Timeline

March 2024

Human Rights Council urged to promote a ‘human rights economy’

HICC Programme Assistant Anna Aguto delivers statement at the 55th Session of the Human Rights Council.

Global economic system transformation is needed to ensure businesses operate within planetary boundaries to secure a sustainable environment and protect human rights.

This was a key message from the Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) at the recent 55th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC). QUNO delivered its statement on behalf of the Friends World Committee for Consultation which represents Quakers, Soka Gakkai International, the World Council of Churches and Anglican Communion.

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March 2024

QUNO Review 2024

QUNO is proud to announce that the latest version of our annual review is now available online! This is a great opportunity to read and learn more about the work of our New York and Geneva offices during this past year, and to learn about the work ahead.

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February 2024

Building Partnerships to help us Learn From Each Other

On February 10th, QUNO New York hosted a group of Young Adult Friends (YAF) at Quaker House. The session was titled “Learning from Each Other: Young Adult Friends and the Quaker United Nations Office” and was organized in partnership with the New York Yearly Meeting. Over a day-long session, the group came together to exchange views on where young Friends hope for more engagement from Quaker peace practitioners, and how QUNO’s role at the UN intersects with these perspectives.  

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February 2024

Marking Three Years of Military Rule in Myanmar

February 2024 marked three years since the Myanmar (Burma) military took power in a violent coup following democratic elections. To commemorate this sombre anniversary, the Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) in New York, working in collaboration with the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), hosted a visit by two Myanmar experts. Z Nang Raw and Billy Ford spent two days at Quaker House providing private briefings to members of the UN community in New York.

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February 2024

QUNO steps into 2024 with a firm commitment to migration justice

The Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO)’ Human Rights and Refugees Programme bought its commitment to migration justice to the United Nations Network on Migration (UNNM) 5th Annual Meeting in January in Geneva. QUNO engages with these processes to meet with people working on different aspects of migration, strengthen collaboration and promote migration justice.

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February 2024

QUNO calls on businesses to ensure arms exports do not infringe on human rights

As 2024 begins, the Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) Geneva’s Peace and Disarmament programme has focused on its work on corporate responsibility in the arms trade, emphasising people at the center of arms control discourses and ensuring that states and businesses uphold their roles and responsibilities. 

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January 2024

Advancing the UN’s 2030 Agenda through Partnerships

On January 30th, Quaker UN Representative Kavita Desai delivered a statement at the annual Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Partnership Forum. In her remarks, Kavita highlighted the essential role of civil society organisations as partners in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly those that work on the frontlines of SDG implementation.

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January 2024

Governments need to urgently and equitably transform root causes driving rising temperature

QUNO’s Human Impacts of Climate Change programme, speaking on behalf of the Friends World Committee for Consultation, this month participated in the 60th Session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in Istanbul, Turkey. 

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January 2024

Exploring Special Procedures to Enhance Conflict Prevention

‘‘Full compliance with human rights is the best antidote to the inequalities, unaddressed grievances and exclusion which are often at the root of instability and conflict,” said Volker Türk, the United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights. 

The Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) shares this understanding of the inextricable link between human rights and peace. The protection and promotion of human rights is essential for achieving sustainable peace and in turn sustaining peace can help promote and protect human rights and create just and equitable societies. 

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January 2024

Finding Hope in Action: QUNO Programme Assistants Discuss Work Towards Peace in Israel and Palestine

When faced with situations of extreme destruction, violence, and loss like those the world has witnessed in Gaza and the Middle East over recent months, we are all challenged to find hope. On January 9, this challenge was addressed during a panel presentation for students from Columbia Theological Seminary on the role of young people in working towards peace in Israel and Palestine, in which QUNO Programme Assistants shared their experience of working at the UN over the past five months. 

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December 2023

QUNO marks International Migrants Day with a practical guide to safeguarding human rights

To commemorate International Migrants Day held on 18 December annually, the Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) is launching a practical guide as part of its Regional Migration Reviews publication series. International Migrants Day acknowledges the important contributions of migrants globally and recognizes the challenges they continue to encounter.

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December 2023

QUNO NY joins first ever CSO-UN Dialogue on Peacebuilding

QUNO NY joined a “CSO-UN Dialogue on Peacebuilding” from November 30th to December 1st. The Dialogue recognised the important role civil society organisations (CSOs) play in advancing local, national, regional and international solutions to build and sustain peace.

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December 2023

OPPORTUNITY: QUNO New York Programme Assistant Applications are Now Open

QUNO New York is now accepting Programme Assistant (PA) applications for the 2024-2025 year. QUNO New York works in close partnership with UN diplomats and officials to increase the global commitment to the UN’s role in building lasting peace. We believe that the UN will only fulfill this aspect of its mandate when its peace initiatives truly respond to community needs, and we seek to build bridges between the UN in New York and voices from the ground.

Status: Full - Time, Specific Term (12 months) Beginning September 1, 2024

Location: New York, NY

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December 2023

QUNO meets Quakers in Kenya

Quakers in Kenya shared local insights on ending plastic pollution with the Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO), following a major United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) meeting in that African country.

QUNO’s programme on Sustainable and Just Economic Systems (SJES) participated in the third session of the UNEP Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC) held in Kenya in November.

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December 2023

Diplomats Join Breakfast Briefing on Myanmar

On December 1, QUNO staff in New York kicked off the new month by hosting a breakfast meeting at Quaker House on the situation in Myanmar. The meeting brought diplomats together to hear a briefing by Min Zin, Executive Director of the Institute for Strategy and Policy, regarding the complex and rapidly evolving situation in Myanmar.

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December 2023

OPPORTUNITY: QUNO seeks a web designer

The Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) invites qualified vendors to submit a proposal to redesign and develop our new website.

QUNO has a strong preference for vendors with a demonstrated commitment and experience with diversity and inclusion concerns. We would also prefer a vendor experienced in working with international organisations.

Request for Proposals are being accepted on a rolling basis.

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December 2023

Intergenerational justice with this text is still at stake

The most difficult climate change Conference of Parties (COP) since the Paris Agreement (2015) has just finished. The mood in Dubai is sober and exhausted; there is little elation.  QUNO’s analysis will follow in the next days, but for now we can say that true urgency, equity and wealthy country leadership commitment remain deeply insufficient. Still, certain taboos on fossil fuels and international finance dysfunction are shifting, alongside improved focus on Adaptation and Loss and Damage.

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December 2023

Geneva Reporter newest edition online for download

 

Every few months, the Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) in Geneva publishes the Geneva Reporter newsletter. In this latest December 2023 edition we share updates on our programmes, links to our latest publications and offer a message of hope. 

Geneva Reporter is freely available for download at the link further down on this page. We would appreciate it if you share it with anyone who might be interested in our work at the United Nations. Enjoy reading! 

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December 2023

Quaker United Nations Summer School 2024 - Applications Now Open

Quaker United Nations Summer School 2023 participants at their visit to the United Nations in Geneva; group photo in front of the flags

We are excited to announce the return of the Quaker United Nations Office Geneva’s Summer School (QUNSS)! Our 12-day residential programme takes place from 1-12 July 2024 at the heart of international governance in Geneva, Switzerland. Summer school brings together a diverse group of young individuals to learn about pressing international concerns, develop professional skills, and build a like-minded community.

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