For the first time since 1997 and just the second time ever, the Security Council held an Arria-Formula meeting focusing specifically on the issue of Palestine. Co-sponsored by the Permanent missions’ of Malaysia and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, with assistance from the Israel-Palestine NGO Working Group, the meeting: "Reflections One Year Later and Charting a New Course for Gaza" featured briefings from speakers from civil society and academia, and was well attended by Council members and the UN community alike.
Security Council member states were largely represented at the highest level, and were constructive in their response to the four speakers' testimonies. Many member states welcomed the convening of the Arria-Formula Event, and issued their support for new Security Council initiatives that might arise. There was a general agreement that the current situation in Gaza is unsustainable and must be alleviated, with interventions focusing on the need to lift the blockade, for donor's to fulfil aid pledges, and for actors to ensure that steps are taken to prevent future hostilities.
QUNO has been an active member of the Israel-Palestine NGO Working Group since its founding in 1999. The working group is a coalition of organizations that have meet to share information and advocate for a just peace in Israel and Palestine.
Myanmar “sham electionsโ: QUNO hostsย Quaker Houseย briefing
On 2 December, the Quaker UN Officeย hostedย diplomatsย at Quaker House forย a private briefingย in advance of theย elections in Myanmarย that began onย 28 December 2025.ย QUNO Director, Sarah Clarke,ย openedย the meeting, noting thatย โthe world will beโฏwatchingโฏcarefullyย to see howย the international communityย respondsย toโฏthe vote.โย Seanย Dunne,ย an expert who hasย supported election observationย with the UN and the Carter Center,ย including in Myanmar, served as an outside briefer.ย In his remarks, Seanย emphasized that the Myanmarย general elections,ย which areย being conducted by the military regime that overthrew the democratically elected governmentย followingย electionsย in 2020,ย โfail to meet any recognized international benchmark for credibility or genuineness.โย Seanย concurredย withย UN experts,ย numerousย Human Rightsย organizations, and media outlets describing theย elections asย a โcharadeโ or โshamย electionโ intended to โsolicit recognition from foreign governments and legitimize the continuation of military rule, rather than reflect the genuine will of the Myanmar people.โย In Myanmar,ย voting kicked off onย 28 December 2025,ย withย polls beingย held inย roughly aย third of Myanmarโsย townships. Despite two more voting phases scheduled on 11 and 25 January 2026, several million people, 56 townships, andย numerousย political parties,ย including the winner of Myanmarโs lastย credible election,ย the National League for Democracy, have been excluded by the military orย haveย chosenย not toย participate.ย ย As Sean explained, theseย exclusionary factorsย amount to โan incredibly sophisticated form of election engineering.โย Theย implementation of biometric voting and surveillance technology, new laws criminalizing criticism of the election, andย manipulation of representative quotas in Myanmarโs […]
