Read QUNO New York’s newsletter, In & Around the UN, featuring articles on:

• Landmark changes to the UN system
• Attending FWCC Section of the Americas Meeting
• Partnering with the UN to strengthen inclusive approaches for peace

and more from New York.

As of 1 January 2019, Secretary-General Guterres’s hard-won reform proposals officially took effect. To strengthen the delivery of its mandate, the United Nations has introduced sweeping changes to the Peace and Security Architecture, the Development System, and the Management System. These reforms are designed to strengthen coherence within the system, make it more field-focused, and support the implementation of sustaining peace and prevention. 
 

In April of 2017, UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, and Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission, Moussa Faki Maham, signed the Joint UN-AU Framework for Enhanced Partnership in Peace and Security. The partnership has since developed a shared understanding of the root causes of conflict, collaborated closely in preventive diplomacy and inclusive mediation efforts, protected human rights, and enhanced coordination and effective utilization of early warning systems to reduce the impact of disasters. 

QUNO NY's Director and Quaker UN Representative, Andrew Tomlinson, was invited to give one of three Quaker Truth Talks at a plenary session of the 2018 Friends General Conference Gathering in Toledo, Ohio. Andrew joined Friends Paula Palmer and Oskar Castro with a presentation entitled "From Spirit to Action: Examining the Roots of Quaker UN Work".

On 25 June 2018, the Civil Society-UN Prevention Platform was pleased to convene a meeting on “Strengthening a Comprehensive and Inclusive Approach to Countering Incitement and Preventing Violent Extremism”. Held at the onset of a week at the UN focused on counter-terrorism approaches of Member States and the Review of the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, this meeting provided a timely opportunity for UN agencies and civil society organizations to come together to understand the context, and set expectations for the week’s upcoming events.

On 10 May, the Civil Society-UN Prevention Platform (the Platform) was pleased to convene a meeting on what the UN Development Reform means for the Secretary-General’s Prevention agenda. Held days after the resolution concerning the proposed UN Development Reform was negotiated in the General Assembly, this event provided a timely opportunity for civil society and UN actors to constructively discuss the Development Reform.