William and Elizabeth Kahane United Nations Program at Occidental College Report of Academic Year 2020-21
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About Us The William and Elizabeth Kahane United Nations Program at Occidental College is a signature program for Occidental, one that provides students with exposure to a broad range of intellectual, political and cultural viewpoints, and that pairs in-depth academics with real-world action, exemplifying the potential and vitality of the liberal arts. Through generous support from William and Elizabeth Kahane for the Kahane United Nations Program Endowment and the Kahane Scholars Endowment, future generations of bright, curious and engaged students will have continued access to this life-changing opportunity. This year we are thrilled to welcome Cynthia Rothschild for her first full year as the Kahane U.N. Program’s new director. Rothschild is a writer, trainer and advocate whose work has revolved around the U.N. for more than two decades. Recently, she has been a consultant with a focus on U.N. advocacy and policy, sexual rights, LGBTI issues, women human rights defenders, global clampdowns on civil society organizing, and HIV and AIDS. Rothschild has forged a career working with NGOs as well as passionate, visionary activists, helping to build a bridge between their work and U.N./human rights policy arenas. As director of the Kahane U.N. Program, this position affords her the opportunity to build upon her long history of supporting engagement in the U.N. system. This past fall, the Kahane U.N. Program transitioned into a virtual format–the result of the continuing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. While in a typical semester students move to New York City to intern at U.N. agencies and government offices, this year’s remote format provided different, but similarly transformative, experiences for a cohort of 18 students with Rothschild at the helm. The Kahane U.N. Program, co-led with Assistant Director Jacques Fomerand, continued to give Oxy students unparalleled access to high-level internships within a variety of U.N. agencies as well as country missions while connecting students with an array of guest speakers and two academic seminars, including one on human rights led by Rothschild. Because of the strong leadership in place, the Kahane U.N. Program was able to pivot and provide a unique personalized and enriching remote learning experience for this year’s cohort while also connecting the program and its exploration of larger international policy themes and topics back to the Occidental campus through a modified, virtual U.N. Week that held “social justice” at its core. We thank you for your partnership and for your belief in the power of the Kahane U.N. Program and a liberal arts education to equip our students with the skills to think critically, to be better global citizens, to understand global perspectives, and formulate a set of questions and values with which they can approach the complex possibilities and opportunities of both this moment and the future.
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WILLIAM AND ELIZABETH KAHANE UNITED NATIONS PROGRAM AT OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE
Table of Contents Foreword from Director Cynthia Rothschild
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Year in Review by the Director
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Summary Remarks from Laura Hebert
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Financial Review
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Student Bios and Thank You Letters
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Reflective Statements
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Foreword from the Director Cynthia Rothschild Director, William and Elizabeth Kahane United Nations Program at Occidental College In June of 2020, when I signed my first Oxy contract as the new director of the Kahane U.N. Program, I certainly could not–and no one really could–have guessed what the rest of 2020 might bring. And if we’d have guessed, we’d have likely underestimated not only the density of the obstacles but also the emotional impact of the everincreasing anxieties they brought–for students, faculty and staff alike. No one had a simple year. And through all of the challenges–whether sparked by the COVID pandemic-induced public health risks and heightened sense of physical vulnerabilities, the outpouring of rage and protest related to racist policing that gripped the nation for the better part of the summer, the fires on the West Coast that displaced people from everything called “home,” or the daily anxieties from a brutal and sometimes unfathomable electoral season–through all of these, the fall 2020 Kahane U.N. Program maintained its focus and provided extraordinary opportunities for students to grow. In many ways, those involved in the program–students, faculty and staff alike–excelled as we brought our best selves to learning, teaching, sharing, planning and exercising flexibility. Everyone “rose to the occasion.” In the end, I believe the program generated remarkable experiences for the student group. Time and time again, staff and students found ways throughout the semester to support and look out for one another. And the students provided mature and meaningful contributions for their work hosts. I believe the academic and professional experiences created for the 2020 group were rich and consequential. We all went through a very life-shaping time together and I’m grateful for the camaraderie of all connected to the semester. I’m also deeply appreciative of every aspect of my “onboarding” and transition into this leadership role. My mentors could not have been more generous in their coaching; all made my shift from “abject Oxy neophyte” painless and their support was palpable at every moment. And I am especially and particularly indebted to Jacques Fomerand, the assistant director, for his unyielding solidarity, deep wisdom and good cheer. I am so very grateful, as well, to the staff of IPO and the Kahane U.N. Program Committee. A special thank you to Bill and Elizabeth Kahane, as well, of course, for continued belief in and support of the program. The 2020 group had a special bond; they will necessarily be a U.N. cohort unlike any other in the program’s history. The circumstances we all faced were truly remarkable, and I am indebted to this extraordinary group of young people for their willingness to be flexible and open and–through it all–to laugh through adversity. They were willing to be resilient not only in terms of logistics but also in terms of forming emotional connections with one another across time zones, geographic boundaries and seemingly unrelenting challenges. The students’ academic work and their professionalism in their internships remained of extremely high caliber. I have been so lucky to inherit a strong program, solid relationships and good will. These all allowed a relatively seamless transition and were foundational to the Kahane U.N. Program’s success during a tumultuous year.
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WILLIAM AND ELIZABETH KAHANE UNITED NATIONS PROGRAM AT OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE
Year in Review The Internships During the COVID pandemic and in the fall, the work of U.N. agencies and government missions surely did not stop. States continued to negotiate policy. The General Assembly rolled on, with its component committee meetings and geopolitical idiosyncrasies. In some ways there were few changes, and, of course, in other ways, the entire period was new and unprecedented. The College made a decision to suspend the in-person component of the program in late July/early August, when it became clear that Oxy could provide less security for students and faculty. Concurrently, U.N. headquarters suspended much of its on-site operations and generally shifted to remote format. Agency and government mission staff took cues both from the U.N. and from New York City and state public health regulations. In short, Oxy held on as long as it could before closing the door to an in-person experience. When it became clear that there was no safe option on a few fronts, the decision was made to alter the plan. Of course, this was deeply disappointing for all involved. However, our group of 18 students–the G’20, as they came to be known–dove into their professional experiences with maturity and deep commitment. Many of the students monitored meetings that started at 6 a.m. in California; one student completed her internship from six hours ahead of New York time, working until after midnight each night. COVID provided, for at least some of the students, an accidental theme across their work. One student designed the official General Assembly face mask for the U.K. mission. Another analyzed data for the United Nations Development Programme’s first publication on COVID and development. Still another reviewed rights of young people in the context of the pandemic for UNICEF. For some, though, the work remained all about “the regular things” of the General Assembly. They reviewed U.N. budgets, helped craft statements on resolutions, and researched current pressing topics including gender-based violence, the war in Syria and reducing threats in outer space. One student working for the Costa Rican mission supported a campaign for that country’s candidate to the International Criminal Court.
Pictured above: Part of the G’20 cohort.
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Eighteen students were placed in the following nine U.N. agencies or government missions:
U.N. AGENCIES
STUDENTS
HIGHLIGHTS
UNDP (United Nations Development Programme)
Trevor Mairs, Olivia Shinners, Amy Kang
Support for work on a groundbreaking research project and publication on COVID and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); support for an HIV/AIDS health-based project on decriminalization and strategic litigation and a national review of COVID-related laws.
UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund)
John Hammer, Hannah Trautwein
Support for projects related to faith leaders and rights of young people, as well as young people and rights in the context of the pandemic.
UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund)
Adelaide Willis
Research on the climate crisis, gender and reproductive rights.
UNHCR (The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees)
Emma Harwood, Zach Goodwin
Research on humanitarian issues in various regions, with emphasis on Mozambique and Ethiopia; tracking analysis of government missions’ positions on various policies.
UNF (United Nations Foundation) [1]
Nina Srdic Hadži-Nešic´
Intensive monitoring of and reporting on the General Assembly.
UNITAR (United Nations Institute for Training and Research)
Zoobia Jilani
Support for development of a training module for mission staff.
DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS
STUDENTS
HIGHLIGHTS
U.K. Mission
Maya Angulo, Wafa Abedin, Dylan Jones, Will Canavan
Support for coordinating the country mission’s engagement at the GA (work included drafting of statements, communications and media); intensive monitoring of and reporting on Second Committee (economics/finance), Third Committee (human rights and social affairs) and Fifth Committee (U.N. budgets and resources); monitoring of the Security Council.
Guatemala Mission
Darla Chavez Chavez, Madison Taggart
Monitoring of and reporting on the GA, with an emphasis on Second and Fourth Committees (special political and decolonization issues and peace and security concerns).
Costa Rica Mission
Ashley Aulestia, Ellie Farrin
Monitoring of and reporting on the GA, especially Sixth Committee (legal issues) and providing various forms of support for the Costa Rican International Criminal Court candidate.
[1]
The U.N. Foundation is not technically a U.N. agency. However, its work is directly connected to U.N. engagement and the content of the internship is completely focused on U.N. proceedings.
Courses/Academics The program maintained its academic and U.N. focus areas and its high standard of quality courses supplemented the analytical and practical pillars of the U.N. system: human rights, peace and security, and development. Students also analyzed current and historic events and discussed the myriad topics 2020 presented in both academic and more personal contexts. And course content continued to intentionally echo learnings in the U.N. system. As has been true in the past, students were required to take two classes:
• DWA 401, which is focused on human rights and “unusual entry points” in looking at geopolitics, human rights and the U.N. system. Topics included human rights basic principles, gender and sexuality, and conservative attacks on the U.N. system and on the human rights system itself. COVID/health and racist policing also were theme areas in the semester. Highlights included exploring U.S. engagement in international systems, including decisions to pull out of/withhold funding for various agencies and U.N. projects (i.e., the Human Rights Council, WHO, UNFPA, etc.) and the Pompeo Commission on Inalienable Rights (the U.S.’ not very veiled policy initiative meant to redefine priority rights areas).
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• The overall purpose of DWA 402 was to examine the opportunities in, as well as constraints upon, the collective capacity of international organizations–and the U.N. in particular–to prevent deadly conflict. The course was structured around conceptual and political issues, the tools and practice of operational prevention, approaches to structural prevention, and the systemic prevention and thematic discussions of the theory and practice of prevention. These had a focus on cross-cutting issues such as gender, transnational organized crime, population and demographic pressures, climate change and migration, and pandemics.
Building Community It’s worth noting that the program benefited deeply from the assistance of three program assistants, Maya Angulo ’21, Nina Srdic Hadži-Nešic´ ’21, and Darla Chavez Chavez ’21, during the semester. They helped coordinate various outreach and community-building activities, including producing three newsletters, maintaining the program’s Instagram account, designing a program personalized T-shirt, and hosting a remote Halloween movie and costume night and a T-shirt tie-dying event. They were also invaluable assets for the directors as the eyes and ears of the group.
Guests The Kahane U.N. Program continued to offer students the opportunity to learn from extraordinary advocates and policymakers who work within or around the U.N. system. Throughout the fall semester we hosted dynamic discussions with:
• Dominique Day, chair of the U.N. Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent Dominique spoke of the inner workings of the U.N. Human Rights Council, particularly with regard to its 2020 discussion on racist policing–a groundbreaking session sparked by global outrage following the murder of George Floyd. She also discussed the ways legacies of colonialism and inequality appear within international governance and the U.N. system. Dominique returned during U.N. Week in a conversation with Victor Madrigal-Borloz (the U.N.’s independent expert on sexual orientation and gender identity) on challenges faced by those who bring progressive agendas into the U.N. system.
• Elizabeth Edelstein, political affairs officer in the Office of the Under Secretary General for Political and Peace Building Affairs Elizabeth detailed her field experience serving in South Sudan in U.N. peacekeeping missions and work to address realities such as inter-ethnic tensions and abductions of women. She shared her thoughts about political tensions within the U.N. itself and how these carry over into country-level governance and policy.
• Mariam Jalabi, representative of the Syrian Opposition Coalition to the U.N. and co-founder of the Syrian Women’s Political Movement Mariam offered background on the situation in Syria and then discussed current mediation and negotiation efforts between the Opposition Coalition and the current regime. Her work also is centered on highlighting women’s voices about the Syrian conflict and women’s leadership in the quest for peace and political change.
• Marina Kumskova, advocacy officer at the Global Partnership for Prevention of Armed Conflict Focusing on capacity-building of local and regional peace efforts, Marina explained the vital role of local advocates to redefine power within conflict spaces and to carry out peace-building agendas. She also gave us insight into her previous work with the Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom (WILPF) OXY.EDU
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advocating for gender-sensitive analysis of conflict situations.
• Susana Fried, former UNDP senior gender advisor: HIV/Health and Development Team Susana provided valuable insight into the development of the Global Commission on the HIV & the Law Project and pioneering publication. She spoke to ways U.N. commissions can bring so-called controversial issues to the table and “elevate them to an international level.” Susana explored human rights issues related to HIV, sex work and, in particular, violations resulting from criminalization of HIV transmission. After the semester, the U.N. Program continued to coordinate ongoing discussions for our students with:
• Ambassador Harriet Elam Thomas The program hosted a dynamic conversation in which Oxy President Harry J. Elam, Jr. introduced the former U.S. Ambassador to Senegal (and his aunt), who spoke about her rich experiences in the fields of diplomacy and global engagement. She shared lessons learned in her trajectory from growing up in Boston to holding senior positions representing the U.S. government in posts around the world. Remarkably, this conversation took place on January 6, literally just as the riot at the Capitol in D.C. was taking place.
• Bernadette Meehan, chief international officer for the Obama Foundation Bernadette shared a bit of her career trajectory in diplomacy under the Obama administration, and then offered students a master class in preparing to be their most effective, mature and professional selves in the future. Among other gems, she flagged the importance of “embracing the red pen” to really learn about writing (“better to do that with professors than with bosses”), and of utilizing the Oxy Hameetman Career Center (“because that might be the last time someone is paid to help you figure out your career”). The Kahane U.N. Program also organized and co-sponsored a number of campus-wide events during U.N. Week–which really turned out to be U.N. Month in its 2021 remote format. More information about these events can be found on page 7 in Kahane U.N. Program Committee Co-Chair Laura Hebert’s remarks.
• Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the U.N. Secretary General: Stéphane returned as a guest speaker and offered insight into what it requires for the U.N. to “message about” politics every day.
• Victor Madrigal-Borloz and Dominique Day: In this conversation, Dominique, Victor and I focused on the Human Rights Council and working on our human rights agendas in a context of backlash and attacks on the human rights and U.N. system.
• Jacques Fomerand, assistant director of the Kahane U.N. Program: Jacques recently published his revised Historical Dictionary of Human Rights and shared thoughts about that topic and others regarding the U.N. system. In addition, students were thrilled to hear from Bill and Elizabeth Kahane a number of times during the year. They both hosted a “fireside chat” (sadly, without the fireside), during which they posed thoughtful and provocative questions to the students and offered advice about moving ahead when times feel stressful. Also, Bill met with students just before graduation to check in and to impart wisdom. Students were so appreciative and genuinely pleased to be able to absorb some of his guidance and generosity.
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WILLIAM AND ELIZABETH KAHANE UNITED NATIONS PROGRAM AT OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE
Looking Ahead The Kahane U.N. Program remains vibrant and stable. Our core commitments remain the same and, simultaneously, we look to offer a few enhancements in coming semesters: The program will strengthen its human rights core alongside other established priorities (conflict/peace/ security and development). The public narrative of the program will offer more emphasis on human rights and social justice, as well as on the humility and responsibility required to ethically engage in U.N. spaces and geopolitics. One goal here is to promote a particular purpose of the program: for students to contribute to (and study) multilateralism and the U.N. system in order to be better global citizens, to be less U.S.-centric in thinking and in policy development, and to understand ourselves and the U.S. government as part of global systems that benefit some but not others. A related objective is to use the U.N. system to create and be effective agents of change. The program will begin to integrate occasional NGO placements into the roster of host sites where those organizations are doing vibrant work directly related to the U.N. While the large majority of the hosts will remain U.N. agencies and government missions, these NGO placements will fit within the overall vision of the program; will likely focus on the General Assembly, the Security Council and the Human Rights Council; and will be made with the same expectations of supervisors providing a rigorous and rewarding U.N.-related semester for students. Students will have the advantage of learning systems from a civil society standpoint in research and advocacy designed to strengthen U.N. outcomes, programs or policies. The program also will continue to expose students to workings of the U.N. system (and its concomitant parts) outside of the silo of the U.N. in New York with additional emphasis on the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva. This will help to place the New York U.N. dynamics in a wider global context. In addition, this will allow students to develop a broader view of what the U.N. really means and how it functions across place, time and issue.
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Summary Remarks Laura Hebert Kahane U.N. Program at Occidental College Committee Co-Chair Beyond offering critical support to the annual cohort of Kahane U.N. Program participants, the generosity of the William and Elizabeth Kahane United Nations Program Endowment has enabled Occidental to bring the United Nations back to our campus. In previous years, we’ve invited distinguished speakers to campus, held artistic performances and created spaces for the Oxy community to consider the local significance of U.N. ideas, norms and values. This has been a most unusual year, however, with the pandemic necessitating the continuation of remote instruction for the duration of the academic year and the suspension of all on-campus activities. Although this required the modification of our traditional “U.N. Week,” the Kahane U.N. Program at Oxy nonetheless organized a series of riveting remote events related to the program’s theme for the year, “Racial and Social Justice in Perilous Times,” as well as events featuring distinguished speakers with long U.N. careers as part of our Kahane United Nations Speaker Series. The Kahane U.N. Program at Oxy held two events during our modified U.N. Week that engaged the annual theme. Kahane U.N. Program Director Cynthia Rothschild led an event titled “Bringing Progressive Agendas into the U.N. Human Rights System: A Conversation With Changemakers and Rebels.” The event featured Dominique Day, chair of the U.N. Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent and executive director of DAYLIGHT | Rule of Law • Access to Justice • Advocacy; and Victor Madrigal-Borloz, a Costa Rican attorney and U.N. independent expert on sexual orientation and gender identity. Their lively conversation centered on the challenges human rights advocates are confronting today when trying to address issues such as racist policing and the rights of LGBTQI+ people in light of the rise of authoritarian regimes and right-wing nationalism. The second event, “Experiencing the U.N.: Learning, Unlearning, Relearning,” featured participants from the fall 2020 U.N. Program cohort–always a highlight of U.N. Week. The discussion was moderated by Jacques Fomerand, Kahane U.N. Program assistant director, with the panelists sharing their experiences of working with U.N. missions and agencies, including on issues related to racial and social justice. A third theme-related event was held a month later, titled “Truth and Accountability Around Racial Justice in Los Angeles: Global Connections.” The event was co-sponsored by the Kahane U.N. Program and the Young Initiative on the Global Political Economy and centered on how local work to achieve accountability for racial injustices could benefit from global efforts to pursue truth and justice. The panel discussion was moderated by Diplomacy and World Affairs Professor Anthony Chase and featured Pablo Abitbol, coordinator of the Grupo Regional de Memoria Histórica in Colombia; Cristián Correa, senior expert with the International Center for Transitional Justice; and Ashley Quarcoo, visiting fellow with the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University. In addition to racial justice-related events, we were honored to host two distinguished guests as part of the Kahane U.N. Program Speaker Series. Our own Jacques Fomerand gave a wonderful talk titled “To Fix or Not to Fix: Reflecting on the U.N. in Challenging Times.” The event centered on the recently published second edition of his influential book, The Historical Dictionary of Human Rights (Rowman & Littlefield 2021), and drew on his 26 years of working within the U.N. It was delightful to see so many U.N. Program alums join the Zoom event, including Oxy graduates from years ago, which reflects the lasting appreciation Kahane U.N. Program participants have for Jacques’ incredible depth of knowledge of the U.N. and his role as a mentor.
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In addition to his own talk, Jacques facilitated an informal conversation with Stéphane Dujarric, the spokesperson for U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres. Dujarric previously served in the same position for SecretariesGeneral Kofi Annan and Ban Ki-moon, as director of news and media for the U.N. Department of Public Information and director of communications for the U.N. Development Program (UNDP). It was a fascinating event that offered invaluable insights not only into Dujarric’s own role within the U.N. but also the histories, priorities and vast responsibilities of the three secretaries-general with whom Dujarric has served. It was an intellectually engaging spring for the Kahane U.N. Program at Oxy in spite of the limitations created by the pandemic, but we are looking forward to resuming our in-person events on campus next year.
The student Program Assistants (with special thanks to Darla Chavez Chavez) designed an Oxy-at-the-U.N. t-shirt in U.N. blue for the Group of ’20. Director Cynthia Rothschild and Assistant Director Jacques Fomerand model the shirts in these photos.
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WILLIAM AND ELIZABETH KAHANE UNITED NATIONS PROGRAM AT OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE
