TheJourneyVolume1 - Book - Page 32
#NextGenUNDP
Natalie Boucly
Coun tr y o f O r igin :
UNDP Co u n t r y O f f ic e :
Date o f Ap po in tm e n t :
ITALY & FRANCE
C E N T R A L A FR I CA N R E P U B L IC (CAR )
MAY 2019
“THE UN NEEDS TO CHANGE WITH
THE WORLD AND THE REALITIES OF ITS
GEOPOLITICAL DIMENSIONS.”
I
often come across people, even on the African
continent, who are not sure where CAR is, or whether
it is a country at all. So, I am regularly asked, “Is this
Congo or a part of it?” It may be remote and far from
being a tourist destination on anyone’s bucket list, but
it is also a large, lush, and soil-rich country, right in
the middle of this beautiful continent. Such questions
invariably make me wonder how a French girl of Italian
descent, born and raised in Castelnau-Rivière-Basse, a
small village of around 500 inhabitants, nestled in the
Pyrenees mountains (in south-western France), ended
up here. This is my chance to tell you that story.
GROWING UP MODEST, BUT CURIOUS
I was born in a rather modest middle-class family; my
Italian mother was busy raising the children and keeping
the house running, whilst my father scaled the military
ranks to eventually join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). My mother left school aged 14 to work and
my Italian grandmother never learned to read or write.
My parents wanted their children to have the best
possible education. Having noticed my propensity for
languages and music, which often go together, by the time
I turned 12 and my father had to move to the outskirts
of Paris for work, I was given the unique opportunity to
join an international public (non-fee paying, but meritbased) school, the Lycée International de Saint Germain
en Laye, where I followed a bilingual English and French
curriculum. The school was like a mini United Nations,
with students from all over the world, and we had
fantastic teachers. Studying here, ignited my curiosity
for foreign cultures, which in turn led to a desire to learn
more languages, and to travel the world. To date, I am
proficient in nine languages including Arabic, Russian,
Spanish. I am also fluent in Serbian and Croatian,
although I have never worked or lived in these countries.
But one of my favourite languages is Swahili. In parallel, I
also studied music and learned to play the piano.
A few years later, after my A-levels and having decided
that a musical career was not for me, I went to read law
at the London School of Economics and Political Science
with majors in International Law and Human Rights. In
1996, I was called to the Bar of England and Wales and
practiced as a criminal defense and human rights lawyer in
London - both independently and with NGOs. I was drawn
to law because I deeply believe in having fair, predictable,
and regulated systems that apply equally to all, regardless
of wealth, social status, race, or creed. I became similarly
drawn towards working for the United Nations, having
been moved by the opening words of the UN Charter that
specifically mention these fundamental principles:
“We, the peoples of the United Nations determined to
(…) regain faith in fundamental human rights (…) and
in the equal rights of men and women and of nations
large and small and to establish the conditions under
which justice and respect for the obligations arising
from treaties and other sources of international law can
be maintained (…)”.
DEFINING MOMENT
In February 1999, my dream came true. After sending out
many applications and never giving up on my aspirations,
I finally joined UNDP in New York on a short-term legal
consultancy. This was a defining moment for me. I had
reached a fork in the road and gone down an untrodden
path, far from the comfort of a regular lawyer’s life in
London, and that path changed my life forever. Having
been a victim of a criminal attack in London - another
defining moment, I took on martial arts for self-defense ›
The world is changing.
The breakdown in multilateralism,
the climate emergency, COVID-19…
mean that for the UN to remain
relevant, a profound
transformation is needed.”
32