One month after taking up its seat on the United Nations Security Council, Guyana will from February 1 take up the presidency of the organisation.
Guyana’s Permanent Representative of Guyana to the United Nations Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett will assume the seat.
The task is an “onerous one” but Guyana is well-prepared, Foreign Secretary and High Representative on UN Security Council Affairs said on Wednesday in an interview with the News Room.
The presidency of the Council is held by each of the members in turn for one month, following the English alphabetical order of the Member States names.
Persaud said Guyana sees its role as crucial in supporting the mandate of the United Nations to promote global peace and respect for international law.
Guyana has been offered technical assistance in support of its tenure by several international partners including the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan and China, Persaud said.
Let me congratulate the Co-operative Republic of Guyana on its assumption of the chairmanship of the Security Council just one month after taking its seat on 1 January 2024. The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela must not be allowed to neutralise this significant UN leadership position by making the Argyle Declaration its first port of call in the event of further threats to the sovereignty and political independence of Guyana seeing that this issue is already on the agenda of the UNSC when Venezuela refused to adhere to the ICJ’s issuance of Provisional Measures in its 1 December Judgment. Guyana’s membership of the UNSC can I hope can mollify Venezuela’s thrust into the Essequibo Region of Guyana and induce it to behave as a responsible member of the UN by adhering to the demands of international law.