In her decades-long career as a lawyer with the United Nations, Diane Goodman, BA’79, has seen the best and worst of humanity. She’s been on the frontlines around the world, defending refugee rights and advocating for women and children. Alice Taylor spoke with Goodman about her journey from Western to Bay Street to some of this century’s most significant humanitarian crises—and how she forged a path that ignited her passion and purpose.
You’ve had such a full life, with lots of twists and turns. Walk me through your journey from Western to law school to a Bay Street law firm and to the UN.
Actually, there’s an additional step in that journey. I’d been working for a corporate law firm for about three years when a student who was interested in corporate commercial law asked me what I loved about my job. And I didn’t have a single thing to say. Like nothing. So, I asked for a leave of absence from the firm, and travelled to the Cook Islands and Australia. Eventually I ended up in Norway and was inspired by their approach to women’s and children’s rights. It made me realize I wanted to do something very different with my life.
The rights of women and children—was that an existing interest, or a brand-new chapter for you?
Children’s rights had been an interest of mine that was reignited when I saw the advances Norway was making in this area. So, I quit the firm and went to work at the Institute of Women’s Rights at the Law Faculty of the University of Oslo, where I conducted research on children’s rights. When my work wrapped up, I headed to Cambodia, as a volunteer for the UN peacekeeping mission, which was running the elections in Cambodia. It was an amazing experience. I lived in a small village along the Mekong and helped to organize elections at the district level.
Eventually, I joined UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) in Kenya, one of the few international agencies at the time interested in hiring lawyers. The agency helps to protect and support refugees, internally displaced persons and stateless persons by providing emergency shelter, food and water and ensuring their basic human rights. They also help refugees find long-term solutions, whether that’s returning home, integrating locally or resettling in a new country. I had the privilege to work for UNHCR in its humanitarian response to the genocide in Rwanda, the civil war in Sudan and the refugee and migrant emergency in Europe, among others.
What are some common misconceptions about refugees?
Refugees fleeing from violence or oppression are often wrongly characterized as just looking for a better life and seen as a huge burden on society—when in fact the opposite is true. For example, in the European emergency, the narrative about Syrian refugees was very negative, really one-sided. Lots of coverage of boatloads of people coming into refugee camps, and nothing about the situation in Syria or about the dangerous crossing. The heartbreaking photo of Alan Kurdi, the two-year-old Syrian refugee boy whose body was found on shore in 2015, changed everything. It resonated with people on a personal level. Everyone thought, he could be my child. The rhetoric changed overnight. Donations flooded in and there was generally more compassion and interest in what refugees were experiencing and what they were fleeing from.
It’s unfortunate it took something so tragic to make people pay attention.
I fully agree. That tragedy should never have happened. But there are positive stories too. Yusra Mardini, a swimmer from Damascus, and her sister Sarah fled Syria when their house was destroyed in the civil war. First, they went to Lebanon, then Turkey and then to Greece by boat. Several hours into crossing the Aegean, their boat broke down and was at risk of sinking, so Yusra, Sarah and two others pushed it. There was a lot of media coverage and Netflix made a film about them called The Swimmers. Yusra went to Germany to train as a swimmer and competed for the Refugee Olympic team. She’s now a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador.
For refugees who find solutions far away from their homes, what can be done to help them integrate into their new communities?
I was UNHCR’s Deputy Representative in Nepal during the largest resettlement operation in the world at that time. We ran a program to support Bhutanese refugees resettle and begin new lives in Canada, the U.S. and a few other countries. They were very nervous about countries like Canada, because it’s so cold and so different. We thought the best way to help alleviate these fears was to show them what life would be like in their new homes. So, I worked with a fabulous Nepali photographer, Kashish Das Shrestha, to stage a huge exhibition in the refugee camps featuring life-size photographs of refugees who had already resettled in New York City. The photos showed them buying the same cooking spices, practicing their religious and cultural activities—and thriving despite the cold! And on this side of the process, I highly recommend watching the film Peace by Chocolate about the Hadhads, a Syrian family that resettled in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. It shows their incredible determination and resilience in starting a new life and the important role Canadians can play in helping refugees feel welcome and supported in their new home.
Are there other examples of resilience that stand out to you?
I saw resilience everywhere, but especially during my time in Greece in 2015, during the height of the Syrian refugee influx. Authorities throughout Europe were caught completely unprepared. They had no reception facilities, so refugees arriving after making the treacherous journey across the Mediterranean were housed in warehouses with no running water, no electricity, no beds or individual dwellings—some of the worst conditions I had ever seen. While I was there, I spent time with a little girl, who wasn’t more than three or four. She was stuck in this horrendous place but was still laughing and having fun. And I think that was largely because she was with her family. That family connection is key. If children are lucky enough to be with their family, they’re much more likely to be okay.
How are the voices of refugees integrated into the process?
You cannot hold any job in UNHCR—even High Commissioner—if you’re not constantly meeting with, speaking with and getting feedback from refugees themselves. It was a huge part of every UNHCR job I had. We have always engaged with refugees very closely in our field operations, it is the very nature of our work. However, over the past five years or so, inclusion of refugee voices in high-level meetings and decision-making processes has become more formalized, reflecting their growing influence and contributions to the organization at the global level.
What can we do here at home to help newcomers adjust to life in Canada?
There’s a lot we can do to help people who’ve recently resettled in our communities. There are so many volunteer opportunities. You can donate things to help them set up their new households, help them with a job search or a resume, or just have coffee together. And, I highly recommend watching the film Peace by Chocolate about the Hadhads, a Syrian family that resettled in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. It shows their incredible determination and resilience in starting a new life and the important role Canadians can play in helping refugees feel welcome and supported in their new home.
You’ve been focused on sexual harassment over the past six years, which happens to align with the rise of the #MeToo movement. Was that a catalyst for your involvement?
It definitely was. I’d just finished up my role as Deputy Director of UNHCR’s Europe Bureau and Head of Operations for the Refugee and Migrant Emergency in Europe and was considering what to do next and then #MeToo happened. We were aware of the long-standing problem of sexual exploitation and abuse by humanitarian workers, in addition to sexual harassment of colleagues, and there was significant pressure on the organization to act. The High Commissioner, knowing my background, asked if I could lead this work. He initially asked that I do this for six months, and it ended up being six years.
The organization needed to change its entire approach to how it dealt with sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment. I led a cross-organizational team that looked at a wide range of issues, from organizational culture to investigation and disciplinary action, focusing in particular on creating a more survivor-centered process. We hired a clinical psychologist to support survivors confidentially. We also developed a web platform called “Not Only Me” that enabled survivors to tell their stories anonymously, in their own words, and to find out if their abuser had harmed others, encouraging them to seek support and perhaps formally report. And we found other ways to share stories of survivors confidentially, which was incredibly powerful.
Avoid comparing yourself to others who seem like they have it all figured out. Instead, focus on what excites you and stay open and curious about the possibilities ahead.
Circling back to your decision to leave corporate law, what advice would you offer to students or recent grads who have invested significant time, money and personal identity into one career path, only to realize it’s not the right fit?
There’s so much pressure on young people today to have everything figured out—to not only know what they want to do but have a clear plan for how and when to get there. My advice is that you don’t have to have everything figured out and to really trust yourself and your instincts. Be open to seeing where the bends in the road can take you. There were jobs I didn’t get that upset me at the time but turned out to be blessings in disguise. Not getting them made way for something better. It’s tough in the moment but try not to worry if you’re not hitting every mark. And avoid comparing yourself to others who seem like they have it all figured out. Instead, focus on what excites you and stay open and curious about the possibilities ahead. ●
Interview has been edited for length and clarity.
