QUNO recently provided three distinct submissions responding to a call for input by UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Climate Change and Professor of Global Environmental Law, Elisa Morgera, on the topic of the fossil fuel based economy and human rights.

QUNO NY has released the resource paper Civil Society at the United Nations aimed at addressing shrinking civic space at the UN. The project was inspired following discussions with civil society colleagues and diplomats on the difficulties civil society organizations have faced since the COVID-19 pandemic in accessing information and engaging in UN processes.

February 1 marked four years since Myanmar's military overthrew the country’s democratically elected government. As the international community observed the anniversary of the military coup, QUNO NY hosted an informal briefing for diplomats by Charles Petrie, former UN Resident Coordinator to Myanmar. The meeting focused on the emergence of new governance models.  

QUNO NY Representative Kavita Desai joined a panel discussion entitled “Promise of World Peace: A Coherent Approach to Peace and Security” on February 7th. Hosted by the Bahá’í International Community (BiC) and the Permanent Mission of Portugal to the United Nations, the discussion focused on the UN General Assembly Revitalization process that makes recommendations on the functioning of the UN System, such as coordination among UN principal organs, rules of procedure, and accessibility.  

Kavita Desai, QUNO NY UN Representative, joined the Transparency, Accountability, and Participation (TAP) Network’s ‘Financing for Development Strategy Workshop-Webinar’ and led a small group discussion. During the small group discussion participants explored priorities for the TAP Network and SDG16+ community during the ongoing UN Financing for Development process.    

On 14 December, QUNO New York Programme Assistants joined faith-based partners in a silent vigil outside the United States Mission to the UN. For over an hour, the group held a quiet presence to bring attention to the ongoing massacres of civilians in Gaza and the escalating violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

QUNO Geneva’s Human Impacts of Climate Change Programme has been attending the 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan since the start of the conference on 11 November. Accredited under the Friends World Committee for Consultation, Lindsey Fielder Cook and Johan Cavert are representing QUNO during negotiations.

Each October, shortly after the opening of the year’s General Assembly, the UN observes Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) week. The week includes an open debate in the UN Security Council, which this year was entitled “Women Building Peace in a Changing Environment.” QUNO, in partnership with the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC), hosted a side event to extend this conversation beyond the walls of the UN, welcoming panelists from Uganda, Kyrgyzstan, and Palestine to speak to a full house of civil society and representatives of Member States.

QUNO Interim Deputy Director and Representative for the Human Impacts of Climate Change, Lindsey Fielder Cook, recently spoke in two webinars focused on climate, peace, and militarism. In July, Quaker Earthcare Witness held a conversation between Lindsey and General Secretary of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), Joyce Ajlouny, about the interwovenness of peacemaking and climate justice.