On December 2, QUNO NY Programme Assistant, Sadhbh O’Driscoll, attended the UN-Civil Society Townhall. The event was held at UN headquarters in New York with the President of the 77th General Assembly (PGA), H.E. Mr. Csaba Kőrösi. This event was jointly organized by the PGA, civil society, and the UN Department of Global Communications.

QUNO New York staff members, Sarah Clarke and Kavita Desai, traveled to Siem Reap, Cambodia to join in a workshop held by the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). The workshop brought AFSC staff together from Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and the United States to explore ways that different AFSC programs are working towards the shared goal of building just and sustainable peace. For Kavita and Sarah, it was an opportunity to build connections with exciting work taking place in communities from around the world.

Quakers are a people who follow after peace, love and unity. Our peace testimony is our witness to the Truth as we experience it. 

Our testimony manifests as a cumulative set of actions, continually tested and added to over centuries.  These actions are diverse in form, but have been broadly united by: 1) Refusal to kill, 2) Relief of suffering, 3) Building the institutions of peace, and 4) Supporting peacebuilding and removing the causes of war. 

On the International Day of Peace, which is held every year on 21 September, QUNO NY Representative, Kavita Desai, joined the Global People’s Assembly panel discussion, Peace and Conflict Prevention - Reflections on International Day of Peace. The session, held virtually, brought together civil society organizations (CSOs) to discuss the 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Our June 2022 newsletter shares updates from the work carried out by our New York office over recent months. Highlights include: a Q&A article on questions about the war in Ukraine and the UN; information on a new QUNO initiative on Youth, Peace and Security; the publication of our policy document, Building Peace in Times of Crisis; and news about staff comings and goings. Also hear from our new Director, Sarah Clarke, in her Director’s letter where she reflects on the state of multilateralism and the long commitment of Quaker witness at the UN.

QUNO, in partnership with the UN Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO), co-hosted the roundtable, Peacebuilding contributions to crisis and climate change response: Learning from practice, at this year's Stockholm Forum on Peace and Development. The Forum is an annual gathering held by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) to promote opportunities for cross-cutting dialogue and learning between humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding actors internationally.