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Human Rights & Refugees

March 2019

QUNO statements at the 40th Human Rights Council

At the 40th session of the Human Rights Council, QUNO delivered an oral statement (and submitted a written counterpart providing further information) focussing on the ways in which the sentencing to death or execution of a parent violates the best interests principle, particularly where the death sentence is mandatory, and often violates the child's right to non-discrimination. 

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February 2019

Protection of the Rights of Children of Parents Sentenced to Death or Executed: An Expert Legal Analysis

This paper presents a legal analysis of the protection of the human rights of children of parents sentenced to death or executed. An earlier legal analysis by the Quaker United Nations Office explored the effects of parental imprisonment on the rights of the child. This analysis does not repeat the points made there regarding the effects on children when a parent is imprisoned, but instead focuses on the particular impact on the rights of the child of a parent’s death sentence or execution. 

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December 2018

Foundations for Implementation (By Individual Objectives)

Foundations for Implementation is a guide to assist States in the implementation of the Global Compact for Migration. Here, you can view, download and print the guidance for each objective separately, or you may view the publication in its entirety at the link listed at the bottom of this page.

The publication brings together explicit existing recommendations drawn from the UN's Special Procedures and Treaty Bodies presented in line with the Compact's 23 objectives. The intention is that this publication will offer authoritative guidance to assist States in meeting the agreed objectives through practical actions

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December 2018

Briefing for Friends - A short guide for engaging with the Global Compact on Migration

On 10th December 2018, after a two year negotiation process, States formally adopted the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. As an international agreement determined to enhance cooperation on migration policy, the Global Compact provides an unprecedented opportunity to acknowledge that all countries are places of origin, transit and destination, and that States have a shared responsibility in their approach to people on the move. 

This briefing paper offers an explanation of the final text, a brief timeline of how it was developed, some suggestions of how Friends can use the document to support their witness and their activism, and a short description of what QUNO’s next steps will be. 

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December 2018

Geneva Reporter

QUNO's December 2018 issue of the Geneva Reporter newsletter is available online. The latest issue features: an update from our Human Impacts of Climate Change programme on the IPCC's Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5C; news about a significant sew standard recognizing the impact of parental death sentences on children; highlights from a recent panel discussion on nuclear disarmament; and a QUNO Q&A with Vinay Talwar.

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November 2018

Foundations for Implementation

A guide to assist States in the implementation of the Global Compact for Migration. The publication brings together explicit existing recommendations drawn from the UN's Special Procedures and Treaty Bodies presented in line with the Compact's 23 objectives. The intention is that this publication will offer authoritative guidance to assist States in meeting the agreed objectives through practical actions.

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August 2018

Geneva Reporter

This issue of the QUNO Geneva newsletter features: perspectives on the recently concluded negotiations for a Global Compact on Migration, a brief overview of the current state of international nuclear disarmament discussion, an update on our work on climate change, and a QUNO Q&A  with Rhiannon Redpath.

The full publication is available online below.

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April 2018

Integrating Human Rights and Sustaining Peace

This report brings together the learning from a project undertaken from February 2017 to April 2018 to explore the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) as a vehicle for better linking human rights and sustaining peace. The aim of this project was to contribute to overcoming the fragmentation within the United Nations (UN) and promoting the value of integrated action between peacebuilding and human rights actors on the ground and in the UN system by using the UPR to explore present practice and untapped potential within a specific process. This report is intended to provide input to the discussions following the Secretary-General’s Report to the General Assembly on Sustaining Peace1 and to consideration of how to take this work forward in the UN. 

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December 2017

Geneva Reporter

QUNO's December 2017 issue of the Geneva Reporter newsletter features: a brief overview on our recent work on sustaining peace and food security, a introduction to the importance of agricultural biodiversity, developments on the right to conscientious objection to military service, news about our recent climate action publication "A Negotiator's Tookit," and a QUNO Q&A  with 2006 Geneva Summer School participant Tankiso Phori.

The full publication is available below.

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December 2017

Briefing for Friends: Human Rights of Migrants under the New York Declaration

The New York Declaration on Refugees and Migrants was adopted by States in September 2016 and initiated a two-year process to develop two ‘Global Compacts’ aimed at improving States’ response to refugees and migrants.  Our briefing paper provides an update on the development of the Global Compact on Migration over the past year and how the process is expected to proceed in 2018. QUNO has been working to support the adoption of a Global Compact on Migration that is ambitious, effective and human rights based.  This paper details how QUNO has been working on this issue and how Friends can engage with this process.

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November 2017

Joint Key Messages for a Human Rights Based Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration

The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration must be grounded in international human rights law. This is the central message of a new paper produced by a group of Geneva-based non-governmental organisations (NGOs) who are interested in a human rights-based response to migration at the UN level. QUNO convenes this informal group of NGOs, with a particular focus on ensuring a human rights basis to this new international agreement on migration, which is due to be adopted in 2018.

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September 2017

Friend's Briefing on Migration Addendum: Share your experiences

The processes to towards two new international agreements, ‘global compacts’, on refugees and migrants are now well underway and as part of the consultation phases, anyone is welcome to submit written information relevant to with or both of the global compacts. We are aware that many Friends are involved in activities on these issues, but we do not have the full breadth and depth, so we encourage you to share your experiences of your work with refugees and migrants. The attached short document explains how you can submit information to the global compacts, and what sort of information would be most useful.

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July 2017

Geneva Reporter

QUNO's July 2017 issue of the Geneva Reporter newsletter is now available online. The latest issue features: an update from our Human Rights & Refugees Representative on the new “global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration,” news about the inter-faith meetings QUNO helped to organize with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a brief overview on our recent cross-cutting work on sustaining peace and climate change, and a QUNO Q&A  with Carolan Redfearn.

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June 2017

Towards a Human Rights Based Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration: Paper #3: Implementation, Monitoring and Accountability Mechanisms

This paper presents examples of implementation, monitoring and accountability mechanisms under six multilateral agreements that we believe can be learnt from in considering how to achieve an effective global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration. The examples draw on a range of international agreements from different areas of policy and range from long-standing UN mechanisms to very recent agreements for which the specific means of implementation are still under negotiation. This paper hopes to assist stakeholders in considering some of the potential options for effective implementation of this new international agreement.

This paper is part of QUNO’s paper series, “Towards a Human Rights Based Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration,” a set of contributions to the global compact on migration process. To access these papers, please see this section of our website.

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May 2017

Committee on the Rights of the Child Work to date: Children of incarcerated parents

The Committee on the Rights of the Child has provided interpretation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and guidance to States on the issue of children of incarcerated parents for over ten years. This briefing provides a short summary of the work it has done so far.

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April 2017

Towards a Human Rights Based Global Compact on Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration Paper 2: Expectations following the Agreement of Modalities Resolution

QUNO is closely following the process for negotiating a Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. This process part of the UN’s response to the large numbers of people on the move around the world. The Global Compact was mandated by the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, a high-level statement adopted by States on 19th September and is due to be adopted in September 2018.

Following the adoption on 6 April of General Assembly resolution 71/280 on the modalities for developing a Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, QUNO has prepared a short paper on expectations of the process.  This contains the steps which we believe are needed to support the adoption of a human rights based Global Compact (as called for in the New York Declaration and the modalities resolution). 

QUNO’s previous paper on the Compact, on input to the modalities resolution, is here.

March 2017

QUNO submits written statements to the 34th session of the UN HRC

QUNO's Human Rights & Refugees, Food & Sustainability, and Peace & Disarmament programmes each submitted written statements to the 34th session of the Human Rights Council, held in Geneva in March 2017. The full statements are available in PDF below and further information on QUNO's participation at the 34th HRC can be found at the following links:

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