Antigua and Barbuda Elected to United Nations Joint Inspection Unit
Antigua and Barbuda’s candidate, Ambassador H.E. Ambassador Conrod Hunte, has been elected by overwhelming support from the United Nations Member States to serve on the United Nations Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) for 2023 2027.
The election took place at UN Headquarters in New York on 11 November 2021, during the ongoing (76th) Seventy-sixth General Assembly Session. Antigua and Barbuda presented Ambassador Hunte’s candidature under one seat allocated to the Group of Latin America and Caribbean States (GRULAC). The election resulted in Antigua and Barbuda receiving 138 votes and the other candidate 45.
This is the first time Antigua and Barbuda will serve on this prestigious Committee and is the second-highest position within the United Nations systems held by a citizen of Antigua and Barbuda. The Joint Inspection Unit is based in Geneva and is the only independent external oversight body of the United Nations system mandated to conduct evaluations, inspections and investigations system-wide. Its mandate is to look at cross-cutting issues and act as an agent for change across the United Nations system. JIU works to secure management and administrative efficiency and promote greater coordination between UN agencies and other internal and external oversight bodies.
The successful election of Ambassador Hunte results from the leading role Antigua and Barbuda continues to play at the United Nations and the work and recognition of the outstanding diplomats that represent Antigua and Barbuda at the United Nations.
Ambassador Hunte has over 30 years of experience in diplomacy, international affairs, renewable energy, UN oversight and management. Ambassador Hunte is also Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and is serving his last year as a member of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) of the United Nations, a seat that Antigua and Barbuda occupy on behalf of CARICOM.
