CrCF Goes Geneva: Human Rights Advocacy

The title pretty much sums up this Tuesday.
But I’ll trace back to the start, just to give you a clearer picture of what my Tuesday has been like. Once again, I woke up at 5 am before the alarm went off and like any morning, the first thing I did was to check my email and the next thing I knew, I was sitting at the breakfast table working throughout my morning.

A meeting with Franciscans International was scheduled at 9 am. They welcomed us with open arms and coffee (can’t live without it). As always, it was great exchanging knowledge and experiences with people who also are dedicated to the same issues.

At 10 am we were off to Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Righsts at Palais Wilson for another meeting. This time we had the honor to meet UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture. If I could, I would describe the meeting with one hashtag- #informationflow
Guess I just did..

Right thereafter we headed over to Palais Nation for a meeting with the CEDAW committee members. I was assigned to spontaneously interpret English to Thai for some of the CSO representatives, and in all honesty, that possibly  was one of the tougher interpreting sessions I’ve ever experienced. BUT you learn something new everyday, and I learned plenty today.
When we talk about the situation of women’s rights in Thailand, one thing we have to bear in mind is the diversity. There are more than one type of women rights violations. Even though we are 11 different organizations attending the 67th CEDAW, we also advocate for the others and their #GRLPWR is with us in spirit. Therefore, it is crucial that we make every voice count. A public, safe and participatory space in the political context is more urgent than ever.