Geneva

June 2020

QUNO speaks at the resumed 43rd session of the Human Rights Council

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.

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June 2020

"No-one will be safe until everyone is safe." QUNO welcomes Secretary General Guterres’ new Policy Brief.

QUNO welcomes the launch of a Policy Brief from UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, focussing on the situation of people on the move during the Covid-19 pandemic. QUNO has worked for decades on protection of refugees and in recent years on the human rights of migrants, and we are deeply concerned by the severe and disproportionate impact of the pandemic on refugee and migrant communities of all kinds, including migrant workers, migrants in irregular situations, and those in immigration detention.

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May 2020

QUNO Directors’ Letter on the Impact of COVID-19

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.

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May 2020

QUNO Directors' Letter on the Impact of COVID-19

“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.” (…) “In the midst of rapid change, QUNO staff will continue to work quietly with international policymakers, guided by Quaker principles of peace, truth, justice, equality, stewardship and simplicity, and upheld by your encouragement and support.”

In this letter, the Directors of our New York and Geneva offices reflect on the impact of COVID-19 on peace, multilateralism and Quaker work at the United Nations.

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May 2020

Covid-19 and the Rights of Children of Parents who are Incarcerated

The Child Rights Connect Working Group on Children of Incarcerated Parents, of which QUNO is co-convenor, produced this Briefing Paper on the Rights of Children of Parents who are Incarcerated in the context of Covid-19, with the support of Penal Reform International. 

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April 2020

UPDATE: QUNO Geneva Programme Assistant Applications

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.  

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April 2020

Joint NGO submission to the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights

In April 2020 the Business, Conflict and Human Rights Network (BCHR Network), Christian Aid Ireland, Control Arms, QUNO and Swedwatch jointly submitted to the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights’ project on business in conflict and post-conflict contexts. This project aims at identifying and clarifying policies and practices that States and business enterprises should take to prevent and address business-related human rights abuses in conflict and post-conflict settings.

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March 2020

QUNO delivers statement on children of parents accused or convicted of association with designated terrorist groups

QUNO Geneva delivered a statement at the 43rd session of the Human Rights Council this March, as part of a discussion with the Special Rapporteur on the protection of human rights while countering terrorism. The statement, delivered by Programme Assistant for Human Rights and Refugees Lucy Halton, built upon QUNO’s years of work on children of incarcerated parents by focussing on the rights of children of parents accused or convicted of association with designated terrorist groups.

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March 2020

QUNO delivers statement at HRC43 highlighting the environment's impact on human rights

QUNO delivered an oral statement at the 43rd session of the UN's Human Rights Council (HRC), recognizing the work of the UN's Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment showing how human rights are seriously affected by a degraded environment. QUNO's statement, delivered by Programme Assistant Detmer Yens Kremer, encouraged the HRC to make "an historic contribution by adopting a resolution recognizing the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment," and also emphasized that the time for action is now.

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March 2020

QUNO contributions at the 52nd meeting of the IPCC

QUNO, through the Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC), is the only faith-based observer at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).  The IPCC collates the latest climate research worldwide to advise governments on effective climate policy.  At the latest IPCC Meeting, held from 24-28 February in Paris, countries negotiated an outline for the Synthesis Report of the upcoming 6th Assessment Report, to be released in 2022.  Content in the Synthesis Report is critical as few policy makers read the entire Assessment Reports, which are often over 1000 pages long.

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March 2020

Enhancing prevention - leveraging the mandate of the Human Rights Council

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.

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March 2020

Children of Incarcerated Parents - International Standards and Guidelines

Children of incarcerated parents continue to face a range of challenges to the full respect for and enjoyment of their rights. This Briefing Paper provides an update to QUNO’s previous publication, offering an overview of the international legal standards applicable to these children. The paper incorporates information from legal instruments, treaty bodies, and other guidance from the United Nations and regional systems in both human rights and criminal justice fields.

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February 2020

Human Rights of Migrants at HRC 43

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.

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December 2019

Geneva Reporter

QUNO's December 2019 issue of the Geneva Reporter newsletter is available below. This special issue highlights some of the ways the Quaker commitment to peace is reflected in QUNO's work programmes, and also features an interview about our work on integrating human rights & sustaining peace; news from our recent event on climate justice and peacebuilding; trade for peace, an update on our work supporting the right to conscientious objection to military service, and a QUNO Q&A with David Elliott.

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November 2019

QUNO hosts Geneva Peace Week event on the private sector’s role in sustaining peace

During Geneva Peace Week in November, the Sustainable & Just Economic Systems programme organized a side event on this topic and the role of the private sector in different aspects of conflict resolution and sustaining peace, which require the combined effort of many different groups, agencies and sectors. Currently, more than half of the 22 countries that are in the process of joining the World Trade Organization (WTO) are considered fragile conflict-affected States. They face specific challenges in building their economic foundation and integrating into the global economy.

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