Welcome to the Quaker United Nations Office!

Peaceable Kingdom by Quaker artist Edward Hicks. Copyright©2005 National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. Over the past sixty years, Quakers have sought to support the work of the UN and its vision, like that of Edward Hicks, of a world where opposing forces could live together in peace.

The Quaker United Nations Office, located in Geneva and New York, represents Quakers through Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC). Since the founding of the United Nations in 1945, Quakers have shared that organisation's aims and supported its efforts to abolish war and promote peaceful resolution of conflicts, human rights, economic justice and good governance.

FWCC, which links Quakers around the world, has had consultative status with the United Nations' Economic and Social Council as an international non-governmental organisation since 1948. In July 2002, FWCC was moved from Special Status to General Status. By this move, the UN has recognized that Friends do work of importance in a very broad range of international concerns.

This status allows the QUNO staff to attend many UN meetings, to receive documents and to make written and oral statements and to suggest agenda items to the Economic and Social Council. QUNO staff also work with other multilateral organisations, such as the World Trade Organisation, International Labour Organisation, World Bank, International Monetary Fund and others relevant to our areas of concern. Click here to learn more about our status at the U.N.

Most Recent QUNO Publications:

• International Standards on Conscientious Objection to Military Service, (English), (Español), (Français) Rachel Brett, November 2008 (pdf 1.05 mb)
• Geneva Reporter - Geneva, August 2008 - October 2008 (pdf 347 kb)
• UK and Committee on the Rights of the Child, October 2008 (pdf 183kb)
• Patents & Quaker Action. (English) (pdf 419kb), (Arabic) (pdf 672kb)
• Patents, Trade & Health (English) (pdf 288kb), (Arabic) (pdf 709kb)
• Patents, Trade & Food(English) (pdf 339kb), (Arabic) (pdf 647kb)
• Patents, Trade & Development. (English) (pdf 338kb), (Arabic) (pdf 672kb)
• Women in prison: A commentary on the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (English), (Español), (Français), M. Bastick & L. Townhead, June 2008 (pdf 1.26 mb)
• Digging Foundations or Trenches? UN Human rights Council: Year 2, R. Brett, August 2008 (pdf 464kb)
• Ensuring Temporariness: Mechanisms to Incentivise Return Migration in the Context of GATS mode 4 and Least Developed Country Interest, Uri Friedman and David Zafar Ahmed, June 2008 (pdf 620 kb)
  
• In and Around the UN - New York, June 2008 (pdf 495kb)
• Behind Bars: Children Imprisoned by Circumstance (English), July 2008 (pdf 500 kb)
• The Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development:
  An International Newsletter on integrating armed violence prevention and reduction into development strategies
  Issue 2, July 2008 (English) (Français)(pdf 195kb)
• Disarmament and Development: One Coin, Two Sides? A briefing for Friends(pdf 324kb)