This is how the UN Works

OK, I have been gone from blogging sine the 21st of March.  Way too much going on to find the time to sit and write.  Since I have been back I have been transcribing my notes and doing research.  I will now attempt to reconstruct my days and provide you with  more information.

Today was the first time that I sat in on the general discussions taking place during the 60th Conference on the Status of Women.  It is a smaller version of the General Assembly Room.

Each country represented in the room has a microphone that is turned on when it is their turn to speak.  I quickly try to locate the speaker and watch their expresssions, if I am not seated where I can actually see them, on a large screen at the front of the room. This day I heard representatives from El Salvador, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Kuwait, Curaco, Palestine, Nicaragua, Germany, and Finland.  I admit that I had to turn to Google or Wikipedia to see where Burkina Faso was located, much less recognize it as a country.  It is located in Western Africa.

At this point I am now aware that various statements have been circulated by blocks of countries, like the EU, that each block hopes will influence the final statement outcome produced at the end of the Conference.  The Episcopal Church Statement is available here (TEC)

The job of the Episcopal delegation is to compare the points made in our statement, see link above,  with the one first circulated by the UN Women for the conference.  This original document was only 4 pages long.  By the time the first draft of revisions and comments was approved on February 26th, it look like this.

To say that my jaw dropped ...  However, it was not until Lynnaia Main, our fearless leader, told us we then had to compare this revision with the TEC statement that I understand this was not just fun and games.  To point, we had to make sure that the four priorities of TEC would not be lost in the final document.

1. Enable women to access power and decision making positions
2. Foster women and girls economic empowerment and independence
3. Eradicate violence against women and girls (children)
4. Provide preferential treatment to marginalized women and girls.

To do this the delegation split into teams and coordinated the analysis of one of the four points.  We worked during our "free" times.  And, for those that could we made visits to delegations for which we had a particular interest and/or an Episcopal presence.   Here  is our letter to the US delegation.

The Statement from Tanzania  was referred to often as was Thailand, and China with G77 Group.

Is your head spinning yet?

One of the conclusions that this 60th deputation came away with is that the next group, maybe I will be so lucky, needs assistance in working through this procedure on top of visiting all the side events and sessions.  We are thinking of forming a small mentoring group that will facilitate this next spring and meeting up again in NYC.