Blog - Soroptimist International

Overview of the 88th Session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child

Blog by Berthe De Vos-Neven and Donatella Benjamin, SI United Nations Representatives in Geneva. In September 2021, the 88th Session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) started with limited public access and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) were kindly asked to follow the virtual version. For the first

The 15th Session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

Blog by Berthe De Vos-Neven, SI United Nations Representative, Geneva. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) was created in 1964 as a permanent body, has 195 states members and is based in Geneva. It is a United Nations body with the aim of promoting trade, investment, and

UNESCO: Partnership with NGOs

A blog by Marie-Christine GRIES, UN- SI representative UNESCO Session 212 of the Non-Governmental Partners Committee 8 October 2021 The NGP Committee of UNESCO is the body of the Executive Board, made up of representatives of the States, in charge of the organisation of the relations with the representatives of

Education in a digital world

Blog by Evelyne Para, SI UN Representative at UNESCO. "Earlier this month, International Literacy Day 2021 was celebrated by UNESCO under the theme 'Literacy for a human-centered recovery: Narrowing the digital divide'. A year and a half after the start of COVID-19 pandemic, with nearly half of the world's students

Tracking progress on food and agriculture-related SDG indicators 2021

Liliana Mosca, SI United Nations (UN) Representative, Rome, discusses the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) report on the indicators under FAO custodianship (1, 2,5,6,10,12,14,15) The UN Secretary-General convened a UN Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) as part of the Decade of Action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030,

International Day of Older Persons 2021

Blog by Frances Zainoeddin, SI UN Representative, New York International Day of Older Persons, observed around the world on 1 October, is usually a time to celebrate older persons, their contributions to their families, their communities and to the national economy. While many older persons lead healthy active lives, have

News from the 88th Session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child

Berthe De Vos, SI UN Representative in Geneva, reports from the 88th Session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC). "Previously, at the 81st Session, the CRC agreed to hold a 'Day of General Discussion' (DGD) every two years, on a specific topic or a set of

What does the future hold for the United Nations?

SI Advisor to Advocacy, Pat Black, explains the key points of the United Nations Secretary-General's recent report, which is set to be a key topic of discussion at this year's United Nations General Assembly (14-30 September). "The United Nations (UN) celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2020 by opening up a

Youth Engagement at the UNESCO NGO Liaison Committee

Blog by Ayushi Kundu, Soroptimist International (SI) President’s Appeal Coordinator, 2019-2021 and President-Elect and Friendship Link Chair of SI Calcutta, 2021-2022. "Being a Soroptimist means waking up each day to new opportunities knocking at your door. Such an occasion arose for me a couple of months ago, when SI Advocacy

31st special session of the Human Rights Council on the serious human rights concerns and situation in Afghanistan

Berthe De Vos-Neven, Soroptimist International United Nations Representative, Geneva reports on the 31st special session of the Human Rights Council (HRC) on the serious human rights concerns and situation in Afghanistan held 24 August 2021. The HRC held a special session on 24 August to Address the Serious Human Rights