I believe in the principles of the United Nations Charter. I embrace this Charter in the every day work that the Organization’s staff members carry out in the most remote places in the world. No matter what your function is at the United Nations, it is all about making a difference for the people who do not have a voice.

I joined the United Nations in 2007 as a Legal Officer in the Gaza Field Office of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. A year after that, I came to the UN Headquarters in New York to work in the Official Records, Editing Section (ORES), as a Spanish Editor.

Here I edit the official documents of the United Nations: resolutions and decisions of the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and the Security Council. Our job is to make sure the all the versions of the six languages are the same- we concord the translations.

We work in teams of six here at ORES. One person for each official United Nations language: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. We are 40 people strong at the New York headquarters. Every day brings a new challenge but with the ORES team we can overcome almost anything.

My office is very special: I start the day greeting my colleague across the hall in Arabic, share a joke in French or English and continue working in Spanish. Whenever there is an office party, the food comes from all over the world; I feel really privileged to have all these experiences on a daily basis.

I was very fortunate to be given the opportunity to work both in the field and at headquarters. Working in the field is completely different; it can often be under very hard conditions but you are more in contact with the problems of the people and you can make a very real difference through your work.

As a Legal Officer in the Gaza, I had to follow up the whereabouts of two local Palestinian staff members who went missing. Together with the International Committee of the Red Cross we visited them in when we found out they were in prison. We also spoke to their families and acted as a liaisons. They were eventually released.

I enjoyed the Middle East very much. The fact I got to know a culture so different from mine was amazing and I immediately connected with the people there. Diversity in the workplace was immense. I made some very good friends that I still keep in touch until today.

When I reflect on my career so far I see I have been able to combine my professional background in both in the legal and the language fields and bring this experience to the United Nations. I am an Argentinean lawyer with a specialization in Public and Criminal Law and I am also a Spanish Editor. Before joining the United Nations, I worked in the Ministry of Justice in my country. My duties and responsibilities involved not only the provision of legal advice but also the drafting, editing and translation of official documents, such as legal documents, background papers for United Nations meetings and reports.

I thoroughly enjoy my posting in New York. After all it is the “city that never sleeps” but also a place where you can find everything. I feel I can take a bite out of the big apple everyday through my posting at New York headquarters.