Along with the Formal and Informal meetings going on at the UN, there are always a series of side-events, which are usually panel discussions supporting the release of a UN sponsored report. I attended one just yesterday in the Trusteeship Council, with speakers including Kofi Annan and none other than Roger Moore – Mr 007 himself. He is a getting on a bit nowadays and, as a UN Goodwill Ambassador, I’m trying to imagine him and that other famous one - Angelina Jolie – doing speeches together. Just another day at the UN.

I love attending these side-events, as they are so interesting, and you learn so much about things you never thought you needed to know anything about. I recently attended one entitled Small Arms and Children (referring to guns, rather than limbs).

The author of the report that was being launched, quoted a 13 year old boy who has formed part of his report, saying, “having a gun makes me feel human.” My jaw dropped when I realised the enormity of this comment. “Having a gun makes me feel human.” I can’t contemplate having such little control over my life that a gun is the only thing that makes me feels human. I can’t contemplate having a gun being so normal that IT makes me feel human.

As an outsider in the UN (despite working for the Aussie Mission whilst I’m here, I’m still an outsider), this has been one of the strangest things being here. The issues being discussed are topics that are emotive. They are sensitive. They are controversial. They are touchy. They are poignant. They are affecting.

I was sitting in an Informal the other day about a problem that many (I can’t remember exactly how many, but it’s an incredible amount) women in developing countries encounter after giving birth called Fistula. Fistula (and forgive my rudimentary understanding, and even more basic explanation) is a problem that occurs for women whilst giving birth far away from medical services. Sometimes the baby may get stuck in the birth canal, and without medical help the baby is likely to remain in the birth canal for days, and often weeks, causing enormous pain for the woman. Usually the baby will be still-born. Furthermore the woman’s genital cavity will be so stretched that she will constantly leak urine and faeces (this can be corrected through a surgery, which, of course, many women don’t have access to). This leads to extreme social isolation within her community. There is a big campaign at the moment to highlight this problem.

It is a horrible problem, and one that conjures up intense emotions of depravity, injustice and sorrow inside me. Yet inside this informal, it is discussed emotionless. It is simply words on a page. The same goes for Formal meetings.

Things like child trafficking, sexual slavery, poverty, desperation…..whatever, are all discussed the same way (to be fair, there is also a lot of discussion on budgets and administration being discussed in exactly the same way).
For me, as a Social Worker, it’s a strange thing, being in such a passionless meeting. Not right, or wrong….just strange.

When I think about it, it makes total sense. These are super-smart people, advocating the foreign policy of their government. They are not speaking on behalf of themselves – but on behalf of their Government. They may well be advocating for something they fervently believe in – or something that goes against the very fabric of their being. In fact, you could never tell what they actually thought of it themselves.

I would find it the most difficult work.

Likewise, to get others to agree with your argument, you must present a cogent, clear and very persuasive argument. Maybe there isn’t time or a need for passion. Maybe the world works on facts, rather than passion. Maybe if people involved themselves with the feeling associated with these issues, you would be a nervous wreck in about 3 days. (Maybe I should stop asking existential questions!)

The General Assembly negotiation rooms is where countries get together to further their national interests, at the same time trying to make this world a safer and better place. The passion comes in with the people working in the Secretariat and the UN agencies (UNICEF, UNAIDS etc) who are working in the field with people everyday. That’s probably why the two functions of the UN are kept so separate.

I wonder what would happen if it became diplomatic etiquette to include passion in your statements (and I’m not sugesting I’m going to start a revolution). I wonder whether there would be throwing of chairs; or would there be giant group hugs in the middle of the General Assembly.

I wonder (without an answer) with more feeling, would more or less be achieved?