UNITED NATIONS-Suriname outlines criteria for incoming UN Secretary-General.

UNITED NATIONS, CMC – Suriname on Tuesday said the incoming United Nations Secretary-General must show a strong commitment to multilateralism, dialogue, and the rule of law, as it endorsed Guyana diplomat Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett for the position.

“Many capable candidates, including women leaders, who have taken up the challenge have been put forth, and for the first time in history, we have a female candidate from the Caribbean,” Suriname President Jennifer Geerlings-Simons told the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

The incumbent, Antonio Guterres, will leave office at the end of December, after his second five-year term.

President Geerlings -Simons told the international community that the 15-member regional integration movement, CARICOM, endorses Rodrigues-Birkett’s candidacy, adding, “We are at that time in history where trust in the United Nations must urgently be restored.

“Suriname will do what we can, and we call on the more influential members of the United Nations to help maintain peace, to make sure that there is peace in the world, because only a United Nations capable of safeguarding international peace and security will deliver for all,
she added.

Earlier, the Suriname Head of State said her country is firmly committed to upholding international law “as we depend on a rule-based international order without which, like many other vulnerable nations, we simply cannot exist as sovereign countries”.

She said the consistent application of international law and the strengthening of its institutions is also essential to maintain international peace and security, protect human rights, and ensure sustainable development for all.

President Geerlings-Simons said that the international community is experiencing profound uncertainty, including energy and food security crises, leading to intensified displacement of many people globally.

“Armed conflicts continue to claim innocent lives, while geopolitical tensions escalate. Children are living through unimaginable horrors. The United Nations has not been able to prevent this or end it, and we have to ponder that. “

She said other developments, for example in the Strait of Hormuz, show how quickly wars can affect energy markets, suddenly and steeply increasing energy costs and adversely impacting economic and social development.

“Common people suffer when food and energy prices rise, so the quality of life of our people is directly threatened, even by wars in regions far from their homes. And we as government, we have to make sure that we try to protect them.”

She said Suriname is therefore calling for a renewed commitment to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, namely the peaceful resolution of disputes, insisting that “dialogue is paramount for safeguarding a solid and proven UN system.

“The people of Cuba, a Caribbean country, are adversely affected by the current situation in their country. Suriname calls on the parties involved to remain committed to dialogue and negotiation, to end the economic, commercial, and financial embargo.

“We plead for the continuation of negotiations to prevent further escalation and to reach a resolution that will benefit the people of Cuba,” she said.

The United States, which has in place a decades-old trade and economic embargo against Havana, has in recent months stepped up its program of seeking to remove the government on the island.

The aggressive strategy, led by the Donald Trump administration, has pushed the island into an unprecedented humanitarian and economic crisis, and following Washington’s removal of the Nicolás Maduro government in Venezuela, it has completely halted Venezuelan oil shipments to Cuba, cutting off the island’s primary energy lifeline.

In her address, President Geerlings-Simons also called for sustained international support for Haiti to restore security, constitutional order, and democratic governance.

“Suriname supports solutions that place the Haitian people at the center,” she said, adding that reform must protect and improve the United Nations’ capacity to deliver and also make the system easier to navigate.

“It should not reduce support where it is most needed. Equally important is the overdue reform of the Security Council. Hence, Suriname reiterates its call for making it more representative, more accountable, and more capable of acting.”

She said the Dutch-speaking CARICOM country supports Africa’s demand for “just permanent representation” on the UN Security Council, adding, “Likewise, we underscore the relevance of a dedicated representation for small island states and low-lying coastal developing states.”

President Geerlings-Simons said regional and international partnerships remain indispensable to achieving economic and social objectives as Suriname continues to actively engage in various regional bodies and mechanisms, including CARICOM, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the Brasilia Consensus.

“As Suriname prepares to be the chair of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM in 2027, we are also committed to further strengthening our partnership globally in different areas of shared interest.

“Our regional priorities are practical. Food and energy security, climate resilience, improved connectivity and movement of skilled people, transportation of goods and services,” she said, adding “these are essential to economic integration and our ability to withstand external shocks”.

She said that the pursuit of restorative justice gained new momentum with the adoption of the resolution on slavery and transatlantic trafficking of enslaved Africans in March this year.

“This development is relevant for Suriname and equally important for the countries of the Caribbean region. The discussion is no longer about whether slavery and colonialism have caused lasting, negative consequences.

“We know we are living with them. We must increasingly focus on how to overcome these effects and on what form reparation should take to achieve that. How countries that have benefited from slavery and colonialism will compensate for the effects.

“That is the important issue now. It is therefore that the CARICOM 10-point plan for restorative justice is now of great importance,” she told the UNGA.