Quaker United Nations Office
Connecting Friends' values with the global communityWe are a Quaker presence at the United Nations sharing Friends’ concerns for global peace and justice with the international community.
The Quaker United Nations Office promotes justice, peace and sustainability at the United Nations. Our priorities are based on the concerns of Quakers worldwide. Through different areas of work in Geneva and New York, we seek to ensure that the UN system and community of nations support and uphold the dignity of all, so that justice and peace can flourish, and our shared home can be nurtured.
“Nothing About Us, Without Us” Advancing Meaningful Migrant Participation
Human rights law recognises all people as rights-holders with agency. Part of this is being able to have a say in decisions that shape our lives. Meaningful participation is fundamental for everyone, yet migrants can face different issues than other groups in society...
Supporting Indigenous Voices at the UN: Quaker Engagement at the 25th UNPFII
The Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) is an annual session at the UN that focuses on indigenous issues related to economic and social development, the environment, culture, education, health and human...
Creating a space for those willing to move first: QUNO’s participation at the Santa Marta Conference of Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels
At the end of April, 57 countries and more than 2,000 organizations met in Santa Marta, Colombia, to discuss how to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels. This First International Conference to Transition Away from Fossil Fuels proved to be more than a diplomatic...
QUNO Report Examines Subsidies in the Plastics Treaty Negotiations
The Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) has released a report authored by international trade lawyer Amy Porges, Plastic Money: Turning Off the Subsidies Tap – A Stocktake of Plastic Subsidies in the INC and Related International Frameworks. The publication provides a...
Earth Day, Earth Care: Over a decade of QUNO’s publications
To celebrate Earth Day at QUNO, we are sharing a compilation of over a decade of publications reflecting our engagement in climate crisis and Earth Care. To access the compendium, please download the document below.
What We Can Do: New versions and languages available for climate science resource
QUNO’s resource “Climate Change: What We Can Do” (previously known as “How to be a hero to all our children”) integrates personal actions with the latest climate science available via the 6th Assessment Report (AR6) conducted by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on...
New York
Supporting the UN’s Role for Peace Globally
QUNO New York seeks to strengthen member states’ understanding of and commitment to important concepts that build what has been called Positive Peace. Peace in this view requires the presence of social justice, equity, and systems that support sustainable...
Supporting the UN’s Role for Peace in Regional Contexts
In New York, QUNO has a long history of engaging diplomats and UN officials around specific country and regional contexts. In this effort, we work closely with UN diplomats, officials, and civil society organizations, often using Quaker House as a space to host...
Supporting the UN to Build Peaceful and Just Societies with Inclusive Institutions
QUNO works towards implementing the UN’s 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which comprise a global action plan for people, planet, prosperity, and peace through partnership. In particular, QUNO works on SDG 16: the “peace goal.” QUNO has a...
Geneva
Human Impacts of Climate Change
QUNO works for effective, fair and ambitious climate action and environmental protection. QUNO is concerned about the impacts of climate change on people’s lives, and works to ensure that the rights and dignity of all are upheld in the face of a changing...
Human Rights & Refugees
QUNO works for international law, standards and processes that uphold the inherent worth of each and every person. We work to strengthen the promotion and protection of human rights through the United Nations system, with particular reference to the interface between...
Peace & Disarmament
QUNO works for holistic approaches that address the seeds of war, including inequality, injustice and the proliferation of arms. Our peace and disarmament programme grows out of a long Quaker history of working for peace, understanding that this means more than the...
Sustainable & Just Economic Systems
QUNO works for economic systems that improve livelihoods, strengthen resilience, and ensure just transitions to sustainability. The ways in which we design and implement economic systems have critical impacts on sustainability, peace, and justice. QUNO strives to...