“When I arrived to the UN in New York after a 20-year diplomatic career, I started working on Security and Disarmament issues for the first time. Until then, I had eluded Disarmament and Non-Proliferation (DNP). Not that I hadn’t recognized their importance but I considered this field technical and difficult to grasp. To my surprise, after a challenging initial period of getting acquainted with new terminology and acronyms, I found an absorbing world full of captivating opportunities. I also realized that this responsibility of working and making decisions on issues related to DNP and Peace was reserved to a small community of diplomats, a great group of people, but in which women represented a very small percentage. This is why I decided to add my voice and take all opportunities to break new ground and expose the important role and contribution that women can bring in preventing conflicts through DNP. Two years ago, working as Spanish Ambassador to the OSCE here in Vienna I joined the initiative of UNODA’s (United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs) Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Education, which aims at promoting women’s education in these areas so that more women can work and be part of the decision making in this field. Women can make a difference in DNP.”
Ambassador Victoria González-Román is the Permanent Representative of the Delegation of Spain to the OSCE
