The UN that I lived
When, in August 1, 2010, I arrived to New York as the new Permanent Representative of Costa Rica to the United Nations, my to do list was full of unavoidable tasks, but it also included a loose aspiration: to write a book about my experiences in the Organization.
As weeks, months and years passed – a total of four, my diplomatic commitments took over my literary drive. I deeply immersed myself in the structures, processes, negotiations, challenges, hopes and realizations of the UN, and put the idea of the book on hold. However, every time I wrote a report, recommended a stance, casted a vote, argued a position, talked to a colleague or worked towards consensus, my mind and my notes collected those experiences in a spontaneous way.
Most of the time I focused on documenting the issues, but it also was unavoidable to add my reflections, collect anecdotes and depict characters.
So, without noticing it, the book was building up, although in a dismembered fashion.
When I returned to Costa Rica on June 30, 2014, the expectation of four years ago soon became a stimulating commitment. In the first days of August I started organizing papers, reviewing notes, going over my reports, analyzing documents, researching on-line and in-site, and thinking about the structure and voice of my writing.
Very soon I was working in full blow.
Since the beginning, my aim was to write an insightful and first-hand book on the work, challenges and potential of the United Nations, based on the many tasks and initiatives I had pursued during my tenure. They were essentially related to human rights, the rule of law, peace and disarmament, the defence of Costa Rica?s territorial integrity and the complex United Nations reform process, including that of the Security Council.
Being a Costa Rican diplomat, I also considered of prime interest to take a detached,?and at times critical?look at Latin American and Caribbean diplomacy in the Organization, and the challenges and possibilities of small countries in the international arena in general, and the UN in particular.
The result, I think, is a text of a narrative, reflective, explanatory and analytical nature, nurtured both by the detached approach of a professional journalist, but also the insights and first-hand look of an active ambassador. It is both a memory and an essay, with different weight to each of those strands according to the nature of its nine chapters. They are organized in what I consider the most logical sequence, but can be read independently, thus allowing each person to define his or her own route.
I tried to do my best in reaching the most adequate balance between a compelling narrative and a solid analytical support. So, I hope the book will be enjoyed by any intelligent reader and, at the same time, satisfy the expectations of the specialized ones and serve as a relevant academic resource.
Such was the inception, nature and purpose of La ONU que yo viví (The UN that I lived), just published in Spanish by Aguilar, an imprint of Penguin Random House, and available in digital and printed through Amazon.
Seventy years after its creation during the San Francisco Conference, the United Nations has a lot to be proud of. It is the paramount universal institution, the major pivot of an international system always striving to be based on universal rules and procedures, a bulwark in promoting development, peace and human rights. At the same time, it should overcome many challenges:?organizational, structural and political,?to strengthen and leverage its role and contributions.
I hope my book will help towards a better understanding of these realities.
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The author is a journalist, diplomat, political analyst, academic and independent consultant in governance, communication strategies and media, based in San José, Costa Rica.
@eduardoulibarr1