INSIDE VIEW
It must be understood that disciplinary matters for the United Nations, whilst having some similarities with discipline within national civil services, differ in respect of the inclusion of matters which may be regarded as criminal within a Member State and would be...
I am conducting single-subject research. Historically, examples of self-experimentation occur more often than one realizes. I note, however, that self-experimentation is also a common trait of comic book mad scientists. That is perhaps the subject of another article....
I had not planned to follow in James Baldwin’s footsteps over Easter. Neither had I planned to follow Teju Cole’s or Nativ’s path. But here I was walking amongst the weathered but resilient traditional houses of this spa village of Leukerbad in Switzerland looking for...
Tell us about yourself My UN career journey has seen me travel from freelance status based in Rome, working mostly for the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and for European institutions in Brussels, through to appointment as a staff interpreter at United...
I thought I had always understood inequity. After all, I am an African-American woman raised in the United States. Racial slurs were hurled at me as early as age five, both by white children and other African-Americans. Their unwanted comments about my hair, skin and...
One aspect of professional development is ‘continuous learning’. Many corporate entities see this as a great way of increasing their value proposition by encouraging their employees to pay attention to it. Beyond just encouraging people to undertake it, some corporate...
2020 saw an unprecedented pandemic and global outcry for racial equality. It reminded us of the health inequalities worldwide, that racial injustice is still quite prevalent in society, and that there remains much collective work to do to advance global racial equity...
"Now is the time to choose the rocky road instead of the paved path. You may have to move many obstacles on your journey to success, but when you arrive you will be much stronger for the effort.” Ban Ki-moon My human rights journey began years before I had the words...
En sanglots, la tête posée sur mon bureau installé sous une tente en plein désert, un demandeur d’asile me raconte avoir perdu toute sa famille pendant la guerre civile qui a ravagé son pays. Joseph a été tellement traumatisé par les violences qu’il a subies durant la...
INSIDE VIEW
Daniel Johnson and Solange Behoteguy-Cortes, Producer and Commentator of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, are the team behind a successful series that has now reached its 50th podcast. How did you come up with the concept for this podcast? Daniel:...
The UN Secretariat, which has been operating now for more than 76 years, employs a large workforce scattered across the globe. Its headquarters is based in New York City and several “offices away from Headquarters (OAH’s) located in Geneva, Vienna, Bangkok, Santiago...
The political scientist Thomas Weiss critically asked in his 2018 book: “Would the world be better without the UN?” While the attempt at posing a counterfactual question looks good, in reality it does not really matter how one would answer the question. The truth is...
Joining the United Nations as a staff member is certainly not the easiest task. It requires (endless) patience and resolve, often leads to frustration, confrontation with very personal and disruptive obstacles, or simply inner resignation. Those who do manage to get a...
In our first article published on 9 November 2021, we relied on our own experiences to raise awareness about the insufficient maternity and paternity leave offered by the UN. We also highlighted the fact that the education grant only applies from the start of primary...
The blue light shines, notifications buzz and emails come in at night because of the time difference. Most of them, like me, need to live with parents to save on rent. They can only engage with UN staff digitally, and they often get long tasks: excel sheets that need...
Passionné, M. Yao Ydo sait captiver son auditoire lorsqu’il parle de l’importance d’une éducation adaptée au contexte local. Fort de plus de deux décennies d’expérience au sein de l’Organisation des Nations Unies pour l’éducation, la science et la culture (UNESCO), et...
“Be the change you want to see” is the call to action from the recently appointed Working Group* on Addressing Racism in the Workplace, tasked with supporting the Director-General of UN Geneva, Tatiana Valovaya, to develop a clear response to racial discrimination. ...
The United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Glasgow (commonly known as COP 26) concluded on 12 November 2021, with the successful adoption of the Glasgow Climate Pact. This was my ninth COP since I joined the United Nations Office at Geneva in 2012. As always,...
Economist, former Vice-President of Costa Rica (1994–1998), Minister of Housing, Minister Coordinator of Economic and Social Affairs, and Deputy Finance Minister. At the United Nations Development Programme, Under-Secretary-General and Associate Administrator, former...
