MADRID, Spain.
Through the Teresian Association, InteRed participated in meetings of the United Nations (UN) in March. Aitziber Barrueta Atxutegi and Encina Villanueva Lorenzana describe significant aspects of the experience.
Strengthen presence to support the rights of the excluded
The Intercontinental Forum on "International Organizations: Opportunities and Challenges for the Teresian Association," organized by the General Secretariat and the Council of Culture, which was held from August 28- 30, 2013 in Madrid, was an important opportunity to review and plan the role of the Association in international organizations. In the words of Maite Uribe at the opening act, “supporting the UN ‘s task becomes more urgent and clear from the perspective of a preferential option for the dignity and rights of the excluded, the weak, and marginalized; and from our call for new forms of articulation between us and other organizations, strengthening networking and promoting our international character."
Several people from NGO InteRed participated in the Forum, given the connection between our work and the issues discussed at the United Nations as well as our past experience participating in some events organized by the UN. The Governing Council offered InteRed a permanent accreditation the Association has at the Human Rights Council in Geneva, and Aitziber Barrueta assumed this.
In March this commitment was made tangible through our participation in two events organized by the UN Commission: the 58th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in New York and the 25th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Thanks to the temporary accreditation the TA (Teresian Association) gave us, InteRed could participate in the CSW that took place from March 10-21, along with Patricia Stockton, representative of the delegation of the TA at the UN headquarters in New York. The purpose of this meeting, which is held every year since 1947, was to review the situation of the rights of women in the world. At that time it was to assess the achievements and setbacks of the Millennium Development Goals relating to women and girls and start delineating the outline of the new post-2015 global agenda. There we exchanged experiences for several days when we followed the official negotiations on the final conclusions of the meeting and at the side events related to education, violence against women, care and human trafficking.
Also, on March 17-18, Berta Marco, Matet Gayondato, and Aitziber Barrueta participated in activities off the 25th Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva. (See new accreditations at the UN, Geneva).
Certainly, participation at the United Nations is a great opportunity to be present in spaces and global spheres where new ways are opened to engage with others in promoting the development of the dignity and the development of peoples. It is a space of great wealth at all levels of knowledge, culture, religion, and worldview; it is a space for dialogue, listening and meeting in which the various organizations from around the world work on universal rights. It is a great boost to the work of the TA in different areas since it allows us to learn, share ideas, and coordinate tasks with those who share the same or similar goals. It is also a challenge to transmit and make present the wealth that, from the TA and our experience, we can bring to this international mission that goes beyond our borders.
When we returned to Madrid and we shared our experience, we felt that after participating in these events, after having become even more aware of the different types of human rights violations, after meeting people and organizations deeply committed to the defense of human rights, we could not help but wonder ... can we just continue our lives as if we had not lived all this? Obviously, the answer is no. This experience and those to come are more than a boost to feel part of a global community, to think about different ways to place ourselves so that we may be able to respond to future challenges.
Aitziber Barrueta Atxutegi and Encina Villanueva Lorenzana, InteRed