From Insider to Outsider: Reuniting with International Geneva

By María Juliana Rodríguez Urbano, Student Life Editor of The Graduate Press

The Human Rights and Alliance of Civilizations Room at Palais des Nations, better known as Room XX, is impressive. It is a big, well-lit room with an eye-catching ceiling, a sculptural installation by Spanish contemporary artist Miquel Barceló. One can understand why, when newcomers and visitors alike walk in, the first thing they do is look up and feel like many important things happen there. That was my feeling the first time I went there, as an intern working at the Permanent Mission of Colombia to the United Nations (UN) representing my country three years ago.

I did not think I would be back in Room XX so soon. However, I was there again as a MINT student at the Graduate Institute. Just like the first time, my first reaction was to look up at the ceiling and the plaques with the Member States’ names. Yet, something changed. I was not inside the room but in the gallery, where visitors with temporary badges and on guided tours could sit and watch the UN in action. After having the experience of sitting on the floor, the gallery felt disappointing. To get the full view of Room XX, you must stand up; otherwise, sitting down will only give you a partial view. 

The years after my first experience at the UN gave me some time to look at it from afar and reconsider it. Whenever I told people about it, I felt a growing sensation that the thoughts I was conveying did not make much sense. This was prevalent when I told my family about the experience. After hearing my enthusiastic narration of the events I witnessed in Room XX, they would look at me and ask: “OK, but what happened after that? Did X do the things it said it was going to do? Did Y get more than a warning after making such remarks?” I realised that I did not have the answers to their questions and, when I did, the answer would often be “Nothing” or “No.” After these exchanges, they would look confused or skeptical of the whole thing.

I attended the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Colombia in early November. The UPR is a mechanism of the Human Rights Council in which each UN Member State undergoes a peer review of its human rights situation. I went as part of an assignment for a class, but I also wanted to go and see if I felt the same way about being in Room XX as I did three years ago. This time, I found myself surprised at how different I remembered it. As an intern sitting inside the room, attending the UPR sessions felt like I was participating in a lively dialogue on human rights on an international scale. I was only taking notes, but I was an insider. 

Three years later, though, attending as an outsider who watches from the gallery, I did not feel that same excitement. I was happy to be back in Room XX, but the session left me wondering if this is an active and participatory mechanism as it intends to be. The process of Member States’ interventions in the UPR is called an interactive dialogue, which may be a surprise if one attends these sessions because these interventions are not sporadic but written statements that all parties involved read and agreed upon ahead of time. As an outsider, it felt more retroactive than interactive.

A group on a guided tour arrived at the gallery five minutes before it ended, so they looked disappointed because they could not hear the people inside the room speak. Again, the first thing they did was to look up at the ceiling and take photos of it. Nevertheless, they looked confused as to why the representatives of many Member States were not there working. The guide explained that specific Member States conduct the UPR, which means that the presence of the others is not mandatory. Also, some of them give their statements and then leave. After hearing this, the visitors seemed surprised and, to some extent, disappointed.

This interaction and the view that the gallery offers of Room XX made me realise what an appropriate metaphor they are for what the UN means to outsiders. It also made me realise that, now that I am back to being an outsider, I feel the same way the visitors did. We feel that it all looks and sounds meaningful when we come close, but we also feel we might not be getting the entire picture of what it does.

Photo Credits: María Juliana Rodríguez Urbano