QUNO Geneva is (virtually) attending the 48th session of the Human Rights Council with particular attention to the human rights of migrants, Indigenous Peoples, the death penalty, and the human rights impact of the climate crisis.

The Civil Society-UN Prevention Platform has launched a new report that summarizes the key findings from the recent discussion series on Advancing Prevention Across UN Sectors and Institutions: Collective Pathways for Effective Prevention that brought together Member States, UN agencies, and international and local civil society.

Friday marked the close of the 54th Session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and 14th Session of the Working Group 1 , during which State delegates considered contributions to the IPCC’s 6th Assessment Report (AR6).  QUNO, for FWCC, is one of the most active observers at IPCC Plenary meetings.  QUNO’s Representative for Human Impacts of Climate Change, Lindsey Fielder Cook, was in attendance throughout  the two-week virtual meetings.

Florence Foster, Representative for Peace and Disarmament at the Quaker United Nations Office Geneva, participated in the fourth episode of the KOFF Ton-Träger podcast alongside Katia Aeby, Managing Director of Peace Brigades International Switzerland, and Emma Baumhofer, Digital Peacebuilding Expert at swisspeace.

Since our last newsletter in October 2020, QUNO has continued to adjust to the large changes brought about by COVID-19, the killing of George Floyd, and the drama of a bitterly contested US election. Despite all these challenges, including a now more than year-long shift to virtual work, both for our office and our partners in the UN and other peacebuilding organizations, our work has moved forward.

QUNO’s Sustainable and Just Economic Systems programme has been closely involved in discussions on trade and environment between members at the World Trade Organisation (WTO). In this space, QUNO prioritises supporting members to work collaboratively on trade policies which support global environmental sustainability and ensure a sustainable and just future for all.