Advocacy and Social Justice

The Edmund Rice Office team were delighted to accompany the ERI Youth Ambassadors to Geneva in January. Our first student trip back to Geneva post-Covid was a huge success. There is nothing like young people visiting the United Nations in the company of the brothers from Edmund Rice International to galvanise their human rights knowledge and engagement in advocacy campaign work. All groups had prepared presentations in advance of the visit and a highlight for them all was getting to know their fellow ambassadors from the other schools.

A write up follows from Anna Tierney and Macy Leigh, the ERI Youth Ambassadors from St Joseph’s College, Stoke-on-Trent

As part of Edmund Rice England’s work regarding social justice, we, as Edmund Rice Youth Ambassadors, were given the opportunity to spend a couple of days in Geneva, learning about the significant role of the United Nations, as well as the Universal Periodic Review sessions that take place every four years.

Not only was this a great experience to meet other Edmund Rice Youth Ambassadors from around the country, but it also gave us the first-hand opportunity to witness the reviewing of the countries Senegal and China in the 45^th UPR cycle, and how they are tackling issues regarding human rights. The aspect of the trip that struck us most was the ways in which countries delivered their recommendations during the reviews, addressing issues such as sexual and gender-based violence, LGBTQ discrimination, mass torture and use of the death penalty based on the development and situation of their own country. It was also incredibly eye-opening to see the abundant criticism of China for their consistent suppression of free speech, and the ethnic cleansing and genocide taking place targeting Tibetans and Uyghurs. We even spoke to Tibetan and Uyghur protestors outside the UN who provided even more insight on the human rights violations taking place, and further confirmed to us just how important the work of the UN is in tackling this issue.

In preparation for the trip, each pair of ambassadors researched topics such as the workings of the Council Chamber at the UN, the history of the League of Nations room, and what UPRs and ‘side-events’ are – so that we could present to each other and apply this knowledge to what we experienced while we were there. We were very grateful to speak to Br Brian Bond and Br Terry Dowling at the ERI Headquarters. This helped us all fully understand the work of the UN globally through the workings of Edmund Rice International, and we were inspired to bring this knowledge back to our own schools to begin actively tacking human rights and social justice issues in the local community: bringing about small change, which will hopefully have a large impact.

We feel incredibly privileged to have been given the chance to gain an insight into how the UN and its reviews work, and are ready to advocate for global human rights, ensuring that we do our best to educate those around us on the injustices that are still present in so many aspects of life.

And from Olivia Darville, St Aidan’s and St Anthony’s Sixth Form

“The trip to Geneva to visit the United Nations and Edmund Rice Office is one of the most inspirational trips I have taken. I truly enjoyed talking to Brother Brian Bond about the Treaty Bodies and how the UPR works. It has broadened my way of thinking and has made my heart develop even more of a passion for human rights. My most favourite part of the trip was attending the UPR for Senegal and to see the recommendations given and relationships between countries.”