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QUNO hosts CFSC for the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

7th May 2015

CFSC

For the last two weeks of April, QUNO hosted partners from the Canadian Friends Service Committee (CFSC) in New York for the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Canadian Friends carry the program on Indigenous issues for the Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC), and have been engaged internationally for many years, including on the drafting and adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. This year CFSC contributed to three joint statements: Outcome of the World Conference on Indigenous Issues, Implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (read by National Chief Perry Bellegarde), and Eradicating violence against Indigenous women and girls. 

Areas of work: Rights of Indigenous Peoples

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At a critical moment, Security Council Resolution on Gaza falls short

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Drawing Hope: Children Reimagining Peace Across Borders

Drawing Hope: Children Reimagining Peace Across Borders

In a world often divided, Drawing Hope is a trans-local peace project that uses children’s art to remind us of our shared humanity. Through artwork created by children, the exhibit sends messages of hope, peace, and reconciliation. After being displayed in venues around the world, Drawing Hope arrived at the United Nations in New York City in early November. QUNO worked closely with the American Friends Service Committee, Okedongmu Children, and the Permanent Mission of Ireland to ensure the exhibit could be displayed inside the UN. From 10 to 21 November, diplomats, UN officials, and guests were able to view drawings created by children in eight countries: North Korea, South Korea, Japan, South Africa, Colombia, Cambodia, Ireland, and the United States. Visitors were inspired by the simple example of children working to connect, transcend barriers, and use creativity to build understanding and empathy across divides. Drawing Hope began on the Korean Peninsula, which in 2025 marks 80 years of division between North and South Korea. Over the past eight decades, cross-border interactions have been strictly prohibited, with both sides dehumanizing the other through propaganda, influencing adults and children alike. As a result, many children grew up surrounded by narratives of […]

QUNO attends COP30 in Brazil: Report 1 of 2

QUNO attends COP30 in Brazil: Report 1 of 2

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QUNO at the IPCCโ€™s session in Lima

QUNO at the IPCCโ€™s session in Lima

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QUNO Representative brings Quaker Perspective to Disaster Resiliency

QUNO NY Representative Kavita Desai had the rare opportunity to moderate a panel at the United Nations entitled โ€œInvesting in Resilience to Safeguard the Sustainable Development Goalsโ€ during a special event held on October 16, 2025, hosted by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and the UN Economic and Financial Committee.  The UNDRR event, โ€œTowards a Risk-informed approach to Development: Financing Resilient Development Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow,โ€ highlighted the need to increase investment in disaster protection measures such as early warning systems, community protection plans, and resilient infrastructure to safeguard progress made towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a series of 17 globally agreed-upon goals that form a blueprint for sustainable peace and prosperity. As Desai noted in her opening remarks, โ€œIt is well known that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure…investing in DRR saves resources in the long-term and futureproofs development gains.โ€   Desaiโ€™s panel provided valuable insight on the necessity of financing resilient development, warning that progress towards the SDGs has been limited and that current investments in disaster risk and resilience account for only about 25% of actual needs in many countries. The panel noted that this funding gap emerges […]

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Real Costs of the Push to Rearm in Europe and Beyond: Implications for Arms Control, Business and Human Rights, and International Law

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