Loretto at the UN: What we do
Our Work
The work of the Loretto Community extends from the grassroots to the global. Loretto Community is an NGO (non-governmental organization) accredited with consultative status at the United Nations.
Loretto at the UN’s primary areas of focus are women’s rights through the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), climate justice, girls rights, and the rights of migrants and indigenous peoples. We also address peace and security and nuclear disarmament.
Loretto was founded as a community of educators and Loretto at the UN continues that mission by offering an educational curriculum. Contact Beth Blissman for more information.
Our Office
Loretto at the UN shares their small, yet vibrant, office at the Church Center of the UN with the Feminist Task Force, currently led by Loretto co-member Rosa Lizarde. We work collaboratively with other religious orders through Religious at the UN (RUN) and many other faith-based organizations of different religious traditions.
Photo by Teresa Blumenstein
Having an office at United Nations headquarters (UNHQ) in New York City allows Loretto to represent the Community’s values by advocating for human rights, Earth rights and social justice-oriented frameworks for creating and supporting international policy.
The Loretto at the UN office shares information with the Loretto Community about issues being addressed at the United Nations and around the world via periodic e-newsletters and our social media outlets. The NGO office also leverages the knowledge base of the Loretto Community for effective virtual and in-person advocacy work with U.N. Member States and U.N. agencies.
Photo courtesy of Loretto Archives
UN Calendar of Events
The UN functions similarly to an academic calendar, with work starting in late August with the opening of the General Assembly, and ending in the summer with many diplomats returning to their home states in July.
Here is a brief selection of the UN’s vast annual calendar of conferences and events, as well as the conferences and events Loretto at the UN pays attention to most. You can find a more complete list of UN annual events here.
August
September
October
November
- Conference of the Parties (COP) aka the Climate Talks
- 16 Days of Activism
December
- International Human Rights Day
January
- International Education Day
