Recently, Caten Knopf spoke at the UN during the 55th session of the Human Rights Council. From drafting UN submissions to advocating for children's digital privacy, Caten's experience embodies impactful advocacy.
She shares a quote from the director of the IIMA office, Sr. Sarah: "Do not forget the humanity behind the reports." This stuck with her since UN documents can become technical to read and it is easy to forget that there is real human suffering behind these reports of human rights abuses
Caten further shares insights on her internship and UN speech.
What did your internship entail?
"From January to March 2024, I interned at Istituto Internazionale Maria Ausiliatrice (IIMA) in Geneva, Switzerland. IIMA is the human rights NGO for the Salesian sisters, which focuses on the right to education and the rights of children. At the internship, I wrote summaries of various UN meetings, including Nigeria's session during the 45th Universal Periodic Review, which we sent to the Salesian sisters in Nigeria. I also assisted the NGO in preparing their submission on the effects of digital education for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). We were able to attend many of the committees that are part of the Human Rights branch of the UN like the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED), the Human Rights Committee (CCPR), the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and the 55th session of the Human Rights Council. A highlight of the internship was drafting the NGO's UPR submission on Ethiopia for the 47th session as it involved gathering data from the sisters in Ethiopia, in depth research, and learning how to write for the UN."
Why did you speak at the UN?
"I spoke at the UN during the 55th session of the Human Rights Council as the representative for IIMA (the NGO I was interning for)."
What did you speak about?
"I spoke during the Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Privacy focusing on the right to privacy of children in digital environments. This is a topic of great importance, as many children and teens are learning online yet they do not have the skills to navigate the internet safely. As such many children and teens face cyberbullying, online harassment and their personal data is compromised. On behalf of IIMA, I made two recommendations to Member States:
- Implement laws and regulations that protect the online human rights of children and young people, addressing issues such as privacy, digital security, hate speech and online discrimination in order to create a safe and secure online environment.
- Develop national educational programs to help educators and young people understand and use information and communication technologies (ICTs)."