The Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) is committed to the abolition of the death penalty in all its forms. We believe that bringing light to the issue of the impact of the parental death penalty on children contributes to the broader abolitionist movement and can contribute to the eradication of the death penalty worldwide.

The issue of the impact on children of parents sentenced to death or executed is applicable to all countries, and at all stages of the process, from arrest through to post-execution; there are parents everywhere. Focusing on the experience of the children who are affected can help in turn to humanize those sentenced to death, by representing them as people who give and receive love—as individual human beings, and not only as the crimes they may have committed.

This set of briefing tools is intended to inform decision makers, including defence lawyers, sentencers and legislators, and also diplomats and State representatives, of the impact on children and the relevant international legal standards in order to change policy and practice.

French and English language versions are available below.

While recognition of conscientious objection in national law is a huge step towards ending violations of the rights of those who refuse to fight, human rights based processes need to be in place to ensure that the right can be exercised in practice. On this basis the Human Rights Council mandated a report from the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights, delivered in June 2019, that examines barriers to the right to conscientious objection and provides a checklist of  recommendations for States when implementing policy. This document is QUNO's contribution to the report.

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. 

This edition of A Government Official's Toolkit  has been lightly edited and re-organized into a smaller format.

This and the original publication were written to support government officials—at local, regional and national levels—who are concerned about the impact of climate change on their citizens, their country, and the planet. The publication is organized into 12 concise cases, including approaches to effective and sustainable climate action policy. Our aim is to connect you with research available at the international level. All points are quoted from, and linked to, the original, peer-reviewed papers. 

An executive summary of Protection of the Rights of Children of Parents Sentenced to Death or Executed: An Expert Legal Analysis, researched and written by Professor Stephanie Farrior.

On 3 December, QUNO NY Director, Andrew Tomlinson, spoke as the only NGO representative on a high-level panel discussion, The place of human rights in a reformed United Nations: A transatlantic human rights dialogue, held at UN headquarters.  The panel was convened by  Switzerland and Germany as the Co-Chairs of the Human Rights/Conflict Prevention Caucus, the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) and Universal Rights Group (URG). 

In his remark, Mr. Tomlinson sought to underscore that  the promotion  and protection of human rights is both the foundation of peace and security, sustainable development, and conflict prevention, and is the key force to achieving the 2030 Agenda’s aspiration of fostering peaceful, just and inclusive societies.  At this meeting, attended by member states and UN colleagues, Mr. Tomlinson reflected that, not only are human rights the backbone to prevention, sustainable peace, and sustainable development, human rights also codify our common humanity, providing the foundation for human dignity and just societies. Human rights, he said, "give us the words to say I see you, I know you, I am you, to every child, woman and man". 

The UN derives much of its relevance and legitimacy from its embrace of human rights as an organizing principle and a moral driver. QUNO is honored to have contributed to this, and future, dialogues.

Can energy ever be used as a tool for peacebuilding instead of a cause of conflict? What peacebuilding tools are already at our disposal for reducing the likelihood of violent conflict related to energy extraction and natural resource stress related to climate change? This publication explores the role of decentralized renewable energy as a peacebuilding tool, in global efforts for a net-zero carbon energy transition. 

This publication is written to support government officials—at local, regional and national levels—who are concerned about the impact of climate change on their citizens, their country, and the planet. The publication is organized into 12 concise cases, including approaches to effective and sustainable climate action policy. Our aim is to connect you with research available at the international level. All points are quoted from, and linked to, the original, peer-reviewed papers. 

We hope this Toolkit will help you engage colleagues on why urgent, rights-based climate action is to the benefit of all people. Decision makers face competing demands and priorities, and they may be more receptive to one case over another. One colleague may respond better to climate science, another to economic concerns. For this reason, we offer a range of concise cases. 

September 21 marks the International Day of Peace, which was established in 1981 by a unanimous resolution in the UN’s General Assembly. To mark the day, QUNO and over 80 additional peacebuilding organizations from throughout the world issued a statement to United Nations Member States that brings attention to peace concerns.

The statement calls on governments and the international community to:

• Fully embrace the commitments to peace in the 2030 Agenda
• Reaffirm a commitment to human rights, the foundation for human dignity and just societies
• Foster social resilience by strengthening inclusion and addressing inequality
• Think local and act global: recommit to multilateralism as a safeguard for the most vulnerable
• Protect and support civil society in fostering sustainable peace