Waterspirit at the United Nations

For decades, Waterspirit has represented our sponsoring organization (the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace) at the United Nations. We collaborate with groups sharing the same goals, as well as other groups and organizations working for social and economic justice, peace-building, and sustainable human and environmental development throughout the world.

As a non-governmental organization (NGO) at the United Nations, we support the UN’s work, particularly the achievement of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. At the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit on September 25, 2015, world leaders adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which includes a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and tackle climate change by 2030.

Currently, Waterspirit’s Executive Director and UN-NGO representative, Blair Nelsen, is seeking out spaces where faith-based organizations can advocate for clean water and protections against climate change, including the NGO Mining Working Group, the Committee on Religious NGO’s Climate Working Group, and the Faith and Biodiversity UN Coordination Group. She regularly connects with other Catholic NGOs at the monthly Religious at the United Nations meetings.

Recent Highlights:

  • A webinar that recapped the UN Water Conference, held from March 22-24, 2023 at UN Headquarters in New York City, USA.

  • A virtual side event held during the UN 2023 Water Conference, entitled “Impacts of Extractives on Water and the Environment: Protection and Accountability through a Human Rights Framework”

  • An intervention given during the 2022 UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon, Portugal (starts at 01:22:04);

  • A virtual side event of the 2022 UN Ocean Conference entitled, “The Sea Is Sacred: Religious Responses to Deep Seabed Mining”;

  • An international, multi-faith response to the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (member of the drafting committee)

Other updates about our work at the UN are posted on our Medium site, social media, and newsletters. Sign up for our weekly mailers under “Get Involved” at the bottom of this page in order to stay in the loop. Questions may be directed to Waterspirit Executive Director and UN-NGO representative Blair Nelsen via email.