A conventional week at the United Nations

I was supposed to go on a boat cruise-slash-wine festival on Friday night, which I felt would be the most ideal way to relax after one of the busiest weeks on my UN calendar.   However, the weather on Friday evening had other ideas and I didn't end up going to the event after all.  The torrential rain meant I couldn't get a cab to save myself, but I also didn't really fancy the idea of being out on the Hudson River in thunder and lightning (even with all that comforting wine on offer).  So my friend and I were sensible enough to cancel our plans.  Having said that of course, my cocktail dress didn't entirely go to waste, because I headed downstairs to the tapas bar next door and sampled their rose wines instead.  Winner.

For reasons unknown I actually set my alarm clock on Saturday morning and when it finally went off, my body simply refused to budge.  Believe me, it wasn't the Spanish wine's fault either - I think my system had just finally shut down after a full week of meetings, side events, and after-work receptions.

The Conference Room filled up quickly on Day 1

The seventh session of the Conference of States Parties to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is more than just a mouthful.  It's a week-long assault on your brain and your body, and it's also an excellent opportunity to hear what countries around the world are doing to support people with disabilities, and the people who love and care for them. 

Running through all 3 days of the official Conference were the national statements that each States Party to the Convention (and some NGOs) had inscribed to deliver.  These 5-minute "interventions" were an opportunity for countries and organisations to talk about the progress they had made in implementing the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.  For many countries, these national statements are also a chance to announce new initiatives (or laws or policies) that they have introduced in the past year - or even to spotlight some ideas they have in the pipeline and will put into practice shortly.  The Conference may be a talk-fest, but there is something lovely about being in the UN Conference Room with your little earshell on, listening to the interpreters translate what is being said into the 6 official languages of the United Nations.

But if you miss something that has been raised, or you want to have a printed record of somebody's remarks, the UN has introduced an online "Papersmart" portal.  Rather than printing copies of their statements and distributing them in the Conference Room on the day, countries can upload their interventions to the internet for people to download and read at their leisure.  You can actually find a link to the Conference statements here (just be sure to click on the "Statements" tab to access the material).  The Conference sessions were also webcast too, and you can watch each day's proceedings on the Webcast archive here.

Like any conference you attend anywhere, meetings at the UN can often be dry - not boring, just routine.  It's when you get to the side events and receptions that things get really interesting and creative.

On Monday evening, I went to the Danish Mission for a reception to honour their candidate for re-election to The CRPD Committee, which is a body of independent experts that monitors how States Parties have been implementing the Convention.  Many of the CRPD Committee members were in New York last week for the Committee elections.  Monday's reception was hosted by the Ambassador of Denmark, and I met the Danish delegate Mr Stig Langvad (who ended up being re-elected for a four-year term).  After that I went to the Greek Mission for a glass of wine with the International Disability Alliance to formally celebrate the end of their one-day Civil Society Forum (which Australia co-hosted with a couple of other countries).

 

Funnily enough the Danish Ambassador and I were stalking each other last week, because I saw him again on the Tuesday evening at an amazing reception hosted by New Zealand and the International Disability Alliance in honor of Mr Lenin Moreno, the former Vice-President of Ecuador, who was recently appointed by the UN Secretary General to be his Special Envoy on Disability and Accessibility.  Aside from learning that Mr Moreno has a cheeky sense of humour and a great rapport with members of the UN community, I also learned that my colleagues at the New Zealand Mission (Ambassador McLay included) have great singing voices - as evidenced by the traditional Maori welcoming song they sang to all of us.

From L-R: The Ambassadors of Kenya, Bangladesh,
Bulgaria, and Israel, and the Deputy Ambassador of El Salvador

On Wednesday evening, Ambassador Momen from Bangladesh put us all to shame by hosting a reception in his spacious Conference Room and laying out an amazing buffet of tasty treats from Bangladesh, Kenya, El Salvador, Israel, and Bulgaria.  The respective Ambassadors were all in attendance in their capacities as Presidents (and Vice Presidents) of the Bureau that effectively organised last week's Conference.  More food, more wine.

By the time Thursday evening rolled around, our energy levels were getting low, but we pushed on to a reception hosted by Mr Anthony Lake, Executive Director of UNICEF.  The event talked about the rights of children to play, and obviously had a particular focus on making sure kids with disabilities had the opportunity to come off the sidelines and get amongst the action.  The reception coincided with the start of the World Cup, and it was great to have the Special Olympics involved, advocating the participation of all children in physical activities, regardless of their abilities.  UNICEF had also set up an indoor soccer goal, and there were heaps of young people having a go at that too.

While the Conference of States Parties is a really busy week, it's also a very important one that gives me a greater appreciation of the unique challenges facing persons with disabilities.  I like that the Conference is truly international in nature, bringing delegates in from all corners of the globe.  But I'm also grateful that the Conference material encourages us to look at issues facing people of all ages with disabilities - from kids and young people, all the way through to the elderly.  There are lots of ideas floating around, and lots of really inspiring people to learn from.  But with so much on the program, during work hours and beyond, you've just got to remember to take your vitamins, and grab naps were you can!

I've only posted a couple of photos here - you can check out the rest at the link.