Guyana at the United Nations Security Council: an exercise in confusion

May 18, 2023 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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Kaieteur News – The world must be changing faster than I can keep up with it. I am led to this conclusion having read a statement on the website of Guyana’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations.

The website reported that Guyana’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett participated in the 2023 UN Security Council Briefing Series for non-contested candidates and presented Guyana’s vision and priorities for its term on the UN Security Council.  Guyana’s candidacy for the 2024-2025 term, as a non-permanent member of the Security Council, is not being contested; as such Guyana is assured of its seat.

The Briefing Series allows uncontested candidates to share the priority concerns and issues on which they intend to focus during their term.  This is where Guyana sprung a huge surprise, at least to me.

It was reported that Guyana stated that its service on the Council would be guided by a people-centered approach, a firm commitment to multilateralism, collective actions and the principles and objectives of the United Nations. It was further stated that Guyana would work collaboratively with all the Council members in addressing the Councils agenda. This was all fluff and little substance.

Very surprising to me was the commitment to be guided by a people-centered approach. On the United Nations Security Council? Why would Guyana have to adopt a people- centered approach on a Council which deals with security?

Even more astonishing was the report that during Guyana’s tenure on the Council, five areas will be given special focus: (i) climate change, food insecurity and conflict (ii) peace building and conflict prevention (iii) women, peace and security (iv) protection of children in armed conflicts and (v) youth, peace and security. Did Cabinet or the President approve of these 5 priority areas?

While the Security Council’s remit does involve non-state conflicts, it is assumed that these issues would be better handled within the organizations and institutions of the UN system such as the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) which deals with food security and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) deals with climate change matters.

Not much success is likely on those fronts.  It will be recalled that last October, Russia vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution on the security implications of climate change, a  resolution which was opposed by India and on which China abstained. Five years ago, the Security Council has recognized the link between hunger and conflict and has passed a resolution to this effect. That was five years ago. What does Guyana hope to achieve by making this a priority? Another resolution?

There are far important issues relating to global security and in which Guyana has more than a passing national interest that to prioritize conflicts arising from food security and climate change.

Guyana has a long-standing territorial controversy with Venezuela. This  1899 Arbitral Award is now before the International Court of Justice. Guyana has been a victim of threats and aggression from Venezuela. That country still occupies a part of Guyana’s territory and has shown no indication to removing itself.

Only recently, the President said that the country’s foreign policy will have a stronger focus on defence diplomacy. He also indicated that this was the role which Guyana would be focusing on regionally and internationally.

One would have assumed that Guyana’s main focus during its tenure would have been about ensuring greater compliance with international law, including the rejection of threats and aggression. It is in Guyana’s foremost national interest to advocate greater respect and territorial integrity of states. This would appear, at least to me, to be the primary foreign policy priority of Guyana, not people-centered approaches or issues relating to climate change and food security.

Those issues could be pursued elsewhere including within the FAO, through the UNFCC and through the United Nations Development Programme. At present the United Nations Security Council is being chaired by Russia, an irony in itself since Russia is guilty of aggression against a sovereign state, Ukraine.

At present, the main issue before the Council remains Russia’s aggression.  Guyana’s term on the Security Council will begin next January. And it is doubtful whether by then the conflict in Ukraine would have ended or for that matter that normalcy would be restored to Yemen.

Last week, the United States blocked a Security Council resolution in the situation in Gaza. There are a number of conflicts which remain unresolved included in Sahel and in Sudan and South Sudan.

Against this background, does Guyana expect to be taken seriously on the Security Council by prioritizing issues such as food security and conflict, climate change and conflict, women and conflict and youth and conflict? These are soft issues which are best addressed outside of the UN Security Council.

Guyana will not get another chance for a long time to be on the Security Council. As such it should use this opportunity to secure Guyana’s national interest by taking a concerted stand on the issue of non-aggression. It will not be doing this if it pursues the course it advocated during the recent Security Council Briefings.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of this newspaper and its affiliates.)

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• Ambassador, Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett, member, Security Council, United Nations

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