New York

August 2019

Global Consultation to inform the development of UN Community Engagement Guidelines

Civil society actors and organizations are an integral part of peacebuilding efforts carried out throughout the world. They often possess localized expertise and institutional knowledge from long-term engagement at a community or country level, which is all too often missing from policy discussions and decision making and carry out a breadth of work that is essential to building peaceful, just and inclusive societies.  

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June 2019

QUNO facilitates discussion on the first six months of the UN development system reform

June marks the sixth month of the implementation of Secretary-General Guterres’ dynamic reform of the United Nations system. Taking effect on 1 January, 2019, the development system reform seeks to strengthen leadership, capacity, and the accountability mechanisms of the UN system to better enable it to provide essential assistance to countries in the most effective and efficient manner. 

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April 2019

QUNO hosts discussion on the impact of UN transitions on peacebuilding and development

Transitional periods are very sensitive and dynamic times for countries emerging from conflict, bringing hopes and concerns to places with a history of political instability and violent conflict. In the past decade, a number of UN peacekeeping missions have closed down leading countries to the next step in their transformation processes, and shifting how the UN and international community supports peacebuilding and development. 

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April 2019

QUNO convenes discussion on the Peacebuilding Fund

The Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) is the UN Secretary-General’s peacebuilding financing tool and investor of first resort. The Fund supports countries through immediate and direct funding initiatives, addresses crucial gaps that may exist in building peace, and provides resources in a rapid manner when sufficient support may not yet be available. In 2016, the PBF included direct funding opportunities for civil society organizations for the first time through its Gender and Youth (GYPI) Initiative. 

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April 2019

Conversation on the progress, challenges and opportunities for the UN’s efforts to build and sustain peace

In 2016, United Nations Member States adopted the dual resolutions on peacebuilding and sustaining peace, marking an important step in shifting the UN’s understanding of what is at the core of building and sustaining peace. This year, the UN Secretary-General will release a report that will provide updates on the progress, challenges and opportunities experienced in the past three years. The report will be a step towards developments next year, which will include the next comprehensive review of the United Nations peacebuilding architecture.  

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March 2019

UN Reform in Practice: Tangible Impact On Prevention?

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. 
 

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Event of Note
March 2019

The 2019 QUNO Review is now available online

Our new, March 2019 edition of the QUNO Review is now available for download. The annual report provides a brief introduction to QUNO and our way of working, as well as an overview of each of our programme areas. Learn more about our past year of our work and see where we are headed in 2019.

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February 2019

QUNO convenes annual discussion - What's Next in Peacebuilding?

In February, QUNO hosted our annual three-day gathering of peacebuilding leaders at Quaker House in New York. The previous year’s event had focused on efforts to articulate the ‘heart of peacebuilding’, resulting in a fresh affirmation of core principles and tools. Using that base, this year the group chose to survey the current and future global peacebuilding policy environments.

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January 2019

QUNO co-hosts civil society briefing with Under-Secretary-General Menéndez

To support an inclusive approach to the prevention agenda between the UN and civil society, the Civil Society-UN Prevention Platform held an informal, off the record meeting with Under-Secretary-General (USG) and Senior Policy Advisor, Ms. Ana Maria Menéndez, who has played a central role in Secretary-General António Guterres’s focus on prevention since she was appointed in June 2017.

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December 2018

UN-AU Strategic Partnership and its implications for 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. 

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December 2018

QUNO NY Director speaks on high-level panel discussion on the role of human rights in UN reform

On 3 December, QUNO NY Director, Andrew Tomlinson, spoke as the only NGO representative on a high-level panel discussion, The place of human rights in a reformed United Nations: A transatlantic human rights dialogue, held at UN headquarters.  The panel was convened by  Switzerland and Germany as the Co-Chairs of the Human Rights/Conflict Prevention Caucus, the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) and Universal Rights Group (URG). 

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November 2018

QUNO brings attention to peacebuilding issues at UN meetings on the Sahel

During meetings held on November 13-14, Member States and UN actors came together to discuss strategies for peacebuilding and sustaining peace in the Sahel region. This began with the annual session of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC), a full day, interactive meeting that focused on themes of partnerships, and the role of women and youth in peacebuilding in the Sahel.

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September 2018

Development and Security Rely on Peace, Justice and Inclusion: Statement by Peacebuilding Organizations

September 21 marks the International Day of Peace, which was established in 1981 by a unanimous resolution in the UN’s General Assembly. To mark the day, QUNO and over 80 additional peacebuilding organizations from throughout the world issued a statement to United Nations Member States that brings attention to peace concerns.

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August 2018

The SDGs and Prevention: Beyond the Obvious

On 1 August, the Civil Society-UN Prevention Platform was pleased to convene a meeting entitled “The SDGs and Prevention: Beyond the Obvious”. Held a few weeks after the High Level Political Forum, the UN platform for reviewing the 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this meeting provided a timely opportunity for civil society, Member States and UN agencies to discuss innovative ways of doing prevention within the framework of the SDG). 

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July 2018

QUNO Participates in 2018 FGC Gathering Quaker Truth Talks

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".

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June 2018

What's Next in Peacebuilding?

Recent developments in peacebuilding policy have given us new global commitments, such as the commitment to foster peaceful, just and inclusive societies in the 2030 Agenda, and the Sustaining Peace resolutions. Yet these commitments are extremely broad, presenting significant challenges in follow-up and implementation. If peace is everything, then how does a government, a civil society group, a donor or an agency prioritize between different programmatic, budgetary and policy alternatives? 

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June 2018

Strengthening a comprehensive and inclusive approach to countering incitement and preventing violent extremism

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.

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