Timeline

October 2024

Welcoming new team members to QUNO in NY and Geneva

As the United Nations prepared to open the 79th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in September, QUNO began a new chapter of its own. In both the New York and Geneva offices, the QUNO staff was excited to welcome new members of our team. In Geneva, we welcomed new Programme Assistants Johan Cavert and Kaya Van der Horst. In New York, we were joined by Programme Assistants Chelsea Comas and Ailih Weeldreyer, as well as a new UN Representative, Jessica Walker-Keleher.  

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October 2024

Remembering Stephen Collett

For anyone who has worked with the Quaker UN Office (QUNO) in New York, Stephen Collett's name looms large as a former Director who provided steadfast leadership during a time of significant change at the UN. We are saddened to learn of his unexpected passing on 29 July 2024.  

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October 2024

Looking back at the Summit of the Future Action Days: A reflection by Chelsea Comas

Friday 20 September marked the start of the Summit of the Future Action Days, where United Nations stakeholders gathered to address the most pressing issues of our time and express their efforts to work towards a better future. World leaders sought to reaffirm their commitment to peace efforts through the Pact for the Future. Civil society organizations, like QUNO, had an opportunity to engage in the implementation of the Pact for the Future during the Action Days.

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October 2024

Finding Hope from the Start: A reflection by Ailih Weeldreyer on beginnings with QUNO

I first stepped foot in the UNGA chamber at age eighteen on a tour while visiting New York City with my family. Taking in the vast expanse of delegate seats, the dramatic curve of the ceiling, and the UN seal shining in the distance, I dreamed wildly of one day having a place in that hall. Over the past few weeks, participating in civil society Action Days for Summit of the Future and experiencing the energy around the high-level week of the General Assembly, I thought often of teenage me.

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September 2024

International Solidarity with Palestine Solidifies at the Outset of the 79th Session of the General Assembly

On 17 September, the UN General Assembly convened for an emergency session to consider a resolution calling for the implementation of this summer’s opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, which focused on Israeli settlements and called for their withdrawal.

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September 2024

QUNO’s Contribution to Care For Creation at the Friends World Committee on Consultation World Plenary

As part of the 2024 World Plenary Meeting (WPM), QUNO Geneva Interim Deputy Director and Representative for the Human Impacts of Climate Change Lindsey Fielder Cook, contributed personal reflection and testimony by video recording on the theme of ‘care for creation’. Taking place in South Africa from 5-12 August 2024, the WPM was organized by the Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC) and hosted by the Southern Africa Yearly Meeting.

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September 2024

QUNO NY joins panel on ‘Mobilizing Civil Society for Sustainable Peace in the Age of Crisis’

While world leaders convened at the United Nations for the opening of the General Assembly, across the street at the UN Church Center civil society also gathered at the Global People’s Assembly to share experiences, strategize and mobilize in the face of growing global crises.  

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September 2024

New Brief: "Trade Issues and the International Legally Binding Instrument on Plastic Pollution: A Legal Analysis"

As part of QUNO’s Sustainable and Just Economic Systems programme and the Uncommon Collaborations initiative, we are pleased to announce the release of a new brief titled Trade Issues and the International Legally Binding Instrument on Plastic Pollution: A Legal Analysis. Authored by Dr. Alexandra Harrington, the report provides a critical examination of the intersection between international trade law and the proposed global treaty to end plastic pollution (ILBI), currently under negotiation.

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September 2024

Finding Determination in Disappointment: QUNO reflects on the Summit of the Future

On 22 and 23 September, world leaders met in New York for the Summit of the Future. The road to the Summit and its outcome document, the Pact for the Future, followed months of intense negotiation and has been a process that QUNO staff in Geneva and New York have followed closely.

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September 2024

QUNO bids fond farewell to this year's Programme Assistants

In September of 2024, QUNO’s offices in both New York and Geneva bid fond farewells to this year’s cohort of Programme Assistants. Natalie Dewar and Nyeri Otero Flanagan departed from QUNO’s New York office to pursue their future endeavours, and Anna Aguto, Maria Kamenias, and Chatrina Schumacher reached the end of their terms at QUNO in Geneva. The entire QUNO team thanks these committed advocates of peace and justice for their hard work and contributions to our programmes and community. We wish them the best of luck in their next steps! 

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September 2024

QUNO at the World Gathering of Quakers

This August saw the gathering of Quakers from around the world in Johannesburg, South Africa. The World Gathering of Friends brought 250 Quakers together in person with many more individuals and hubs gathering online for a week-long celebration of our different Quaker traditions and work. QUNO was given the opportunity to hold a plenary session introducing the work of Quakers at the UN.

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August 2024

QUNO NY Launches UN-Civic Space Research

QUNO NY gathered civil society representatives together for an intimate discussion on inclusion and participation at the UN on August 14th. The discussion centered around QUNO’s draft paper analyzing the current state of civic space at the UN and how agreed language from UN resolutions and past momentum for greater inclusion can be used.  

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August 2024

"Don’t Choose Comfort Over Confronting Injustice,” Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac

Can you do more than just pray for peace in the Middle East and make a statement? This is the question posed by Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac to faith leaders and their communities. Rev. Dr. Isaac is a Palestinian Christian pastor for the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem and the Lutheran Church in Beit Sahour and serves as the Academic Dean of the Bethlehem Bible College. A vocal advocate of interfaith efforts toward reconciliation, Rev. Dr.

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August 2024

New Report: "Plastic Money: Turning Off the Subsidies Tap (Phase 1)"

QUNO’s Sustainable and Just Economic Systems programme, in partnership with Eunomia Research & Consulting Ltd., has published the Phase 1 Report of their project titled Plastic Money: Turning Off the Subsidies Tap. This report represents a crucial step in uncovering the extensive subsidies received by the primary plastics polymer (PPP) production industry, a sector that plays a pivotal role in global plastic pollution.

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August 2024

QUNO Geneva's presence at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 61st Session

QUNO Geneva’s Human Impacts of Climate Change Programme, speaking on behalf of Friends World Committee for Consultation, took part in the 61st Session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in Sofia, Bulgaria from the 27th of July to 2nd of August.  Our FWCC interventions and the IPCC Meeting summary are available to read here. 

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July 2024

Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals: thinking globally, acting locally

On 16 July 2024, experts from Member States, the United Nations (UN), and civil society gathered at Quaker House to discuss ways in which the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can be made more relevant and responsive at the local level.

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July 2024

QUNO NY Joins SDG 16+ Campaign focused on peace

QUNO NY UN Representative Kavita Desai is co-chairing the peace working group of the 2024 SDG16+ Campaign. QUNO is a Member of the Transparency, Accountability, and Participation (TAP) Network, an international coalition of over 300+ civil society organizations working towards SDG 16 and the 2030 Agenda through advocacy and collaboration. 

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July 2024

Interactive Event: Diplomacy for Sustainable Development

On 16 July 2024 QUNO NY partnered with the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) and the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPACC) to host an interactive event during the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF, see more about the Forum below), which simulated building political will for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

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July 2024

Beyond the Armistice: Opportunities for Peace on the Korean Peninsula

On 27 July we remember the signing of the Korean War armistice in 1953. While the armistice silenced the guns and brought an end to three years of armed conflict, it did not end the war, and to this day the parties to this conflict have not reached a peace agreement. It is estimated that the war has produced at least 2.5 million deaths, including civilians and soldiers from 22 countries. Today the Korean peninsula and many families remain separated between north and south. This year tensions have worsened with the constant threat that this friction could escalate into a nuclear conflict.

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