QUNO contributed to the substantive finalization of a comprehensive report carried out by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF South Africa), which makes a case for mainstreaming the informal waste sector towards an inclusive circular economy across African cities. The focus was on the work reclaimers and waste pickers do in cities of Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Uganda.

The research supports our mutual aims and outcomes in seeking to establish policy advocacy and action by assessing the significance of an inclusive circular economy across material value chains in the African context. QUNO also contributed to the design and translation (into French) of a factsheet stemming from the full report. The three documents are accessible through links and attachments below. 

As part of the COP27 side event on climate justice in the Arctic co-hosted by QUNO, the Inuit Circumpolar Conference, Friends of the World Consultation Committee, British Yearly Meeting, and Quaker Earthcare Witness, a crysophere expert shared about the latest effects of climate change in the Arctic. Pam Pearson, director of the International Crysophere Climate Initiative, shared the latest cryosphere science, growing losses, and global impacts. Access her powerpoint here. 

"We cannot negotiate with the melting point of ice."

This is an informal analysis of the decision passed at COP27 on new funding arrangements for addressing loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change. It is offered in the spirit of increasing accessibility and understanding of the text. 

QUNO's September 2022 issue of the Geneva Reporter newsletter is available below. This issue includes a welcome letter from our Director Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge and reporting on the International Migration Review Forum from the Human Rights & Refugees team. It also includes updates from our Peace and Disarmament (P&D), Human Impacts of Climate Change (HICC) and Sustainable and Just Economic Systems (SJES) programmes.

FWCC/QUNO submitted in September 2022 a report to the Katowice Committee of Experts on the Impacts of the Implementation of Response Measures (KCI). The Committee – which features representatives from each of the five UN regional groups, one member from the least developed countries, one member from the small island developing States and two members from relevant intergovernmental organizations - was established in 2018 to produce work on the impacts – both positive and negative - of responses to climate change taken by different actors. QUNO has been an observer of KCI meetings throughout the course of these years, advocating for responses that take human rights into account.

The reports focuses on best practice approaches to climate action. It also reflects how incorporating the human rights of people in poverty promotes environmental, social, and economic co-benefits of climate change policies. Our input to the KCI was grounded in three principles: what is 1)Fair, 2) Ambitious, and 3) Effective. Observations and examples of good/promising practices were made in the areas of energy; housing; planned obsolescence and life cycle of production; the impacts of transition on employment; and land use, including food waste and diet. 

The materials of the reports have also been shared with the United Nations Rapporteur on the extreme poverty and human rights. 

To read the full submission, click the link below.

In May 2022, QUNO launched a Youth Listening Exercise and activities that focus on strengthening youth inclusion and advocating for United Nations policies that reflect youth identified priorities. This work also seeks to engage with young people globally to discern the direction of QUNO’s work as it relates to the UN’s Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) agenda. The first listening exercise convened young people from across the United States via Zoom. This summary provides insights and reflections on key findings and emergent themes from that consultation.

On 27 April diplomats and UN officials will gather for a High-Level meeting at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing financing for peacebuilding. In her piece, UN Representative, Megan Schmidt, brings forward the learning and messages from her report, Building Peace in Times of Crisis, that relate to peacebuilding financing across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus. This includes: ensuring sustainable and flexible UN capacities through funding across the “nexus;” incentivizing financing for programming that is inclusive and meets the needs of communities; and having funding mechanisms that allow staff the flexibility needed to be responsive in complex environments.

Following weeks of speculation and intelligence reports, the Russian government initiated new military operations in Ukraine beginning on 24 February. This military attack has had immediate far-reaching impacts, sparked a massive humanitarian crisis, and raised serious concern about potential ecological damage. On the global stage, a range of actions have been taken in response, including measures within the United Nations (UN). This document provides brief details on the response by specific UN bodies thus far and does not include information on all actions taken by UN entities or individual Member States. A letter by the Directors of QUNO’s Geneva and New York offices accompanied the release of this document and can be read here.

Acknowledging that the world is moving towards increasingly complex crisis situations, which require ever more complex responses, the Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) has increasingly focused on the role of sustainable and people-centered strategies for peace within crisis. As a first step in this work, staff initiated a research and learning process, consisting of desk research and the implementation of a listening exercise engaging with colleagues working in the UN environment and globally to better unpack how peace is understood within the UN system as it seeks to develop policy and practice in crisis situations. The publication, Building Peace in Times of Crisis, is the culmination of this work. It outlines the learning, challenges and opportunities that emerged from QUNO’s research and highlights six recurring shifts that illustrate efforts already underway or that are needed to enhance the linkages between peace approaches and crisis response strategies: 

• Organizational, corporate or leadership level shift 
• Mindset shift 
• Program development and management shift 
• Capacity and skills development shift  
• Partnerships shift 
• Funding shift 

In addition to the full publication, QUNO has produced an Executive Summary of the report, which is available here.