Home > NGO Office

Welcome to the UN/NGO page. An NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) is a local, national or international citizen’s group that does not work for profit and has no connection to any governmental agencies.
As NGOs at the United Nations, the IBVMs world-wide have an associative status with the Department of Information (DPI). This means that our community has the ability to raise humanitarian concerns to UN groups and to communicate to our sisters, families, friends, schools, and alumnae all around the world the issues and decisions occurring at the United Nations.
Watch this page for issues raised at the United Nations, particularly those that affect women and children around the world.

Anne Kelly, IBVM, from the Australian Province,
NGO Representative at the United Nations.

Slavery in the 21st Century

Clare Condon, Loreto Intern at the United Nations

Slavery is a word we associate with antiquated and deeply unjust societies, yet for the 15 to 30 million slaves living in 2011 it is a daily reality. Characterized by a denial of self determination, these enslaved individuals are forced to work for little or no pay under the control of another person. Trafficking of persons plays a large role in modern day slavery, with 75-80% of all human trafficking victims being sold into the sex trade. Other areas of exploitation include forced labor, domestic servitude and begging syndicates. Slavery exists outside the sphere of legal or social governance and the fact that this system remains part of our global economic and social structure is rarely discussed openly. Tens of millions of trafficking victims lack access to education and healthcare, live under threat of brutal beatings and suffer a broad denial of the most basic human rights.

Trafficking of persons is a complex issue, yet often involves vulnerable people being coerced from ‘source countries’ to ‘destination countries’ with the promise of regular employment and a better life. ‘Source countries’ are generally economically depressed regions, particularly areas in Eastern Europe and Asia.