By Emma Arakelyan
NEW YORK — On May 15, more than 30 Armenian professionals serving within the United Nations system gathered at Fordham University for a landmark forum: the first of its kind to map the full extent of Armenian engagement across the vast machinery of the UN.
The gathering was convened around a simple question: “How are Armenians involved with the United Nations today?” In practice, it opened a door to an extraordinary, largely hidden story. Beyond Armenia’s permanent Mission to the UN, established in 1992 upon independence, more than 100 talented Armenians are now dispersed across the UN’s sprawling ecosystem: its secretariat, its specialized agencies such as UNICEF and the World Health Organization, and among the 6,657 non-governmental organizations holding consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
The four-part forum began with welcome messages by three experts. Bryan Ardouny, executive director of the Armenian Assembly of America, spoke of his new leadership role with the UN Conference on Non-Governmental Organizations (CoNGO) at the UN, a position that places Armenian civil society voice at the heart of global governance. Ardouny then introduced Peter Preziosi, the incoming president of CoNGO, who addressed the gathering on civil society’s expanding role in shaping global policy. Zhirayr Ananyan brought a further perspective, describing his years of diplomatic work with the Mission representing the Republic of Armenia at the UN, a team whose contributions to human rights and peace continue.
A second panel brought forward voices from across the NGO community: Emma Arakelyan, Houry Geudelekian, Ani Kalayjian, Souren A. Israelyan, Talin Daghlian, Harold Takooshian and Anahid Ugurlyan, each describing the breadth of their work across fields from behavioral science to the Commission on the Status of Women, from international law to humanitarian relief.
Arpine Korekyan provided a perspective of the Armenian staff at the UN, shared her observations on different roles the NGO community, the Armenian diplomatic mission and the UN staff play within the UN ecosystem.
