| QUNO, and the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) organized an event to discuss trade measures in the context of the Treaty to end plastic pollution. The webinar provided attendees with a better understanding of: (1) the scope of international trade and plastics, including the latest numbers and figures; (2) how the World Trade Organization is addressing plastic pollution through its Dialogue on Plastic Pollution; (3) the historical dynamic and inclusion of trade provisions in multilateral environmental agreements, and the importance of trade provisions for the efficiency and implementation of control measures in the plastic treaty process. Additionally, attendees learned from our Senior Technical Advisor, Ronald Steenblik, about (4) relevant subsidies to plastic production; and (5) were updated on the status of negotiations for the treaty to end plastic pollution moving forward toward the next Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee toward a treaty to end plastic pollution. | 
 
														A Call for Climate Action: Protect Human Rights and Decrease Military Expending
HICC at the Human Rights Council QUNO participated in the climate and environmental discussions held in the 60th session Human Rights Council in Geneva. Through its Human Impacts of Climate Change (HICC) programme, QUNO delivered an oral statement on the critical role of human rights in climate action. Additionally, HICC contributed to a discussion on how military activities undermine the right to a healthy environment through their toxic and hazardous impacts. Lindsey Fielder Cook, HICC’s Representative, served as a panelist in the side event The Toxic Impact of Military Activities alongside the UN Special Rapporteur on Toxics and Human Rights, and representatives from Earthjustice, the Center for Global Nonkilling, and Dejusticia. The event discussed the findings and implications of the Special Rapporteur’s recent report on the human rights impacts of hazardous substances and waste resulting from military operations. Building on the Quakers Peace Testimony, QUNO emphasized that war is an abomination of human rights and highlighted how this report proves that military activities harm human beings and earth far beyond wartimes. Lindsey also underscored that military activities are responsible for nearly 5.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. However, countries are not required to report these emissions into their National Determined […]






