June 2024

A Deeper Dive: Challenges and Opportunities Facing the UN, and the Role of Quakers

Working at the UN, it’s easy to feel discouraged. Over recent years, staff of the Quaker UN Offices in Geneva and New York have had front-row seats watching repeated instances when powerful countries have ignored basic tenets of international law and not lived up to their commitments under the UN Charter. At a recent meeting of the Quaker UN Committee in Geneva, Switzerland, we were asked to reflect on the current state of the UN, including the challenges and opportunities facing the institution. 

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June 2024

QUNO's climate science toolkit for government officials now available in four languages

The Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) in Geneva has now published ‘A Government Official’s Toolkit: Inspiring Urgent, Healthy, Equitable, and Available at Scale Climate Action’ in four languages: Arabic, English, French and Spanish.

This toolkit aims to enhance understanding and communication of climate change and climate science, using the most recent scientific findings from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) 6th Assessment Report (AR6). This report was compiled over a period of just more than seven years and involved hundreds of scientists worldwide. 

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June 2024

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 edition we share updates on our programmes and links to our latest publications.

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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May 2024

"Peace Game” challenges UN stakeholders to invest in peace.

On 2 May 2024, the Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) partnered with the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) and the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPACC) to stage a Peace Game simulation with representatives from non-governmental organizations, civil society representatives, local Quakers, and other UN stakeholders.

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May 2024

QUNO NY and AFSC Join the UN Civil Society Conference

QUNO NY attended the 2024 United Nations Civil Society Conference (UNCSC) with a focus on peace and connecting with civil society from around the world. Alongside Eunice Ndonga, Migration Director for the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) and Pauline Kamau, Quaker International Affairs Representative for the Africa Region of AFSC, QUNO NY UN Rep Kavita Desai joined the 2024 UNCSC from 9-10 May, at the UN Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya.

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May 2024

QUNO New York seeks a UN Representative, Program

The Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) in New York seeks a committed and motivated person with considerable knowledge and experience to carry forward QUNO’s efforts to expand support for the UN’s role in building lasting peace. 

This Representative position functions as a senior member of the QUNO team, sharing program responsibilities while taking particular care of QUNO’s Program Assistant program. 

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May 2024

QUNO meets faith groups about climate change as a peace and justice concern

QUNO’s Human Impacts of Climate Change (HICC) programme works to connect our advocacy at the multilateral level with grassroots and faith communities.

In March and April, HICC Representative Lindsey Fielder Cook met with the First Congregational Church of Sheffield in Massachusetts, USA, and Aotearoa/New Zealand Yearly Meeting. She discussed QUNO’s advocacy to transform the root causes driving planetary crisis and personal and political actions that everyone can take.

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May 2024

QUNO Updates from INC-4 in Ottawa: Navigating Complexities Towards a Global Plastics Treaty

As the fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-4) to develop an international legally binding instrument (ILBI) on plastic pollution concluded in Ottawa, Canada, it highlighted significant contrasts in the negotiation dynamics. Despite the shared urgency to address global plastic pollution, diverging views on the approach and scope of the treaty underscored the session.

Challenges Encountered

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