As part of being an ERI Youth Ambassador for my school, I was incredibly privileged to visit Geneva, and both the UN and ERI Headquarters alongside 8 other students and teachers. Prior to this trip, I was not convinced of the effectiveness of the UN. Watching the news, it was easy to see the vast injustice of the world -The soldiers on the frontlines in Ukraine and the civilians behind it, the suffering of the Palestinian people, the homeless, here and abroad, abandoned and without hope. During this trip however, I was introduced to a world vastly different than the one I was aware of at home. One that was more intricate, that filled me with hope and most importantly, gave me a passion to be a part of it.
Our visits to the UN Human Rights Council, the Holy See side event, the ERI offices and the Red Cross Museum gave us a massive insight into the highest levels of advocacy and international politics. It goes without saying how rare and valuable this insight is. On our visit to the ERI offices, Br. Brian Bond showed us the various mechanisms of the UN, such as the Universal Periodic Review, and how they partake in the, often laborious, process of getting their recommendations into the review of a given country’s human rights record. Here, Br. Brian also gave us the analogy of advocacy as snowflakes on a branch -That build up, and up, until the branch breaks and change is made. A simple, but astute way of understanding their work.
We got the opportunity to spend a morning in the Red Cross Museum which is a museum that promotes an understanding of the history, current events and challenges of humanitarian aid. This museum showcases the human side of humanitarian work, with stories of survival, loss, and resilience. The exhibit fosters a sense of collective responsibility to support humanitarian work and make a positive impact on society.
We visited the UN offices, where we first viewed a side event, organised by the Holy See, on the forgiveness of debt of developing countries. The various, highly accomplished speakers, talked about the various ways this problem strongly hinders progress in developing countries, and the necessity for debt to be alleviated before any meaningful change can happen. This was eye-opening as I never understood just how much the poverty of the poorest countries is exploited for monetary gain by many, governments and corporations alike.
Perhaps most interestingly in the UN offices, I saw people that were well educated on the many injustices of the world and articulated their views on what needed to be done to eliminate these injustices. Just the day after we had visited the human rights council, Russia spoke in front of the many delegates. However, as the Russian foreign minister approached the lectern, the cameras and the eyes of everyone in the room, were not focused on him. They were instead focused on the suited diplomats, who one-by-one, stood up and walked out of the room, in solidarity with Ukraine. A few minutes later the speech concluded, and the members returned to their seats, where the meeting resumed. With this act, they showed that they saw the injustice, that they refused to stand by and that they stand with Ukraine. This is advocacy.
This trip was illuminating and foundational to my understanding of advocacy. For this and much more, and on behalf of all the students on this trip, I want to thank Mr. Cormac McCart, Br. Brian Bond and all at the ERI office in Geneva, as well as the teachers and staff that came on and organised this trip. There are no better role models for advocacy than yourselves.
Seán Mahon, Youth Ambassador, Ardscoil Rís, Limerick, Ireland.