Job Opening: Expert Negotiator for Social, Development and Human Rights Issues
Starting March 2024
The Expert Negotiator for Social, Development and Human Rights Issues of the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the UN works together with the Permanent Observer and the diplomatic staff of the Holy See. The Expert Negotiator attends meetings at the UN related to his or her portfolio of issues, writes reports on those meetings, participates in negotiations on relevant resolutions and documents, drafts and edits statements, and participates in the overall mission of the Holy See to the UN. Under the supervision of the Permanent Observer, the person reports to the diplomat in charge of covering the Second and Third Committee of the General Assembly, as well as the Economic and Social Council.
The expectation would be that the hired candidate would begin by March 1, 2024.
Click Here for Full Description and Application Instructions
Pope Francis Recognizes the 7th World Day of the Poor on Sunday, November 19
Image source: Vatican Media
"Do not turn your face away from anyone who is poor" (Tob 4:7) was the theme of the 2023 World Day of the Poor.
The World Day of the Poor, which Pope Francis instituted in 2017, is celebrated annually on the 33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time. It presents an invitation to Catholic individuals and institutions to renew their commitment to aiding the vulnerable population of those living in poverty.
The Holy Father presided over the Eucharistic Celebration in Saint Peter's Basilica on November 19, 2023, marking the seventh edition of the World Day of the Poor.
This year's theme invites Catholics to take responsibility for and to respect the dignity of those who are suffering from poverty.
In recognition of the day, the Vatican ran a series of initiatives in partnership with charitable organizations and the community of Sant'Egidio such as free medical assistance and a lunch organized by the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, according to Vatican News.
In his annual Message for the 2023 World Day of the Poor, Pope Francis called on Catholics to do more than simply "give alms," but rather to listen, engage, and try to deal with difficult situations and their causes. "We are called to acknowledge every poor person and every form of poverty, abandoning the indifference and the banal excuses we make to protect our illusory well-being," he said in the Message.
Read the Holy Father's Message for the 2023 Day of the Poor
Archbishop Caccia Delivers Statement on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
On November 28, 2023, Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, delivered a statement during the Second Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) General Exchange of Views.
Archbishop Caccia began the statement by highlighting the catastrophic humanitarian and environmental consequences of nuclear weapons. In the words of Pope Francis, “the ultimate goal of the total elimination of nuclear weapons becomes both a challenge and a moral and humanitarian imperative,” Archbishop Caccia stated. The TPNW reminds us that a world free of nuclear weapons is both possible and necessary, he said.
Archbishop Caccia further advocated for an ethic of disarmament, without which the provisions of the Treaty will not be sufficient. He called for a peace based on fraternity and solidarity rather than the negative concept of security based on deterrence. Archbishop Caccia also highlighted the positive obligations of the Treaty, which provide an essential means of ensuring that communities affected by the use and testing of nuclear weapons can return to the path of integral development.
"This treaty will not be sufficient if its provisions are not accompanied by an ethic of disarmament. Such an ethical approach must play a role in bringing about a 'moral revolution' that replaces the negative concept of security based on 'the precarious balance of deterrence' with a positive one based on 'the fraternity that unites us.'"
–Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, during the General Exchange of Views at the Second Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, November 28, 2023.
History of the Holy See's Involvement in the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
The Catholic Church has been working for a world free from nuclear weapons since Pope Saint John XXIII published his papal encyclical Pacem in terris in 1963, in the wake of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Pope John wrote in the encyclical, “Justice, right reason, and the recognition of man's dignity cry out insistently for a cessation to the arms race. The stock-piles of armaments which have been built up in various countries must be reduced all round and simultaneously by the parties concerned. Nuclear weapons must be banned."
This view has been reflected from the Second Vatican Council through to Pope Francis’s writings and statements.
During his 2019 visit to Hiroshima, Japan, Pope Francis stated: "With deep conviction I wish once more to declare that the use of atomic energy for purposes of war is today, more than ever, a crime not only against the dignity of human beings but against any possible future for our common home. The use of atomic energy for purposes of war is immoral, just as the possessing of nuclear weapons is immoral."
The Holy See joined the UN process leading to the 2017 conference that drafted the TPNW, and it was among the first States to sign the treaty and to ratify the Treaty to Prohibit Nuclear Weapons in September of that year.
The Second Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW is taking place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York this week from November 27 through December 1.
According to the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs, the TNPW was adopted in 2017 and entered into force in January 2021. It includes a comprehensive set of prohibitions on participating in any nuclear weapons activities. These include undertakings not to develop, test, produce, acquire, possess, stockpile, use or threaten to use nuclear weapons.
The Treaty also includes positive obligations for States Parties related to assisting victims and communities affected by the use or testing of nuclear weapons, as well as for taking necessary and appropriate measures of environmental remediation in areas contaminated as a result of activities related to the testing or use of nuclear weapons.
The First Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW was held from June 21-23, 2022 in Vienna, Austria. Participants at this Second Meeting include States Parties and observers, governments, international organizations, and civil society.
Other Holy See Statements at the United Nations
Click the title to read the full statement.
Statement by the Holy See Mission on the Positive Obligations of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
Archbishop Caccia Speaks to the Fourth Committee on UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees
Archbishop Caccia Delivers Statement to the 6th Committee on Expulsion of Aliens
Statement by Archbishop Caccia to the Sixth Committee on Subsidiary Means and Succession of States
Holy See Statement to the Fourth Committee on Peacekeeping Operations
Life of the Mission
Thanksgiving
The Mission celebrated an early Thanksgiving together before closing for the holiday. Thank you to Owan, Thien, Sister Sonia and Sister Carmen for a delicious meal shared among friends.
Photo by Susan Gan
Wishing you a Blessed Advent!
Sunday, December 3rd is the First Sunday of Advent and the beginning of a new liturgical year. Advent is a season of expectation, hope, and reflection as we prepare our hearts for the birth of Christ.
Internship Summer 2024
Since 2015, the Holy See Mission has had 162 interns from 37 countries.
The internship program provides the opportunity for bright, Catholic, English-speaking college graduates or graduate students to gain experience assisting the Holy See in its multilateral work at the UN, seeking to bring the light of Catholic Social Teaching to the debates of the international community.
Our interns are integral to the work of the Holy See at the United Nations. They attend various UN meetings, conferences, and debates, and then prepare reports that, once reviewed, are sent to the Holy See’s central offices in the Vatican. Our interns also assist with the Mission’s conferences, receptions, and cultural events.
There are three internship cycles each year: Fall, Spring, and Summer, and eight internship positions are available per cycle. The Mission is currently accepting applications for the Summer 2024 session, which will run from May through August 2024.