President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali has called for comprehensive reform of the United Nations Security Council, arguing that its current structure does not adequately reflect the geopolitical realities of the 21st century.
Addressing the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Thursday, President Ali said Africa, as well as Latin America and the Caribbean, should have permanent representation on the Security Council.
“We need a Security Council that reflects the geopolitical realities of the twenty-first century, not the power structures of 1945,” President Ali told world leaders.
Guyana’s call comes after the country completed a two-year term as a non-permanent member of the Security Council in 2025, giving it direct experience of the Council’s workings.
President Ali linked Security Council reform to what he described as a broader need to restore confidence in multilateralism. He pointed to ongoing conflicts, climate change, inequality and weakening international cooperation as major challenges facing the global community.
“The United Nations must not be a monument to the past; it must become an instrument for the future,” he said.
The Guyanese President also called for a more transparent, accountable and responsive United Nations, while advocating for a stronger General Assembly and greater recognition of its representative and deliberative role.
He said reform must extend across the UN system to ensure that its institutions are better equipped to respond to the changing international environment.
“This is not the hour to retreat from multilateralism. This is the hour to reclaim and to renew it,” President Ali said.
The President also connected the need for institutional reform with the ongoing selection process for the next UN Secretary-General. Guyana has formally nominated its Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, for the position, with her nomination submitted to the UN in June 2026.
President Ali has separately urged UN member states to support Rodrigues-Birkett’s candidacy, presenting her leadership as part of the broader discussion about strengthening and modernising the organisation.
The 81st UN General Assembly is being held under the theme “Restoring trust, managing transformation: A United Nations that delivers for all.”