The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights call for businesses to meaningfully engage with groups who will be affected by their business activities. Businesses are increasingly aware of the importance of engaging with local communities throughout the process of a business activity, starting at the planning stages of a project. Civil society groups are advocating a shift from community ‘consultation’ to more meaningful models of community participation in planning and decision making. These approaches are particularly important in projects that affect local access to, and control of, natural resources such as land, water and food.

Review of the activities of QUNO in 2012.

A reference list of recent QUNO publications by programme, including brief summaries of their content and links to PDFs of the full publications.

As the UNFCCC moves towards new arrangements under the Durban Platform, facilitating trust among its Parties will be vital to enabling and encouraging States to stabilise their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and prevent dangerous levels of climate change. An effective and positive monitoring system can be an important part of building mutual trust between Parties to an international Convention, increasing confidence that all Members will fulfill their obligations by providing support for implementation while also identifying areas of non-compliance. This paper is a contribution by the Quaker United Nations Office to a discussion on what effective monitoring under the UNFCCC and its Protocols might look like, offering a small sample of approaches adopted by other international bodies and discussing some of the merits of each. 

This statement welcomes the work of the UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation, and discusses Quaker perspectives on the issue.

QUNO Geneva's newsletter for November 2011 to February 2012. Featured stories:

- Preventing Armed Violence: the Geneva Declaration Review Conference
- The Unknown Impacts of Seeds Policies: Exploring the Effects of UPOV
- News from QUNO New York
- Watching the Climate Change Negotiations
- News in Brief, Jardins Ouverts, and Publications

QUNO Geneva Newsletter for July 2011 to October 2011. Featured stories:

• Sustainability: Inspiration for QUNO from Britain Yearly Meeting Gathering
• REDD - Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation
• News from QUNO New York
• Engaging with Civil Society: Voices on Armed Violence in the Balkans
• News in Brief
• If My Parents Go to Prison, What Happens to Me?

QUNO Geneva's newsletter for July to October 2010. Featured stories:

• The Dangerous Lure of "Climate Change and ..."
• BMS 4: Modest progress on Small Arms
• Children of Prisoners on the Agenda at the UN
• Stalemated Conference on Disarmament Under Scrutiny
• Conscientious Objection: Amicus brief
• Update from QUNO New York: The Trouble with Elections
• Staff Changes

QUNO Geneva's newsletter for August to October 2009. Featured stories:

• Detention and Prisoners at the UN Human Rights Council
• Climate Migrants
• Churches Called to Uphold Conscientious Objection to Military Service
• Secretary General’s Report on Armed Violence and Development Breaks New Ground