Search

Last year the Diversity Task Force of the United Nations in Moldova tasked us, its communication focal points, with conducting an internal diversity survey to verify the degree of diversity among UN staff in the country, and staff attitudes towards diversity. The results were something of an eye-opener. Not only were some groups of the population – LGBT, Roma, people with disabilities –underrepresented among the 300+ staff of all UN agencies in Moldova, but the attitude of staff towards minorities showed that there are still important steps to be taken in this regard.

The process of reviewing a country’s human rights records can become an opportunity to bond human rights with development. In Argentina, the Universal Periodic Review process has promoted human rights as the daily work of everyone in the UN system. This spirit exemplifies the ‘Human Rights up Front’ initiative.