On April 26, QUNO NY hosted a hybrid side event for the ECOSOC Youth Forum and Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. The event titled, ‘Youth Impact: Building Connections to Elevate Action,’ provided a space for youth to come together at Quaker House to share experiences from within their communities as well as challenges they face when engaging with the UN during these forums.

2023 is an opportunity for us to celebrate 75 years of Quaker peace and justice work at the UN. Read our newest QUNO Review to learn more about the work of our New York and Geneva offices during this past year, and to learn about the work ahead.

QUNO New York’s UN Representative, Megan Schmidt, delivered a statement during the virtual multi-stakeholder consultation convened on 16 March by the Permanent Missions of Namibia and Germany. This is the second in a series of discussions that will inform the Summit of the Future in 2024.

Late in the evening on 4 March 2023, the United Nations adopted a historic treaty to protect the world’s oceans. The Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction, or the BBNJ, reached agreement on what is widely being referred to as the High Seas Treaty. This came after weeks of grueling negotiations that built upon over two decades of talks on the issue.

On the 75th anniversary of the United Nations, Member States pledged to strengthen global governance for the sake of present and future generations. At the request of Member States, the Secretary-General released the much-anticipated report, ‘Our Common Agenda,’ that provided several recommendations, including the need for a New Agenda for Peace (NA4P), to address the multitude of challenges faced by the international community.

QUNO New York UN Representative Kavita Desai joined a panel on November 3rd hosted by the Baha’i International Community (BIC) and the Coalition for the United Nations We Need, entitled “Tipping the Scales: Proposals for UN Reform in a Time of Need.”

The discussion included reflections on proposals for reform, as well as an exploration on how such proposals can be implemented—getting from ideation to actualization, in the words of one attendee.

On 25 October, QUNO New York hosted Jehad Abusalim and Asmaa Abu Mezeid, two of the authors of the newly published anthology ‘Light in Gaza: Writings Born in Fire’, for an intimate conversation at Quaker House with QUNO staff and members of the UN Israel-Palestine NGO Working Group.

With the situation in Gaza often framed purely as a military or humanitarian issue, this conversation provided an opportunity to hear about people’s experiences under occupation.