Outgoing Executive Director of the Kofi Annan Foundation Corinne Momal-Vanian previously spent three decades serving with the United Nations. For her, the UN's founding values have always been a north star, not just for her career, but also for her family and her whole life.
"It's really putting the human dignity at the center. That every human being deserves to live a fulfilling life and life in dignity, that's also at the heart of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and those are truly universal aspirations."
From working against apartheid to stabilising post-genocide Cambodia, Corrine Momal-Vanian has deployed for the UN at compelling moments across the world. In this episode, she looks back on serving two Secretary-Generals during some of the darkest and dangerous moments in the organization's history, and shares why the UN was always so much more than a job.
"Despite all our efforts, people just don't realize that actually their whole life is assisted by the UN... making international phone calls to flying planes internationally, sending mail abroad and having vaccines that are certified by the WHO as being healthy and useful."
Edited transcript, photos, multimedia and more at the AAN website: https://www.un.org/en/awake-at-night/s13-corinne-momal-vanian-the-UN-is-my-life-my-family
Podcast full video available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShsqmkX9akc