President Irfaan Ali on Thursday morning used his address to the United Nations General Assembly to call on world leaders, including the five permanent members of the Security Council, to support Guyana’s candidate for UN Secretary-General, Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett.
The President’s appeal came days after the New York Times reported that the United States intends to use its veto to block her candidacy.
Addressing the 81st session of the General Assembly in New York, President Ali said reforming the UN cannot be separated from the question of who leads it.
“The choice of its next Secretary-General will be, in no small measure, its choice about the kind of United Nations we wish to leave to the generations that follow,” he said.
The President said Guyana nominated Rodrigues-Birkett because of her experience in government and in the multilateral system.
“She has served our country, represented the developing world, and worked within the multilateral system with a deep understanding of both its promise and its imperfections,” he said.
He told world leaders that the UN needs a leader who can build bridges between North and South, between large and small states, and between developed and developing countries.
“We need a Secretary-General who will defend the Charter not only when it is politically convenient, but precisely when its principles are under pressure,” the President said.
Speaking on a personal note, President Ali described Rodrigues-Birkett as an Indigenous woman from a small village who defied the odds against Indigenous people, women and poverty to rise to the top.
He then appealed directly to the Security Council, which is responsible for recommending the next Secretary-General to the General Assembly.
“I call on the P5, the Security Council, and every member here to look beyond the small country that nominated her,” the President said. He noted that CARICOM has endorsed her candidacy.
“We invite all to consider her candidacy on its merits,” he added.
Any one of the five permanent members of the Security Council — the United States, China, Russia, the United Kingdom and France — can block a candidate with its veto.
Rodrigues-Birkett topped an informal Security Council straw poll in August but slipped to second place in a later round.
President Ali did not directly address the reported US position during his speech. Earlier in the address, he said Guyana is proud to be a founding member of the Shield of the Americas, a regional security initiative launched by US President Donald Trump in March 2026. He said Guyana has worked closely with the United States and 13 other nations under the initiative.
The President also called for reform of the Security Council.
“We need a Security Council that reflects the geopolitical realities of the 21st century, not the power structures of 1945,” he said, adding that Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean should have permanent representation.
On the border controversy with Venezuela, President Ali said both countries took part in hearings at the International Court of Justice, which ended in May 2026. He urged Venezuela to abide by the court’s upcoming ruling, and said Guyana will do the same.
The President also spoke about conflicts in the Middle East, Ukraine and Sudan, as well as the situation in Haiti, climate change and the Global Biodiversity Alliance, which Guyana launched in July 2025.