The Saudis and French Revive the Two-State Solution: A Video With Guyana’s Envoy

As Israel’s war on Gaza intensifies, Guyana’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, reaffirmed the need for a two-state solution as the only lasting path to end the conflict.

“I know that there are many who seem to think that the two-state solution is fading, but this is not what Guyana believes, and this is not what the majority of the United Nations member states believe,” she told PassBlue in an exclusive interview. “We cannot give up on the two-state solution. We strongly believe that without the two-state solution, the cycle of violence will continue.” (A Saudi-French led conference on the two-state solution is scheduled to be held at the UN June 17-20, with the high-level day slated for June 18. President Emmanuel Macron of France is expected to take part in person.)

In the interview, Rodrigues-Birkett also painted a picture of what moral leadership from a small state like Guyana can look like: Championing humanitarian access to Gaza, spotlighting the role of development in global security and calling for deep reforms across the UN system.

In this video edition of our monthly Security Council column, the ambassador also talks about whether she entertains the possibility of being the next UN secretary-general and how Guyana is managing its territorial dispute with Venezuela – and perhaps enlisting the United States for help.