President Trump’s call for UN reforms might find favour among CARICOM Heads

Georgetown, Guyana – (September 18, 2017) President David Granger said that while Heads of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) will have to deliberate on the reforms for the United Nations (UN) that were proposed by United States President, Mr. Donald Trump, he is confident that the call for such reforms for this 72-year old body might garner support among Caribbean States.

Speaking during an interview in New York today, the Head of State said, “Guyana is a member of the Caribbean Community and we would like to ensure that any initiative that we take enjoys the support of our Caribbean colleagues… I would prefer to wait until the Member States of the Caribbean Community come up with a single collective position before I make my announcement, but I feel that there is going to be a wide measure of agreement among Caribbean States about the reform of the United Nations.”

During his debut UN address, President Trump called on the UN Secretary General, Mr. Antonio Guterres to take steps to remove bureaucracy and introduce reforms to what he referred to as an “outdated” UN system.

Having recognised the importance of the UN as the principal international organisation for the maintenance of international peace and security, President Granger noted that he would like to see better governance as it relates to the UN system.

“Our being here is a demonstration of our faith in the United Nations…We feel that our participation in United Nations initiatives is important to the protection of people; the reduction of poverty and to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals [SDGs]. And, as far as peace is concerned, again the United Nations is critical,” the Guyanese Head of State said.