Backing Guyana’s candidate, PM cools talk of own UN bid

Prime Minister Mia Mottley has thrown Barbados’ support behind Guyanese former foreign minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett to become the 10th United Nations Secretary-General, while playing down the prospect of seeking the post herself.

Addressing the UN General Assembly, Mottley pledged Barbados’ “full support” for Rodrigues-Birkett, Georgetown’s current UN envoy, who was endorsed by CARICOM.

The PM said: “As the United Nations undertakes the important task of selecting its next Secretary-General, Barbados joins its sister member states in the Caribbean Community in pledging its full support for the candidature of Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett of Guyana.”

Rodrigues-Birkett was formally nominated by Guyana in June and then endorsed by CARICOM leaders at their summit in July.

Her candidacy comes as the UN prepares to select a successor to António Guterres of Portugal, whose second term ends on December 31.

The Guyanese diplomat is among the candidates being considered for the position and has emerged as one of the stronger performers in informal Security Council straw polls. In the third poll, held last week, she received eight “encourage” votes, six “discourage” votes and one “no opinion” vote. Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan received nine “encourage” votes.

Mottley, meanwhile, addressed speculation surrounding her own prospects for the UN’s top post during a separate conversation with the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.

Asked why she had chosen not to become a candidate, she pointed to her responsibilities in Barbados and the wider Caribbean.

“I have a country to run and a region to take care of,” she said.

Mottley also noted the mandate she received from Barbadian voters and the challenges confronting the region as reasons her immediate focus remained closer to home.

But she stopped short of ruling out seeking the UN position at some point in the future.

“Do I say never? I never say never,” Mottley said.

“But at the same time, I don’t see it as an immediate prospect.”

If successful, Rodrigues-Birkett would become the first Caribbean national and the first woman to serve as UN Secretary-General. The organisation has had nine secretaries-general since its establishment in 1945, all men.

The next secretary-general is due to take office on January 1.

(SM)