15th November 2018 Burma
Before starting my posting to Burma, I was frequently asked, “What can an Ambassador actually do in a country like Burma?”. It was a good question! The recent crisis in Rakhine State and the traumas faced by the Rohingya have been widely reported in the news. Less well known are: the violent conflicts in other […]
19th March 2018 Geneva, Switzerland
Since the number of blog followers clamouring for a Council update has now reached single figures (thanks Nuala) I thought I’d better respond. It’s been busy. And cold. But mostly busy. As the 3rd week of the session came to end, UN staff voted to go on strike over impending allowance cuts, which suspended the […]
2nd October 2017 Geneva, Switzerland
Council sessions leave your head spinning. Anyone who gets through one without feeling like it was full body and soul experience wasn’t really there. And it’s particularly trying for the families we abandon to meet the Council’s callous workload. If, like me, you’re lucky enough to have an understanding partner, for the first few days […]
25th September 2017 Geneva, Switzerland
Leaving aside the extremely grim subject matter which forms the basis of our work, one of the things I like the least in my job is having to say goodbye to good people. This summer we bade farewell to another great set of colleagues including the UK’s own James Mclaughlin and the ever wonderful, and […]
11th September 2017 Geneva, Switzerland
It’s been a summer of car-related mishaps. The Swiss do many things well, though they must be among the best in the world when it comes to handing out speeding fines. I managed to pick up two tickets for going 1km and 2 km an hour over the limit and to add insult to injury, […]
13th March 2017 Geneva, Switzerland
While there haven’t exactly been howls of protest about my online silence these last few weeks, the number of people asking what I’ve been up to rose to three on Friday (excluding my last boss who is clearly still keeping tabs on me from afar), so I feel a little sheepish and neglectful. The main reason […]
29th June 2015 Geneva, Switzerland
It’s been a tiring week. The middle part of the Council session is always hectic as delegates scramble to finalise the version of the resolutions that they want to table by Thursday’s deadline. But my sleep levels have taken a heavier battering than normal thanks to the Women’s World Cup, taking place in Canada’s far-off […]
17th March 2015 Geneva, Switzerland
As nice as it can be living out here, there are many drawbacks to not being in the UK. It’s easy to lose touch with friends, to miss out on historic national moments and to forget about sending a card in time to arrive for Mother’s Day. Unfortunately, during the March session the only way […]
17th June 2013 Geneva, Switzerland
As the three-week session came to a close on Friday evening, delegates looked each other in the eye with weary emotion and asked how was it for you? The general mood seemed to be that it had been a good session but that the earth didn’t move. Getting through Council sessions is as much a […]