The role of religion in violent conflict has received new attention in the context of recent terrorist attacks - but religiously motivated actors have long been involved in community and national level peacebuilding. In July, QUNO New York Director Andrew Tomlinson spoke at a UN event organised by the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding entitled "Turning the Tide: Engaging Religiously-Motivated Peacebuilders in Conflict Zones",  alongside peacebuilders from Sri Lanka, Colombia and Afghanistan.

Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by Member States in September 2015, is well on its way. To encourage coordinated and effective action, QUNO and the International Peace Institute brought together a broad array of civil society representatives at Quaker House to take stock of current initiatives, identify gaps and consider possibilities for collaboration, both on Goal 16 (on peace, justice and inclusive institutions) and on the peaceful societies issues within the SDGs more broadly. 

QUNO co-hosted a side event during the 32nd session of the Human Rights Council on prevention and early warning of conflict, and the role of economic, social and cultural rights. The event took place on Wednesday 29 June at the Palais des Nations.

Co-organised with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES), the panel discussion featured speakers from OHCHR, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) and Lancaster University. 

For further details, including details of all speakers, please see the flyer attached below.

QUNO organized an informal discussion at Quaker House between African Union expert Dr. Cedric de Coning, civil society, UN staff and Member States. This meeting, during which Dr. de Coning provided his perspective on the state of the relationship between the UN and the African Union (AU), was a follow-up to a recent open debate in the Security Council on UN-AU cooperation for greater peace and security. The discussion was an opportunity for New York-based actors to gain insight into the inner workings of the AU and think of ways to enhance UN-AU cooperation from UN headquarters.

As the World Humanitarian Summit opens in Istanbul, peacebuilding organizations, including civil society, UN agencies and the World Bank, have issued a series of commitments - known as the "Peace Promise" - to more effective synergies among peace, humanitarian and development actions in complex humanitarian situations, with the aim of reducing human suffering by addressing the drivers of conflict and vulnerability.

In consultation with QUNO, the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), as an operational agency, was one of 25 organizations to sign on. 

In July, the High Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development will take place at the UN in New York. The HLPF will be the primary UN platform for the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted in September 2015. Twenty-two countries will undergo National Reviews during the HLPF, which will examine the processes they have undertaken to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at a national level.