cases, the fault does not lie with the majority of countries.
Further, she agreed that now is the time to address the imbalance of power, particularly within the UN Security Council. Referencing comments she made during a recent debate on the future of the UN, the ambassador said the Security Council must become more representative and more democratic.
When Ambassador Rodrigues-Birkett delivered her address on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) at the 44th plenary meeting of the General Assembly on the “Question of equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council,” she cited the underrepresentation of regions such as Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. She said this continues to hinder the aspirations of Small Island Developing States for guaranteed representation on the council.
Similarly, on the podcast, she noted, “You have a Security Council where the entire African continent and Latin America and the Caribbean are not represented in the permanent category. For Africa, it’s actually a historical injustice, and that should be fixed, and also, you have a situation where you have over-representation by certain geographical groups as well. So we need to look at that.”
The ambassador previously stated that while current threats to international peace and security fall within the Security Council’s mandate, geopolitical tensions dictate outcomes, often at the peril of lives and livelihoods. She said the UN could play a more effective role in global conflicts if the council could be less prone to geopolitical manoeuvring.
The ambassador lamented that the frequent use of the veto power by permanent members is one of the biggest impediments to the Council, even in situations where intervention is urgently needed. The United States, China, France, Russia, and the United Kingdom hold the veto power. This allows any one of these nations to block a resolution, regardless of broad support. Notably, Guyana is currently serving a two-year term as a non-permanent member of the Council, which ends this year.
On Starting Point, Ambassador Rodrigues-Birkett said, “So I agree completely. We need to reform the Security Council, but also in terms of how it makes decisions. There’s no other organisation, international organisation, where one country can kill a decision.”
While she does not believe the veto power can be abolished as a whole, since “nobody gives up power,” the ambassador said there are ways to limit its use. One option, she said, is raising the threshold under which the veto cannot be applied.
“Right now, you can veto whether there are 14, 13, or 11 [countries] supporting. So, I think that there are ways that we can do that. So yes, that would be the first thing,” Ambassador Rodrigues-Birkett added.