By: Rodney Charles
April 14, 2026
Two important letters by the TT mission to the UN in 2013 ensured our country two most prestigious positions at the UN. These were the President of the General Assembly (PGA) in 2023 and a non-permanent seat on the Security Council (SC) in 2026.
Had these not been sent to the caucus of 33-member Group of Latin American and Caribbean Countries (GRULAC) and agreement obtained to put them in the official queue, then Dennis Francis would not have been PGA in 2023. Neither would we be discussing our almost guaranteed non-permanent seat on the SC.
Guaranteed given UN precedence especially within GRULAC which has sole authority to put forward candidates for two of the ten geographically allocated non-permanent seats on the 15-member SC.
After independence TT enjoyed its most glorious days at the UN, punching way above its weight.
TT – through an ANR Robinson initiative – birthed the International Criminal Court (ICC), was involved in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and through Lennox Ballah piloted the creation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). We were a force to be reckoned with. We stood tall.
Subsequently, TT rested on its laurels.
We had judges on the ICC, like Anthony Carmona, Geofrey Henderson (elected on the first round) and now Justice Althea Alexis-Windsor (elected after many rounds). On the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) we had as judges Lennox Ballah and on his death Justice Anthony Lucky. At present we have none on ITLOS. A measure of our retreat.
Prior to 2013, TT never even thought about candidacies for PGA or a non-permanent seat on the SC.
These are decade-long exercises. You can’t wake up and demand a seat in even five or eight years. You wait your turn.
CARICOM is entitled to the PGA every ten years. Once CARICOM nominates a candidate every ten years, all countries support the candidacy. Elections by two thirds of UN membership are mere UN formalities. Forget all old talk saying otherwise.
In 2013 Antigua and Barbuda’s ambassador was elected PGA. Ten years before in 2003 it was St Lucia’s Julian Hunte. In 1993 it was Guyana’s ambassador Samuel Insanally. All elected unopposed at ten-year intervals.
The SC has five permanent members (China, Russia, France, US and UK) and ten non-permanent seats with five elected every year to serve staggered for two years.
The Group of Latin American and Caribbean States (GRULAC), one of the five geographic regions at the UN, is allocated one seat every year.
GRULAC member states interested in being a non-permanent member must first get GRULAC agreement then join the queue. This could mean a wait of up to 14 years. Normally, no country jumps the queue. It just is not done. Normally.
In 2013 GRULAC caucus agreed that TT would be next in line for PGA. Ten years later, in 2023 TTs ambassador Dennis Francise became PGA.
In 2013 TT was also slotted in as GRULAC’s candidate for a non-permanent seat on the SC in 2026.
Both slots would have been lost had the mission not acted expeditiously in 2013. Other states were keen to fill available slots. We were told to act now or lose out.
No permission was sought from POS. That would have taken months if not years. Time was of the essence.
All TT had to do was keep quiet, wait for our turn, keep turning the diplomatic pot, and go through the formalities of being elected.
The challenge for TT today is whether, given our utterances, uncritical support for President Trump and, our reputed “bad john” diplomacy, some members of GRULAC may feel that TT cannot reflect the group’s interest on the SC.
GRULAC countries that may have concerns include Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Mexico, possibly Venezuela, and some CARICOM members.
It is very unlikely, but not inconceivable, that some GRULAC Member States may support an opposing candidate. It rests on prevailing sentiments in GRULAC, precedence, and mostly our sophistication in finessing conflicting geopolitical realities.
Can we undo the undoing?
Rodney Charles,(former UN ambassador and author of the decade-long PGA, UNSC journey)
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