In a formal public statement released by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat on Wednesday, regional heads of government have formally reaffirmed their collective, bloc-wide support for Guyana’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, as the regional candidate for the upcoming UN Secretary-General selection, extending no official backing to the competing candidacy put forward by Antigua and Barbuda. The decision was reached during the bloc’s October 23 intersessional leadership gathering, reinforcing an earlier endorsement of Rodrigues-Birkett first outlined in the final communiqué of CARICOM’s regular July 10 heads of government meeting. Antigua and Barbuda formally submitted the nomination of María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, the former Ecuadorian Foreign Minister and ex-President of the UN General Assembly (who held the GA presidency from September 2018 to September 2019), to the official UN candidate roster on May 11, making her a second contender for the top UN post with ties to the Caribbean regional bloc. Notably, CARICOM’s official statement made no explicit reference to Espinosa’s candidacy, did not address Antigua and Barbuda’s independent move to nominate the Ecuadorian diplomat, and offered no indication that regional leaders had debated the merits of her bid, nor did it demand that Antigua and Barbuda withdraw its national support for her campaign. In their endorsement of Rodrigues-Birkett, CARICOM heads emphasized the veteran diplomat’s 20-plus years of cross-sectoral experience spanning legislative office, senior cabinet roles, high-stakes diplomatic postings, and international public service, highlighting her proven track record as a skilled consensus builder. A former Guyanese Foreign Minister and ex-Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Rodrigues-Birkett also previously held a senior director role at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, credentials that regional leaders say equip her with the integrity and practical expertise to steer the United Nations through overlapping global crises and long-overdue institutional reform. Beyond formalizing their backing for Rodrigues-Birkett, CARICOM leaders issued a collective call to the UN Security Council and General Assembly to uphold longstanding norms of geographical representation and respect established regional rotation protocols in the selection of the next Secretary-General. Both Rodrigues-Birkett and Espinosa fall under the Latin American and Caribbean regional grouping that is widely seen as the logical next pool for the top UN role, but CARICOM’s collective endorsement remains exclusively aligned with the Guyanese diplomat. Regional leaders also extended gratitude to all nations that have already thrown their support behind Rodrigues-Birkett’s campaign, noting that selecting a woman from the CARICOM region to lead the UN would represent a historic, milestone-making first for the global body. While the bloc’s unified endorsement delivers a significant diplomatic tailwind for Rodrigues-Birkett’s bid, the final formal appointment of the next UN Secretary-General will be decided by the UN General Assembly, acting on a formal recommendation put forward by the 15-member UN Security Council.
CARICOM backs Guyana’s UN candidate over Antigua and Barbuda’s nominee
