UN Representative Durstyne Farnan, OP
October 2019 a new UN Representative for the Dominicans came to New York. Sr. Durstyne Farnan, OP, a member of the Dominican Sisters of Adrian is the third UN Representative of the Dominican NGO.
The Dominican NGO collaborates with many other faith-based NGO’s at the UN. There are over thirty (30) religious congregations at the UN.
The work of the Dominican NGO is done primarily through working groups.
The Dominicans are collaborators in the following working groups:
- Commission on the Status of Women,
- Commission for Social Development as the secretary
- Mining Working Group, specifically as chair of the Amazon subcommittee
- Homelessness Working Group, led by the Vincentian family
In addition to being in New York the Dominicans are present in Geneva the center of the Human Rights Council. Concerns, Vienna is the headquarters for the International Atomic Energy Agency, Drugs and Crime, Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear /test Ban Treaty Organization. The UN in Vienna (UNOV) was established in 1980 Nairobi, is the headquarters for two programs. The United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) and the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN Habitat). The Nairobi site was established in 1996.
January 2020, United Nations initiated dialogues within and across borders, sectors and generations to launch UN75 and beyond. The hope is to reach as many people as possible: through listening to their hopes and fears, tap into the experiences and empower the people to think and act globally.
