Rachel Brett delivered the Swarthmore lecture at Britain Yearly Meeting on 26 May. Entitled Snakes and Ladders, it described Quaker work on human rights at the United Nations.

This work has brought real change for many, including conscientious objectors and child soldiers. The Swarthmore Lectureship, established in 1907, provides for the publication of a book as well as the public lecture. For information about the book and how to order it please email us at quno@quno.ch.

QUNO New York hosted a visited by a Burundian Quaker, Adrien Niyongabo, with the local grassroots organization Healing and Rebuilding Our Communities (HROC). At a meeting at Quaker House with experts from the UN and diplomats, Adrien shared his experiences in trauma healing and reconciliation in Burundi as well as his perspectives on the national truth and reconciliation process.

A QUNO-IIED (Quaker UN Office - International Institute for Environment and Development) panel at the World Trade Organisation Public Forum in Geneva, September 2012 explored the complex international landscape on intellectual property relating to agriculture. The panel considered the main features of the international intellectual property framework through the following questions:

QUNO held a side event on 'Natural Resources, Conflict and Cooperation' at the Human Rights Council with the Permanent Mission of Ethiopia and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

QUNO publishes a new report, ‘Diverting the Flow: Cooperation over International Water Resources’.

QUNO publishes ‘Increasing Trust and Effectiveness under the UNFCCC: Learning from International Monitoring Processes’.

QUNO New York and the International Peace Institute co-organized a workshop for new and incoming members of the UN Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) in February 2013. The half-day workshop for expert level diplomats focused on a range of topics relating to the PBC including political accompaniment, reconciliation & peacebuilding, and defining the role of PBC membership.

On 26 April, QUNO, UNF and IPI, in collaboration with the Executive Office of the Secretary General, hosted an all-day event with senior representatives of the UN secretariat, agencies, funds and programs on “Conflict, Violence, and Instability in the Post-2015 Development Agenda”. The objective was to facilitate a discussion to identify common insights and objectives across the UN system around the inclusion of issues of peace and stability.