Sabine Kinzer was recently appointed as a UN Representative in Geneva – one of a team of three Soroptimist volunteers who monitor developments and represent SI at the UN Centre, which is home to many UN agencies including the Human Rights Council, UN Refugee Agency, the World Health Organisation, UNAIDS, the International Labour Organisation and UNICEF. Sabine has been an active member of SI Nyon, near Geneva, for over 20 years. In this post, she writes about her first impressions of being a UN Rep.

Last week, I received an e-mail from Anna McCormick at SIHQ, asking me to write a blog about my initial experience at the UN in

Geneva.  It is good  to be able to share the excitement of diving into a new world:  the United Nations Organization – a world of its own – that seems to even have its own language – with all those abbreviations!

Two months ago, in February – with my newly acquired badge I entered into the huge UN building with its many doors, many rooms, all of them numbered, corridors, stairways, 14 or more Xerox machines standing on a platform waiting to be repaired, elevators, corners and more corridors…..and, of course,  many busy people going from one destination to another. 

Me voilà, Soroptimist representative designate in

Geneva, trying to find my way to the information desk to check the list of scheduled programs for the day. Everybody goes there to get information, because meetings are not necessarily planned long in advance. From there, on the same level, just a couple of steps away, is an unattended desk with hundreds and hundreds of copies of information that NGO’s have left for people to pick up and read. Amazingly impressive to see all this information that changes often daily, but quite honestly, too much paper for the 21st century….

My first attendance was a round table session of the NGO Committee on the Status of Women (CSW) working on the CSW57 draft outcome documents, before the 57th session of the Commission on the Status of women meeting in

New York. Wilfrida Hendrickx,  SI’s Lead UN Rep in

Geneva, was right at my side to offer me guidance.

In the meantime I was able to participate in more working sessions and panel discussions, such as the working group on Human Rights Education and Learning (WGHREL), all pertaining to topics that are close to every Soroptimist’s heart, and all women! 

How can I describe the good vibrations felt, to be sitting around the table with women (and sometimes also some men), all committed to the same cause?  All investing time and thought and so much commitment! Much knowledge,  much enthusiasm!  It feels a bit like working together with members on a project on Soroptimist Club level.

I am focussing on developing my understanding of how it all fits together, and I find it complex.  In order to make presentations and to write reports, it is necessary to understand the interaction and how it is all connected. It is a challenge and I am looking forward to continue learning and to working with women preparing the ground for positive change so as to make SI still more visible and to continue to promote its status.

As a Club member,  I was not aware of how much our voice counts at the UN, my suggestion is that Club members should regularly be informed as to what is going on, and how much positive input is being created at the UN level. 

Building processes takes time – and the process of growth takes time.  On Club level maybe not all members understand how important it is to follow diligently SI guidelines in order to strengthen our position with the UN.  With continued patience and commitment and continued work we will push forward to reach the SI goals.  Patience has, and will pay off – the success of the outcome of the 57th session of the CSW meeting shows it!    By adopting this document it is now obvious that discrimination and violence against women and girls have no place in this world!  

Read more about Soroptimist International’s representatives at the UN

Images:

Top – a lunchtime meeting of NGO CSW in Geneva – Sabine is one of the three ladies in light green, sitting on the right!

Bottom: UN at Geneva, image by Cayla, https://commons.wikimedia.org/