MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Rodrigues-Birkett, UN leadership hopeful: “Not choosing a woman would send a very negative message”

Guyana’s ambassador to the UN, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, one of the best-placed candidates to succeed António Guterres at the head of the organisation, has warned that not choosing a woman “would send a very negative message to the world”, in an interview with the newspaper El País published on the day the Security Council holds its first informal colour-coded straw poll, which reveals whether any of the five permanent members opposes each candidate.

“I am not running because I am a woman; I am running on the basis of my ability and my competence. But if there is one place that should set an example on equality between men and women, it is the UN,” said the former Guyanese foreign minister, 53, who is of Arawak Indigenous descent. “The women taking part in this process have stepped forward. I do not believe that, at this stage, the world has concluded that none of us has the right profile.”

Rodrigues-Birkett called for respect for the principle of rotation, under which it is now the turn of a candidate from Latin America and the Caribbean, and for any new contender to be subjected to “the same level of scrutiny” as the current ones. She also warned that reaching January 1 without a successor “would be one of the best ways to undermine the credibility of the UN”.

The candidate slipped to third place in the last informal poll, on October 7, after articles recalled her criticism of Israel over the war in Gaza. “If defending the Charter and international law is going to work against me in this race, I choose that without hesitation,” she said, adding that she was aware of “other efforts” against her that she would discuss “at the right time”.

According to leaked results of that poll, Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan received 9 encourage and 6 discourage votes; Argentina’s Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, 6 encourage, 7 discourage and 2 no opinion; and Rodrigues-Birkett 5 encourage, 9 discourage and 1 no opinion. To be recommended to the General Assembly, a candidate needs at least nine votes in favour and no opposition from a permanent member. According to the specialist outlet PassBlue, the United Kingdom would oppose Grossi because of Argentina’s claim over the Falklands.

Seven candidates remain in the race, four of them Latin American. No woman has led the UN in its more than 80-year history.