Asking Difficult Questions - UNCSW62 blog 12

            In reading the Gospels, one of the consistencies is how Jesus has no hesitation in asking difficult questions. "Who touched me?" and "Who do you say that I am?" and "Who are my brothers?" and "Why are you sleeping?" - they are abundant, and are intended to start conversations.

            Events I attended on Tuesday were equally full of difficult questions. One side event addressed empowering women across the humanitarian development nexus, and challenged several high-level officials in intersectional areas of gender/rural/humanitarian response. The key messages included accountability, partnership, multi-year and flexible funding, disaggregate data, and capacity building. The moderator held nothing back as she pressed for commitments beyond easy abstract statements. It was a delightfully honest and refreshing conversation, with an inspiring message to all agencies (governmental and NGOs) to break down silos and work collaboratively in meaningful ways. UN Women ED Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka encouraged us further when she concluded: "My biggest wish is that we take this conversation to the people who are not in this room, who have power." While progress is possible, how we will accomplish these intentions are difficult questions.

            A parallel event examined the challenges of making gender-friendly cities for rural and/or indigenous migrants following the PPPS model (identify the Problem, develop useful Policy, create effective Program, and formulate Services to deliver the best response.) We were asked to consider how we might implement such a model in our own contexts - a difficult question.

            Another side event embraced the newly articulated overlap of rights to information and gender equality, identifying difficult questions such as how NGOs might collaborate to reduce the disparity of women and men accessing internet (250 million), the risks and possible backlashes of political, social, and economic perspective, the reality of biased information (fake news), the importance of data and transparency, and the reality of NGO involvement in the regulation of information (not the previous focus on universal access).

            In the midst of these difficult questions, we (as NGOs) continue to track developments in the CSW negotiations, and advocate for positive change in the draft. Tracking changes to consider implications in such areas as water, transportation, political agency all raise many difficult questions; they inspire many engaging conversation.

            And as the Anglican Communion Delegation, we are raising our own difficult questions. As we begin preparations for our statement to the Anglican Consultative Council, we are asking ourselves what issues raised in our time together are most meaningful, and how our faith plays a role in our understanding of those issues, and how these issues impact our faith and actions. They are difficult questions that anyone could ask themselves at any time, as they journey forward in faith.

            Difficult questions are not something we should shy away from; just as Jesus' disciples did not shy away from them. Instead, we can see them as the opportunity to engage more deeply in the matters of the day, in the issues that impact our lives. They provide us the beginning of meaningful conversation, and they encourage us to intentionally reflect on how our faith is a big part of those conversations. I hope we are never so intimidated by difficult questions that we fail to recognise the gift that we are given to deepen our faith. Jesus never asked more than could be pondered; this remains our truth today.