Civil Society Dialogue with Guyana, President of the UN Security Council for February 2024
On February 5th, 2024, the World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA) organized the fifty third instalment in a series of monthly dialogues between the President of the UN Security Council and Civil Society organizations. The Dialogue was held in-person at United Nations Headquarters and broadcast live on UN Web TV for wider accessibility.
The dialogue featured H.E. Mrs. Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett , Permanent Representative of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana to the UN. WFUNA’s Secretary General, Mr. Aziel Goulandris, moderated the briefing. The event was broadcasted live on UN Web TV and promoted on social media with the hashtag #MeetUNSCPres to allow for a participation from a global audience and wider stakeholder engagement.
Ambassador Rodrigues-Birkett shared the Council’s programme of work for the month of February. She spoke about meetings scheduled for the month, such as a signature meeting to analyse the dynamics between climate change and food insecurity, as well as Guyana’s intent to adopt a consensus building approach with other council members. The Ambassador expressed February will be a busy month with many important matters demanding the Council’s attention.
The floor was then opened for questions from representatives of civil society organizations, inquiring on the optimism of the council in reaching an agreement regarding the situation in Gaza, how Guyana intends to prioritize a child focused approach during their presidency, as well as how the council can accelerate movement and action towards to preventing escalation of current conflict situations. In her commentary, the Ambassador expressed her continued advocacy for priority to be given to children in armed conflict. In addition, Ambassador Rodrigues-Birkett emphasized that Guyana sees the clear link between the impacts of climate change and climate, stating that when people are displaced due to climate change, it can be a source of conflict.
In case you missed it, you can watch the full debate here.
WFUNA will continue hosting monthly briefing with subsequent Presidents of the United Nations Security Council, Stay tuned for more information on the next CSO Dialogue!