INTRODUCTION
On Friday Feb. 22, I had the immense pleasure of attending the United Nations Association 2019 Global Engagement Summit. The Summit is a yearly amalgamation of the intergovernmental organization’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals and the potential plans of action countries and citizens can take to achieve them by the year 2030.
Approximately 1,900 attendees- about 500 more than last year- represented 45 states and 19 college campuses from the United States, according to Kathy Calvin, the President and CEO of the United Nations Foundation. The preamble to the event had students and nationals of various ages and nations mingling and timidly previewing issues to be discussed throughout the day.
The Summit was broken into sessions. The Opening Plenary housed all attendees, but then split into “breakout sessions” in which junior ambassadors could choose between two topics- Issue Tracks and Action Tracks- and participate in the sessions they were more interested in.
OPENING PLENARY
The start of the Opening Plenary at 9 a.m. saw something akin to the public reaction to papal travel as His Excellency Mr. António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General, entered the General Assembly Hall. Admittedly, I thought he would be distant, reserved, and ill-fitting in manner for the institution as people in power usually are, but I was shocked to see him enter the crowd as though he were one of us.
Guterres laughed and took genuine interest in everyone that he passed, pausing to shake every outreached hand and pose for every selfie in which he could fit in the frame. He weaved through every aisle of the floor before making his way back to the podium. Someone shouted that everyone adored him, to which he humbly responded, “I adore everyone.”
His speech was one of union and fellowship, a call to action as the clock ticks on the goals for 2030. “No single country can solve this alone,” he said. “But we are fragmented by politics and by our differences.” He mentioned that the world is at a “trust deficit” and that, if nations could postpone what they wanted individually, they could achieve greater, more toughly-acquired goals.
Guterres addressed issues such as claims of the United States being too involved in other nations’ business and how the United Nations needs to overcome the overwhelming backlash it receives from isolationists. “You are all ambassadors of understanding and cooperation,” he told us, “And I have so much hope for the future looking on this full room.”
Following His Excellency were speeches by: Peter Yeo, president of the Better World Campaign and vice president of the United Nations Foundation, Democratic Congressman Eliot Engel from New York’s Sixteenth District, Ambassador Jonathon R. Cohen, Acting Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations, and Don Lewis, president of professional hygiene for Essity.
Yeo continued on the themes of Guterres’ speech, mentioning that any of the General Assembly nations can veto a decision made for the world. “Russia vetoes all pushes to end war in Syria,” he said. He went on to explain different conflicts in the Middle East and how a lack of cooperation between member-nations causes the perpetuation of violence in the region. “The more time we spend in Israel {and Yemen}… we take away from other nations which also need our help,” he added. Lewis finalized the Opening Plenary with food for thought: “We must recognize privilege and use it to take each other by the hand and pull one another up.”
BREAKOUT SESSION I
ACTION TRACK: #LEAVENOGIRLBEHIND: CHANGING THE WORLD TO EMPOWER GIRLS
Four women sat in the Fourth Conference Room of the United Nations. Less impressive than the General Assembly Hall, but not at all unimpressive, the large conference room felt a lot more intimate. Independent Consultant Corinne Whitaker of the Gender/Rights/Agency/Power Division of UNA-USA for Southern New York moderated the discussion. Panelists included Director Julie Willig of Programs & Impact and Girl Up, Sujata Bordoloi, the coordinator of the UN Girls Education Initiative, and Silvia Gaya, the senior advisor for water and environment for UNICEF.
In the past few years, the UN has been able to obtain much more research on the topic. “The first part of solving the problem is knowing there is one, and if there’s no research, there’s no way to plan for a solution,” said Bordoloi.
According to the panel, 130 million girls under the age of 18 are not in school. Reasons for dropping out or never attending include violence against women, evidenced by transformers like Malala Yousafzai, forced marriage, and the idea that sending them to school would produce no results.
Willig said, “Women and girls across the globe spend 200 million hours collecting clean water.” Taking care of mothers is essential to successful youth. When women cannot find clean water or sufficient food, they starve and cannot provide for their children. When the children starve, the basis for their hierarchy of needs is not met, and they cannot focus on higher functions or greater goals, such as education.
In developing nations, girls are often not given access to toilets in schools, if they’re allowed at all. Oftentimes, young girls are valued less than their brothers and male counterparts because they will either grow up and cost the family money for a dowry or they will grow up and make less income for the family. A UN initiative, powered by Girl Up and UNICEF, provides free meals in schools for girls. Without these meals, parents would have no incentives to feed them or educate them. Oftentimes, these meals include take-home portions for parents. These meals are usually the only one the individuals will have for the day.
“Empowering girls and young women through assuring their access to and completion of education, and providing opportunities to apply their skills and learning, is central to achieving the goals of the 2030 agenda,” according to the session’s description. It was apparent that those in attendance were passionate as well, and it was promising to see the room not only filled but filled with women and men.
Also in the crowd were two prominent groups. Miss Africa United States 2018 and her interns stood proud in traditional African prints and ornate silver tiaras. A few rows toward the front sat the first Muslim Sorority in Texas, Mu Delta Alpha from UT Austin, in matching turquoise hijabs. Both groups posed for a photo together, looking smart, powerful, and beautiful, and spoke on the importance of intersectionality in feminism.
“It’s not enough to be elevated as women,” said Samira Maddox, the sorority’s founder. “If they don’t bring a chair for you, bring your own bench.” When I asked what the groups would like the world to take from their efforts, they emphasized that it was important to recognize those who are marginalized in more than one way and to be the change the world needs to see.
BREAKOUT SESSION II
ISSUE TRACK: SHARED ACTION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS: THE UN AND PARTNERS ON THE GROUND
Potentially the most heartbreaking moments came from the Human Rights panel. Moderated by Brian Mateo, Assistant Dean of Civic Engagement at Bard College, the panel hoped participants would walk away equipped with not only an actionable understanding of how the UN defends basic human rights and fundamental freedoms but also methods of standing up for these rights in our own communities.
Panelists included Soffiyah Elijah, the executive director of the Alliance of Families for Justice (AFJ), His Excellency Mr. Milenko E. Skoknic Tapia, Permanent Representative of Chile to the United Nations, Kelly Razzouk, director of policy and advocacy for the International Rescue Committee.
Stealing the spotlight was Sam Brinton, the final panelist and LGBT activist with they/them pronouns, who fights against the use of conversion therapy. Conversion therapy, which is still legal in 36 U.S. states, sees about 700,000 LGBT youth put through it each year.
Conversion therapy often consists of physical and emotional abuse. ‘Treatment’ methods include verbal degradation where minors are told that God does not love them the way they are and that, if God does not love them, their parents and relatives do not either. Physical abuse includes the use of ice cubes, boiling water, and electroshock therapy while viewing pornographic imagery of same-sex relations in order to create a negative association with homosexual relations.
Brinton is a survivor of this treatment. “I got out because I lied and said I was straight to make it stop,” they said. Brinton is a representative of The Trevor Project (which anyone can join by texting TREVOR to 40649) which is an organization dedicated to the prevention of LGBT-related suicides. Brinton added, “So many were driven to suicide. We set up phone lines and people use them.”
When they opened questions up to the floor, they ran out of time to give a proper answer to a young woman who poured her heart out for her country. Helen Tambe, 24, described the state of her country, Cameroon, as being on the precipice of a genocide. She described the situation in Yemen, where the UN has had Peacekeeper presence since 2011. “You go and you try to fix it, but then you make it worse and worse until you can’t leave,” she said passionately. “It’s not good in Cameroon now, but it’s not bad enough yet. But I see it. I see it coming. A stitch in time saves lives, and I don’t know if I’m doing my people a service or putting them in danger by telling you what is happening,” Tambe pleaded. “How do you all sleep at night?” Her question was not met with a proper answer, but she was given a standing ovation. She said the dialogue was all she needed.
At the end, Brinton, by far, was the most welcoming to guests at the end of the discussion. People formed lines to Brinton to ask them about their makeup routine, where they got their outfit (a black dress and red silk poncho)… but I asked about Seton Hall, which was recently found to support conversion therapy. “I got married two weeks ago to the love of my life,” Brinton said. “My mother, the only member of my family who wanted to come, cancelled her attendance two days before. Sometimes, ignorance is the problem. As a person of faith, I cannot believe in a God that teaches parents to hate their children. It makes no sense.”
BREAKOUT SESSION II
ISSUE TRACK: CITIES AND THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
Cities and human settlements are a key factor in the Sustainable Development goals. The Sustainable Development Solutions Network’s annual report found that the best-performing city is only 68 percent of the way toward fully achieving the goals. Two-thirds of the United States’ cities are less than halfway there. Considering how cities account for 20 percent of carbon emissions, it is increasingly important to tackle these issues.
Moderated by former UN Assistant Secretary-General Gillian Sorensen, this panel discussion focused on ways we can on a local level. Panelists included John R. Seydel, director of sustainability in Atlanta, Penny Abeywardena, New York City’s Commissioner for International Affairs, Anthony Pipa, a senior fellow at Brookings Institution, and Alejandra Rozo, a sales and marketing manager for the Greater Bogotá Convention Bureau. “Local government is where stuff… as opposed to another four-letter word starting with ‘s’… gets done,” Pipa said, laughing. “We don’t have to start with the biggest city. It can be a grassroots movement.”
According to Abeywardena, New York City is the first city to report directly to the United Nations for their progress in tracking the Sustainable Development Goals through Voluntary Local Reviews. “Every city should and can focus on Global goals to collectively achieve the 2030 vision,” she added. “As many cities as possible should do VLRs.”
When asked about funding for such large goals, most of the panelists grew quiet, but Abeywardena suggested a simple solution. In short, students and citizens should focus on reallocating resources that are wasted or misused. “You don’t need to focus on every goal, and you don’t need to do it alone,” she said. College campuses can put unused food into food pantries for students who might be hungry and unable to afford meal plans. Towns can focus on limiting the use of gas-cars in certain areas. Small changes directed properly can have major impacts.
BREAKOUT SESSION IV
ISSUE TRACK: ACHIEVING ZERO HUNGER: THE NEW REALITY
This panel was where it all tied in. Moderated by Donna Rosa, founder of Aidtrepreneurship, this panel consisted of Michael Scott Peters, U.S. Youth Observer to the United Nations, Steve Taravella, Senior Spokesperson to the World Food Program, and Joan McGlockton, Vice President and Associate General Counsel of Sodexo.
The Millenium Development Goals became the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015. Solving the issue of hunger is a tricky task, and this panel explored the context of both resource-scarce and resource-abundant nations.
Global hunger has increased for the past three years in a row and undone over a decade’s worth of work on the problem. Most developing nations lose their food at the harvesting stage due to lack of understanding about irrigation techniques or because of environmental circumstances. However, most developed nations, like the United States, lose their food at the consumer stage. We throw away 1.3 billion tons of leftovers every year, enough to feed an entire African nation. These tons cause greenhouse gases, both in production and in destruction. Greenhouse gases, in turn, cause more food production and then more food waste. This process causes enough carbon emissions that the leftovers produce enough gas to be third only behind China and the United States.
Food shortage is not only an issue internationally. Food deserts, or places where food is scarce, exist in America, too. 23.5 million live in food deserts. And the United States is riddled with an issue called “hidden hunger,” an epidemic in which people consume enough calories, but not enough micronutrients. For example, marginalized groups in the United States tend to have lower incomes and subsequently purchase cheaper foods at chain restaurants like McDonald’s or Wendy’s. Each meal can consist of 600 or more calories and lack any nutritional value. This, by UN standards, is a form of hunger.
I noticed at this point that climate change is a factor controlling hunger. And if hunger affects the health of women, then it also affects their education. Undereducated women, as we discussed, cannot in turn educate their children. Children who are unable to provide for themselves due to lack of education then resort to violence to meet their needs. There is, of course, a much larger web of issues, but it made me realize that fixing one issue is like cutting the head of the Kraken- another will grow back until you cut off all of them.
CLOSING PLENARY
Attendees filed back into the General Assembly Hall for closing statements from: Executive Director Chris Whatley from UNA-USA, President of the 73rd Session of the United States General Assembly Her Excellency Ms. María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, UN Secretary General’s Envoy on Youth Jayathma Wickramanayake, and National Council Chair Hon. Teta Banks.
The Closing Plenary ended on a call to action. Students were encouraged to sign petitions, write congress, and find ways to act in their communities. By texting CLIMATE and ACTION to 738674, students can still get links to UNA-USA’s mobile advocacy program. They reminded us that we are always stronger together and that we don’t need to wait to find a way to tackle every issue. We just need to tackle the issues we see at the grassroots, and by doing that, we organically and multilaterally tackle all of the Sustainable Development Goals. With our effort, we can see a much more beautiful world by 2030.
First published here on January 20, 2019.
