The Quaker United Nations Office welcomes the landmark decision by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to ask the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for an advisory opinion on “the obligations of States in respect of climate change.” The UNGA decision came after Vanuatu led a core group of nations, made up mostly of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and others, including New Zealand, to bring forward the resolution to the General Assembly.

On the 75th anniversary of the United Nations, Member States pledged to strengthen global governance for the sake of present and future generations. At the request of Member States, the Secretary-General released the much-anticipated report, ‘Our Common Agenda,’ that provided several recommendations, including the need for a New Agenda for Peace (NA4P), to address the multitude of challenges faced by the international community.

QUNO New York staff members, Sarah Clarke and Kavita Desai, traveled to Siem Reap, Cambodia to join in a workshop held by the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). The workshop brought AFSC staff together from Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and the United States to explore ways that different AFSC programs are working towards the shared goal of building just and sustainable peace. For Kavita and Sarah, it was an opportunity to build connections with exciting work taking place in communities from around the world.

On the International Day of Peace, which is held every year on 21 September, QUNO NY Representative, Kavita Desai, joined the Global People’s Assembly panel discussion, Peace and Conflict Prevention - Reflections on International Day of Peace. The session, held virtually, brought together civil society organizations (CSOs) to discuss the 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Our June 2022 newsletter shares updates from the work carried out by our New York office over recent months. Highlights include: a Q&A article on questions about the war in Ukraine and the UN; information on a new QUNO initiative on Youth, Peace and Security; the publication of our policy document, Building Peace in Times of Crisis; and news about staff comings and goings. Also hear from our new Director, Sarah Clarke, in her Director’s letter where she reflects on the state of multilateralism and the long commitment of Quaker witness at the UN.

The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) and the Quaker United Nations Committee - New York are pleased to announce that Sarah Clarke will be assuming the role of Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) New York Director on November 1.

The Civil Society – UN Prevention Platform, co-facilitated by QUNO, hosted its first virtual event of 2021. This virtual convening, titled Advancing UN Prevention Efforts Across Sectors and Institutions: Collective Pathways for Effective Prevention, centered on the current state of prevention at the United Nations (UN), building on the Platform’s 2020 Discussion Series on Prevention.

The Global Launch of the UN System-wide Community Engagement Guidelines (UNCEG) was an opportunity to present key recommendations from this new tool, which was designed to help strengthen partnerships between the UN and civil society for peacebuilding and sustaining peace. QUNO’s Quaker UN Representative, Megan Schmidt, joined the panel of representatives from the UN and civil society to reflect on ways forward for implementation and practical application of the recommendations.

In recognition of the multifaceted and universal effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s joint (virtual) session of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) focused on fostering global solidarity and conflict-sensitive responses to the socioeconomic impacts of the pandemic on development and peacebuilding efforts.