Compassion for change. Nurturing the motivation of staff in UN institutions dedicated to the promotion of human rights.

Mandated to promote the respect of human rights across countries, UN agencies are both guided by those legal instruments, and committed to promote their translation into practice. Despite their inspiring foundation and mission, they often remain underneath their potential to make a difference. The central argument of this paper is that the UN will be able to promote human rights, and through them individual wellbeing and collective welfare if, and only if it lives and breathes these rights internally. Forming part of a Special issue, dedicated to 'Rights in the mandate and work of international organizations' the purpose of the present article is to emphasize that the changes that are required externally to make rights efficient and effective, begin inside, with the aspirations and actions of staff. While the focus of this paper is on the United Nations, many of the challenges and proposed solutions are applicable to the wider aid sector, covering humanitarian and development organizations. Anchored in a multidisciplinary paradigm for understanding and improving individual and collective existence, the article presents the Compassion for Change (C4C) approach. The approach arose from the author's experience and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]