As I sit in my office in New York, reflecting on my journey from United Nations Volunteers (UNV) to Ambassador of Canada and Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, it's the fieldwork that I cherish the most. These experiences—both the successes and the struggles—shaped me into the diplomat I am today. In 1995, I was a UN Volunteer with the United Nations Verification Mission for Human Rights in Guatemala (MINUGUA), which not only prepared me for working with the UN, but also made this journey possible. I’m proud and grateful to say that I was—and still am—a UN Volunteer at heart.
At 28, while working for Human Rights Internet in Ottawa, I discovered that UNV was recruiting volunteers for Guatemala. Volunteering had always been close to my heart, even before my time as a UN Volunteer. During my university days, I helped a Salvadoran refugee family who had fled El Salvador’s civil war, facilitating their integration into Canadian society.
When I saw the opportunity to go to Guatemala, the parallels to my previous experience were clear. Like El Salvador, Guatemala had endured a long civil war. MINUGUA, established in 1994, was first tasked to monitor the implementation of a human rights agreement between the Guatemalan government and the Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca. My mission as a UN Volunteer Human Rights Monitor was to ensure compliance with this accord. Luckily, my years spent living in Barcelona as a child had given me a strong connection to the Spanish-speaking world, making Guatemala a natural fit.
In Guatemala, I was assigned to the MINUGUA office in the small town of Cantabal, located in Ixcán, in the northwest of the country. Our team of six was incredibly diverse, with each member a native of a different country. We had a coordinator from Uruguay, a legal officer from the United States of America, and two human rights monitors—a colleague from Austria and me, from Canada. Completing the team were a police advisor from Spain and a military advisor from Brazil. It was my first experience working in a multinational group, and it gave me my first real sense of contributing to the mission of the UN.
One of our key responsibilities was raising awareness about the UN’s presence in the country and the purpose of the human rights accord. This agreement had been signed by both parties involved in the civil war, but in the areas where we worked—often remote and inaccessible regions—many people had no idea it even existed. In fact, most didn’t know that the UN was in the country at all. Raising awareness about these issues became an essential part of our mission.
Another important aspect of my role was facilitating human rights workshops, exploring questions like: What are human rights? What do they mean to you, living here in Cantabal after almost 36 years of civil war?
Listening to people's stories was one of the most challenging aspects of the mission. We were among the first foreigners to hear about the civil war atrocities directly from its victims. I interviewed people, documented past and more recent human rights violations, and sent reports to headquarters. These vivid, haunting stories needed to be recorded and acknowledged. It mattered deeply that the international community was there. For those sharing their experiences, it was about being heard and having their truth recognized after years of silence, and in many cases, exile.
I heard stories about friends and family who had disappeared, stories of suffering in the face of unspeakable violence. What struck me most was the courage and resilience of the people sharing these memories. I often found myself wondering: how would I have managed in such a terrible situation? I had never experienced anything like it before. I mean, I hadn’t been out of university for very long. I’d had a privileged upbringing, and then, suddenly, was faced with a completely different reality—a reality that tested me in ways I couldn’t have anticipated.
Looking back now, I think I became a better listener while working in Guatemala. People needed someone to hear their stories. A good diplomat, I learned, must listen first. But they must also be willing to tell the truth about what’s taking place—even if it’s extremely uncomfortable. That experience in Guatemala was my first exposure to the UN, to multilateralism, and to the challenges of building and maintaining peace. It changed my life.
I also saw firsthand the importance of being present and responding quickly in moments of crisis. It reinforced for me how essential trust and communication are in developing relationships with local communities. And working in such a remote area of the country brought its own difficulties. I remember being bitten by a scorpion as I was putting on my boots, dealing with all sorts of tropical health issues, and facing the isolation of living deep in the jungle. But I always had my team—the six of us—and the broader UN network spread across the country.
When I first arrived, I was rather naive, unaware of the complexities of protecting and promoting human rights in communities shaped by decades, even centuries of history. I learned about the immense challenges involved in halting human rights violations, in controlling the circulation of weapons after more than three decades of civil war, and in addressing the population's demands for justice and accountability. Justice doesn’t happen automatically after signing an agreement between parties.
I stayed on MINUGUA for six months—a brief period that felt much longer because of how profound the experience was for me. I was even asked to stay longer, but I had a job waiting back in Ottawa. I had taken a leave of absence from Human Rights Internet and felt a responsibility to return. Adjusting to life back in Canada wasn’t easy. I often found myself feeling unsatisfied, wondering what life might have been like had I stayed in Guatemala, working for the UN.
But that was not the final chapter with Guatemala or the UN. I returned to the country a few years later to represent CECI, another Canadian NGO, and to continue my work in human rights. And together with my then spouse, we adopted two amazing Guatemalan girls, further deepening my bond with the country.
Though I don't work directly for the UN, I represent my country at the UN, and in no small way, thanks to my time in Guatemala. That experience paved the way for what I do today. And as they say, once a UN Volunteer, always a UN Volunteer!
Guatemala. @ UNV, 1996.