During the 44th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, QUNO delivered a joint oral statement with partner Child Rights Connect, as co-convenor of the Child Rights Connect Working Group on Children of Incarcerated Parents.

QUNO was invited to lead the second session in the Friends World Committee for Consultation’s (FWCC) Quaker Conversations, FWCC’s monthly webinar series with Friends around the world. QUNO New York Director, Andrew Tomlinson, spoke about the topic “Changing the World from the Top Down," and began by recalling the Quaker presence at the United Nations (UN), which dates back to the signing of the UN Charter in San Francisco in June, 1945 – almost exactly 75 years ago. When the UN began its work in New York and Geneva, the Quaker offices at the United Nations started right alongside them.

As the fourth meeting in the Civil Society – UN Prevention Platform’s 2020 discussion series on prevention, QUNO co-hosted a discussion, Strengthening Prevention Tools: Inclusive Approaches to Supporting Mediation. The Platform welcomed over 50 global participants from the United Nations (UN), African Union (AU), civil society, and Member States to this lively and informative conversation. 

QUNO welcomes the launch of a Policy Brief from UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, focussing on the situation of people on the move during the Covid-19 pandemic. QUNO has worked for decades on protection of refugees and in recent years on the human rights of migrants, and we are deeply concerned by the severe and disproportionate impact of the pandemic on refugee and migrant communities of all kinds, including migrant workers, migrants in irregular situations, and those in immigration detention.

QUNO was pleased to deliver a statement at the resumed 43rd session of the Human Rights Council on 15 June in Geneva, as part of the Item 5 General Debate on Human Rights Bodies and Mechanisms. The statement, delivered by Programme Assistant for Peace and Disarmament, Cara Priestley, welcomed the rapporteurs’ report on the contribution of the Human Rights Council to the prevention of human rights violations, pursuant to Resolution 38/18.

On 20 May, QUNO co-hosted “Prevention and Implications of COVID-19: Learning from Transformative Gender Approaches,” an online discussion that brought together over 40 UN, civil society, and Member State experts as part of the Civil Society-UN Prevention Platform’s 2020 discussion series on prevention.  

Dear Friends,

The spread of COVID-19 has changed our world. We hold in the light those made ill by the new virus, their families and friends, and the dedicated people caring for all of us. Our hearts go out to the millions of people who are suffering as societies struggle to respond, including those who have lost their livelihoods and the most vulnerable among us.

Application process update

The application process is closed. 

We take this opportunity to thank everyone for their applications and to inform you that we are continuing with this recruitment. As a result of the current situation with Covid-19 our timelines for interviews have changed.  We are currently shortlisting. We will contact only those who we invite for interview. If you have not heard from us by 31 May please assume that you have not been selected for interview.