Why I Went to the UN

In January 2025, my doctor told me something that changed everything: that my long list of unexplained health conditions could be linked to my father’s exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. I had lived my whole life with these problems — but no one had ever connected the dots before.

When I started researching, I found overwhelming evidence. I also found silence. There was no recognition from the government, no support, and no mention of children like me — the second generation affected by TCDD, the toxic dioxin in Agent Orange.

I didn’t grow up knowing what was wrong. And when I finally had answers, I discovered that Australia still doesn’t acknowledge our existence.

That’s why I went to the United Nations.

International human rights bodies exist for exactly this reason: to give people a path to justice when their own governments fail to act. I turned to the UN not out of anger, but out of necessity — because the systems here have failed people like me for decades.

Australia is a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). That means it has a legal obligation to recognise, support, and protect people with disabilities — especially when those disabilities are caused by government actions or negligence.

I spoke out because I had to. Not just for myself, but for everyone who has been kept in the dark, dismissed, or forgotten.

If our own country won’t hear us, the world must.