Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) staff in Geneva sends condolences to the family of William Knox, who served for two years on their governance committee until his recent passing.

Knox passed away in early October at his adopted home in Penang, Malaysia.

Robert Gibson, a fellow QUNO Geneva governance committee member, plans to attend a memorial service for Knox in Oxford in England next week.

In a letter to the Knox family, QUNO Geneva staff wrote that “even from the Zoom meetings he brought with him his deep humanity, expertise and humour”. 

Stop the violence and allow humanitarian access to Gaza — this is the strong call from Quakers from around the world in a statement issued this week.

The Quaker United Nations Office was among signatories to this statement, along with Quaker organisations that work on the ground in Palestine and Israel.

The Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) consistently monitors developments around climate change.

QUNO approaches climate change as a peace and justice concern, and is involved in international climate negotiations, the Human Rights Council, and is an accredited observer of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Lindsey Fielder Cook, QUNO’s Geneva-based Representative at the United Nations, heads its Human Impacts of Climate Change programme.

The irresponsible role of the arms industry needs to be addressed as part of preventing violence and human rights violations committed with firearms globally.

This was part of the Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) Peace & Disarmament programme’s recent response (also see attachment below) to an analysis of the arms industry by the United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) annually employs programme assistants to work with its Representatives at the United Nations (UN) for a year. 

This full-time position introduces young professionals, at the start of their careers, to the UN ecosystem, including other international organisations, diplomats and grassroots movements.

Yasmin Beldjelti was a programme assistant for the Human Rights and Refugees programme. She reflects on her year with QUNO, which ends in September 2023.

Q: Tell us a bit about yourself?

As the Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, it has been engaging in various ways with its most loyal supporters — Quakers.

Quakers are members of the Religious Society of Friends, an organisation founded on a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations and which is today a diverse global community.

Over the last few months, QUNO’s Geneva office has met regularly with Switzerland-based Quakers to strengthen relations and ensure they remain informed about its work at the United Nations.

Florence Foster, Representative for Peace & Disarmament at QUNO Gevena, spoke at the Human Rights Council 53rd Session during the Interactive Dialogue on casualty recording.

QUNO Geneva, as a founding member of the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform (GPP), supported  consultations with relevant stakeholders in Geneva on the New Agenda for Peace Process (NA4P), which was organized in partnership with the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs on March 16th and 17th.