The United Nations was born out of crisis. Today, it continues to serve in a world shaken by wars, forced displacement, climate emergencies, and violations of human dignity. As the High Commissioner reminded the Human Rights Council recently, “human rights – all human rights -are the solid foundations of flourishing societies,” even as “the long-established rules of war are being shredded.”

For colleagues across the UN system, these realities are lived every day, in humanitarian work, rights monitoring, and at negotiating tables where fragile compromises carry many lives.

In such times, resilience is often demanded. Yet resilience cannot simply be commanded, nor can it be left to individuals alone. Structural alignment, safe working conditions, and organizational support are essential. Alongside this, many have found that in moments of overwhelm, there is value in seeking within: pausing, returning to body, breath, and practices of stillness cultivated across centuries. These practices are not solutions, but they remind us every thought, gesture, and moment of presence matters. If wars can begin in the human mind, then the seeds of peace and compassion can begin there too. Nurturing awareness at the root is part of the work.

Practices across time and cultures 

Mindfulness, as a research-based practice, has become a familiar entry point, supported by science and widely taught around the world. Yet it is only one expression of a much wider field. 

Across cultures, people have turned inward through prayer, ritual, meditation, and chanting. This helps us to cultivate awareness, compassion, and connection with what matters most.

Though the languages and forms differ, the insight is the same: seeking within can create space for clarity and compassion. These practices (sometimes called heartfulness) are rooted in kindness toward ourselves and others, not a replacement for systemic change or collective action. They are one way of nurturing the inner conditions that support how we show up for others.

Mindful human rights

The United Nations has begun recognizing contemplative practices not as peripheral, but as resources that can sustain staff in their work.

The General Assembly affirmed this wider recognition in December 2023, when it proclaimed 21 December as World Meditation Day (A/RES/79/137). The resolution was deliberately inclusive, broad enough to embrace the diversity of contemplative traditions, while affirming the universal value of turning inward.

In 2021, the OHCHR Mindfulness Initiative was born, launching a pioneering programme within the United Nations. What began as small online gatherings during the pandemic now connects staff across duty stations, offering training in mindfulness, resilience, and stress management.

The initiative emphasizes prevention: supporting colleagues early, strengthening well-being, and fostering conditions that help people flourish and sustain contributions over time. In doing so, it aligns with the UN System Mental Health and Well-Being Strategy for 2024 and beyond, launched by the Secretary-General and endorsed across the UN system. 

The strategy recognizes that safe and healthy working environments are essential to mental well-being, and commits to preventing risks, promoting well-being at work, and ensuring support is available when needed.

Looking ahead, the OHCHR Mindfulness Initiative will continue developing targeted programs for UN staff and for the communities and partners we serve, contributing to a mindful organizational culture that supports presence, dignity, and care across the system.

Presence and compassion as diplomacy 

Contemplative practices seem solitary, yet their effects can be profoundly collective. To pause together, to listen deeply, to hold opposing views with patience – these are not only inner skills but also forms of diplomacy.

Compassion is the capacity to face suffering without turning away, in colleagues, communities, or ourselves, to respond with humanity in difficult situations. It also involves self-compassion, acknowledging our own limits with care, so that we can remain present and engaged. As Zen teacher Suzuki described, compassion is “two, not one”: it arises from recognizing that self and other are not separate but deeply interconnected – a perspective that can guide how we support one another in our work.

A recent online dialogue between Jon Kabat-Zinn – pioneer in bringing mindfulness into medicine and public life – and UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk underscored the connection between cultivating compassion and improved work. As the High Commissioner reflected, in tense negotiations “it is so important to retain this central core… an anchoring point of view that makes us much more present in the moment.” Presence and compassion are not optional. They are essential conditions for dialogue, Turk said.

Looking ahead

United and Present is also part of the Human Rights Day celebrations, under the theme “Human Rights: Our Everyday Essentials.” The campaign emphasizes that human rights are positive, essential, and actionable. The right to health encompasses mental health, and by practicing mindfulness and fostering inclusive workspaces, we actively advocate for this fundamental right.

Anchored in the UN System Mental Health and Well-Being Strategy, the UN Human Rights Mindfulness Initiative, and the landmark UN resolution on World Meditation Day, the event will explore how contemplative practices can strengthen diplomacy, human rights, and systems leadership. It will also coincide with the opening of a Meditation Room at the Palais des Nations – an inclusive space, like the “Room of Quiet” in New York, for all traditions and none.

Why it matters

Humanitarian and human rights work requires not only technical expertise but also human depth. Without organizational support and spaces for renewal, exhaustion and disconnection can erode both individuals and institutions.

Contemplative practices – whether mindfulness, prayer, silence, or ritual – may help with stress and resilience, but they also go further. They are ways of reconnecting with what is most human in us: presence, compassion, and a sense of belonging.

As one colleague described: “In the middle of constant urgency, even two minutes of silence changed the tone of the room. We could breathe again.”

Dag Hammarskjöld, at the Quiet Room inauguration in New York, wrote: “We all have within us a center of stillness surrounded by silence… The stone in the room reminds us of the firm and permanent in a world of movement and change. Of iron man forged swords; of iron he also made ploughshares… How are we to use it?”

A grounded path forward 

On 21 December 2025, the UN community will mark World Meditation Day. However it is observed, in silence, in ritual, or in one mindful breath – it is a reminder that our well-being is not separate from our work.

By turning inward with awareness, we create the conditions for compassionate solutions to take root. These need to be solutions that can meet our shared challenges with greater humanity.