Protocol dictates how an ambassador begins and ends a tour of duty.
The presentation of credentials and the paying of courtesy calls on key public figures are at the top of the agenda at the outset. And when time comes to leave a posting, the ambassador is expected to bid a formal goodbye to high-ranking diplomatic colleagues and that’s often done over lunch, dinner or at a reception and with the presentation of gifts.
The departure of Joseph Goddard, Barbados’ Permanent Representative to the United Nations for the past four years wasn’t any different. The traditions of protocol were followed as the Ambassador gets ready to return home, presumably to private life from whence he came.
To use the language of diplomacy, Goddard, a former general secretary of the National Union of Public Workers, was “recalled” by the Freundel Stuart, when his contract as Ambassador wasn’t renewed. Actually, the former trade unionist was asked to stay on for a few months to lead the delegation to the General Assembly, whose sessions have now been adjourned until next year.
On a recent weekday evening Goddard took his leave of a small number of ambassadors, about a dozen or so of the more than 190-plus Permanent Representatives accredited to the UN and the farewell speeches followed a particular pattern, albeit somewhat subdued.
Juliette Babb-Riley, the Deputy Permanent Representative, was the chair of the reception and Dr Donna Hunte-Cox, Barbados’ Consul-General in New York, addressed the gathering, describing the Ambassador as a colleague who routinely extended a helping hand to others.
There were words of praise as some UN diplomats recalled Goddard’s cooperation and eagerness to outline the case for small island developing states, while others spoke about his trade union background and how it was clear his heart was in labour issues.
Lois Young, Belize’s Permanent Representative seemingly went out of her way to paint a picture of Barbados as a peaceful developing country, a “beacon of peace in a region of peace”.
George W. Talbot, Guyana’s Permanent Representative to the UN, on the other hand, focused attention on Goddard’s experience as a labour leader in Barbados and a diplomatic colleague who knew how to cooperate so that the representatives of foreign governments could get things done.
He paid tribute to Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and his own birthplace, Guyana, whose efforts beginning in the 1970s laid the diplomatic foundation for the recent historic and ground-breaking move by President Barack Obama, who announced that his administration and the Cuban government had decided to normalise their relations after more than a half-century of Cold War isolation.
But of the speakers, the one who injected moments of levity on serious matters was Collin Beck, Solomon Islands’ Ambassador.
“There is this ‘one love’ group of ambassadors (from the Caribbean and the Commonwealth) who come together, often over rum, rum from the entire Caribbean region and we celebrate life. We talk about cooperation and you know we solve so much problems and we get those who need to be elected” and much of the success occurred over some Bajan rum,” said Beck.
He said the Barbados envoy had always stood up for the small island states at the UN and he referred to the Barbados Programme of Action which was approved in the 1990s in Bridgetown to give visibility and assistance to the small island states.
When time came for Goddard to respond he said his tour of duty had forced him to change his attitude towards governance in the Caribbean. Before he assumed duties at the UN, he was convinced the English-speaking region was “over-governed” with 15 prime ministers and governors-general in a small area. But with the UN serving as the “epi-centre of multilateral diplomacy”, he has changed his mind.
As he was getting ready to leave he was convinced that the huge expense countries incur in maintaining missions at the UN was worth it after all.
Among the many recommendations he plans to forward to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bridgetown is one that suggests the appointment of more staff at the mission to the UN. Another would be that when his successor was chosen he or she should assume duties several months before the next General Assembly begins in September. That would provide the next ambassador “an opportunity to get the lay of the land”.
