During the 44th session of the Human Rights Council, QUNO delivered an oral statement at the Interactive Dialogue with the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Violence Against Children, Najat Maalla M'jid. The statement, delivered by Programme Assistant Lucy Halton, highlighted the ways in which children of incarcerated parents experience violence at many levels, including the heightened risks they are encountering during the Covid-19 pandemic.

QUNO was pleased to deliver a statement at the resumed 43rd session of the Human Rights Council on 15 June in Geneva, as part of the Item 5 General Debate on Human Rights Bodies and Mechanisms. The statement, delivered by Programme Assistant for Peace and Disarmament, Cara Priestley, welcomed the rapporteurs’ report on the contribution of the Human Rights Council to the prevention of human rights violations, pursuant to Resolution 38/18.

Dear Friends,

The spread of COVID-19 has changed our world. We hold in the light those made ill by the new virus, their families and friends, and the dedicated people caring for all of us. Our hearts go out to the millions of people who are suffering as societies struggle to respond, including those who have lost their livelihoods and the most vulnerable among us.

Application process update

The application process is closed. 

We take this opportunity to thank everyone for their applications and to inform you that we are continuing with this recruitment. As a result of the current situation with Covid-19 our timelines for interviews have changed.  We are currently shortlisting. We will contact only those who we invite for interview. If you have not heard from us by 31 May please assume that you have not been selected for interview.  

Building on its long-term work on integrating human rights and sustaining peace, QUNO has been supporting work led by the three rapporteurs in charge of implementing resolution 38/18 on ‘the contribution of the Human Rights Council (HRC) to the prevention of human rights violations’.  In particular, QUNO has focused on how the HRC can more effectively work with all UN pillars to prevent those violations which, if left unaddressed, could lead to violent conflict.

As part of its ongoing work on the human rights of migrants, QUNO delivered an oral statement to the Human Rights Council, urging the Council to take more focused and sustained action on the issue. Laurel Townhead, QUNO’s Representative for Human Rights and Refugees, listed the names of three of the thousands of migrants who have lost their lives, drawing attention to the individual human beings behind migration statistics.