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“НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, ЧЕРВЕНЬ 201 2 WWW. UNWLA.ORG 7 REPRESENTING UKRAINIAN WOMEN AT THE UNITED NATIONS A Conversation with Nadia Shmigel Pani Nadiu, you represent the World Federation of Ukrainian Women's Organizations (WFUWO) at the United Nations. How and when did you become involved with the United Nations O r- ganization? At 65 years of age, I retired from a rather lengthy career in social work. At the time, my friend Ol e- na Prociuk was a representative at the United N a- tions on behalf of a French - based non - governmental organization called “World Mov e- ment of Mothers.” She in volved both pani Iryna Kurowyckyj and myself in the work of this NGO at the UN. I was with them for about 2 or 3 years, at which point I began to think that I would rather represent a Ukrainian organization. I wanted to keep my Ukrainian identity as I intr oduced m y- self. I replaced pani Olia Stavnycha, in 2002; she did an excellent job as WFUWO Chair of Public Relations and as a representative devoting many hours of her time to the work at the UN. What is the status of the WFUWO at the United Nations and ho w long has the Fe d- eration had it? Within the structure of the United Nations, the non - governmental organizations can only have an advisory voice. We don’t have any kind of full power. According to the UN Charter, the UN Ec o- nomic and Social Council (ECOSOC ) may consult with NGOs on issues which relate to the work of the UN. For such NGOs, there are 3 levels of st a- tus: general, special, and roster. The general st a- tus is the fullest one. The WFUWO has the special status, and it has had it since 1993. When NGO s write statements, for example, the general status organizations can submit longer statements wh e- reas special status ones are allowed only shorter statements. The WFUWO is also accredited by the UN Department of Public Information (DPI - NGO). Within this structure of NGO representation at the UN, I represent the World Federation of Ukrainian Women's Organizations as the main representative under ECOSOC, but I am not alone. Martha Kichorowska Kebalo, Ph.D., Daria Dykyj, Ph.D., Dr. Larysa Melnyk Dyrszka, and Sofia Zielyk are all representatives under EC O- SOC. Under the DPI - NGO, there are three more Ukrainian women representatives: Moki Kokoris (main representative), Irene Jarosewich, and N a- talia A. Sonevytsky. They are all uniquely talented individuals, and I appreciate their willingness to be part of the team. As the Chair of the WFUWO Committee to the UN, I am deeply grateful to my colleagues for giving of their time and talents to projects and activities at the UN. What are your goals and main activities a t the United Nations? As our mission statement shows, the WFUWO is very interested in human rights, which is also one of the major undertakings of the United Nations. When the WFUWO began working with the UN, Ukraine was still part of the Soviet Union, so it was a time when the Federation actively partic i- pated in all UN projects related to human rights violations in the Soviet Union, and particularly in Ukraine. Later on, the Federation, with the help of its member organizations, devoted much time and effo rt to the issue of trafficking in women and children, trying to raise awareness about this problem in Ukraine. WFUWO’s mission stat e- ment also includes various humanitarian issues. At this point, the Federation’s membe r- ship consists of 27 Ukrainian women’ s organiz a- tions located in 17 countries on 4 continents. O r- ganizations that belong to the WFUWO have a variety of similar issues in their own mission statements. For instance, if you compare the mi s- sions of the UNWLA and the WFUWO you will find many parall els. The Ukrainian history, the language, the culture, the family — these are ce n- tral issues to the Federation as well as its member organizations. Over the years, the WFUWO has also had a close collaboration with organizations in Ukraine, especially with the Ukrainian Women’s League of Ukraine. Our activities in Ukraine pr o- vide quite a bit of exposure for the issues that are
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