Blog - Soroptimist International

News from the 88th Session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child

Berthe De Vos, SI UN Representative in Geneva, reports from the 88th Session of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC). "Previously, at the 81st Session, the CRC agreed to hold a 'Day of General Discussion' (DGD) every two years, on a specific topic or a set of

What does the future hold for the United Nations?

SI Advisor to Advocacy, Pat Black, explains the key points of the United Nations Secretary-General's recent report, which is set to be a key topic of discussion at this year's United Nations General Assembly (14-30 September). "The United Nations (UN) celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2020 by opening up a

Youth Engagement at the UNESCO NGO Liaison Committee

Blog by Ayushi Kundu, Soroptimist International (SI) President’s Appeal Coordinator, 2019-2021 and President-Elect and Friendship Link Chair of SI Calcutta, 2021-2022. "Being a Soroptimist means waking up each day to new opportunities knocking at your door. Such an occasion arose for me a couple of months ago, when SI Advocacy

31st special session of the Human Rights Council on the serious human rights concerns and situation in Afghanistan

Berthe De Vos-Neven, Soroptimist International United Nations Representative, Geneva reports on the 31st special session of the Human Rights Council (HRC) on the serious human rights concerns and situation in Afghanistan held 24 August 2021. The HRC held a special session on 24 August to Address the Serious Human Rights

Accelerating Progress on SDG 4 in a Post COVID-19 World

Blog by Evelyne Para, SI UN Representative at The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). On 13 July, the UNESCO Global Education Meeting (GEM 2021) was held, with a ministerial segment on the sidelines of the High Level Political Forum for Sustainable Development. Entitled From Recovery to Accelerating

The World in 2030: Results of the UNESCO Survey

Blog by Evelyne Para, SI United Nations Representative at UNESCO. The results of the survey entitled "The World in 2030", launched last year by the UNESCO, have fed the thinking of Non-Governmental Organisations since 2021 with one aim - that the programmes implemented meet the real needs of citizens around

Are We Really ‘Leaving No-one Behind’?

Blog by Pat Black, SI Special Advisor to Advocacy. When the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were agreed at the United Nations (UN), there was an almost euphoric atmosphere in the UN General Assembly. Many promises were made to achieve a transformation for the peoples of the world by 2030 and

Human Trafficking Victims to Survivors to Overcomers – Soroptimists Support Their Voices

Blog by Dawn Marie Lemonds, past SI Board Member and SIA President 2017-2018. Each year, the World Day Against in Trafficking in Persons happens on the 30 July. The United Nations have announced the theme of this year's World Day Against Trafficking in Persons: Victim’s Voices Lead the Way. “This

HLPF Ministerial Declaration: Member States Struggle to Agree on Actions to Achieve the 2030 Agenda

Blog by Francesca Fletcher Williams, SI Global Policy Coordinator. To close the annual United Nations (UN) High-level Political Forum (HLPF), a Ministerial Declaration is negotiated and agreed. This Ministerial Declaration is meant to assess progress on, and challenges to, achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as well as highlight concrete

The Pre-Summit of the United Nations Food Systems Summit

Blog by Liliana Mosca, SI United Nations Representative in Rome. The United Nations and the Italian Government organised a pre-Summit on food systems under the leadership of the Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres and the Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi. The event will take place in Rome from