Timeline

September 2018

Development and Security Rely on Peace, Justice and Inclusion: Statement by Peacebuilding Organizations

September 21 marks the International Day of Peace, which was established in 1981 by a unanimous resolution in the UN’s General Assembly. To mark the day, QUNO and over 80 additional peacebuilding organizations from throughout the world issued a statement to United Nations Member States that brings attention to peace concerns.

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September 2018

Joint NGO Statement delivered at the 39th Human Rights Council concerning the Global Compact on Migration

On Tuesday 11th September QUNO delivered a joint NGO statement during the general debate on the first oral update from Michelle Bachelet, the new High Commissioner for Human Rights.  

The statement focused on the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration and called on states and the High Commissioner to make concrete efforts to ensure a human rights based implementation, follow up and review of the compact.

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September 2018

Statement delivered at the 39th Human Rights Council concerning the arbitrary detention of migrants

On Wednesday 12th September QUNO delivered a statement during the Interactive Dialogue with the Working Group on arbitrary detention, focusing on the revision and update of Deliberation 5, on deprivation of liberty of migrants.

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September 2018

"We only have the Global Compact for Migration because of the witness of Human Rights defenders" : QUNO speaks at an OHCHR side event

On Thursday 27th September at the 39th Human Rights Council, Human Rights and Refugees representative, Laurel Townhead, spoke at a side event on migrants' Human Rights defenders, organized by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and sponsored by the Permanent Mission of Paraguay. Laurel centered her presentation on the crucial role Human Rights defenders play in offering a counter narrative of compassion in an increasingly xenophobic global climate.

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September 2018

QUNO delivers statement at the 39th HRC, calling for a shift in mindset and practice to improve prevention through the UPR

In September, QUNO delivered a statement during the 39th Regular Session of the Human Rights Council, calling for a shift in mindset and practice to improve prevention through the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process. As human rights violations are often at the root of destructive conflict, the UPR constitutes an important entry point to collaboratively address violations, that if left unaddressed, could lead to violent conflict.

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October 2018

IPCC presents its Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5C

In October, the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) met in Incheon, South Korea, to present its Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5C, and to work with States to finalize the Report’s Summary for Policy Makers. The full Report took nearly two years to prepare, included 91 authors and review editors from 40 countries, contributions from thousands of expert and government reviewers, and cited over 6,000 scientific references. 

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Event of Note
November 2018

Foundations for Implementation: QUNO launches new guidebook for States implementing the Global Compact for Migration

In December 2018, representatives from the Human Rights and Refugees programme traveled to Marrakesh to attend the 2018 Intergovernmental Conference to Adopt the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.

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November 2018

Integrating Human Rights, Nonviolent Action & Peacebuilding to Sustain Peace

This panel, organized by ​the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), Berghof Foundation and the Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) during Geneva Peace Week, discussed how we can integrate human rights, nonviolent action and peacebuilding to sustain peace by bridging the silos and shifting the mindset of how civil society participates through nonviolent action and peacebuilding.

Examples of how this is done came from practitioners as well as policy level experts:

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November 2018

Nuclear Disarmament or Nuclear Arms Race: The World at Crossroads

The Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) and the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) organised a panel discussion on “Nuclear Disarmament or Nuclear Arms Race: The World at Crossroads” during the Geneva Peace Week featuring:

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November 2018

QUNO brings attention to peacebuilding issues at UN meetings on the Sahel

During meetings held on November 13-14, Member States and UN actors came together to discuss strategies for peacebuilding and sustaining peace in the Sahel region. This began with the annual session of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC), a full day, interactive meeting that focused on themes of partnerships, and the role of women and youth in peacebuilding in the Sahel.

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December 2018

QUNO at the COP 24 in Katowice, Poland

QUNO was present for the entire COP 24, in Katowice Poland.  The following article helps outline briefly the COP24 outcome.  During our time, QUNO observed the negotiations and spoke regularly with negotiators to encourage the adoption of an effective, fair and ambitious Rulebook to the Paris Agreement.  While progress was slow and rights-based language nearly absent, the work remains ongoing and QUNO will continue to engage with decision makers next year.  

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December 2018

The adoption of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration: A QUNO guide for Friends

On 10th December 2018, after a two year negotiation process, States formally adopted the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration at an intergovernmental conference in Marrakech. On 19th December, the Compact was then endorsed with a vote at the General Assembly in New York. 

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December 2018

UN-AU Strategic Partnership and its implications for Prevention

In April of 2017, UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, and Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission, Moussa Faki Maham, signed the Joint UN-AU Framework for Enhanced Partnership in Peace and Security. The partnership has since developed a shared understanding of the root causes of conflict, collaborated closely in preventive diplomacy and inclusive mediation efforts, protected human rights, and enhanced coordination and effective utilization of early warning systems to reduce the impact of disasters. 

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December 2018

QUNO NY Director speaks on high-level panel discussion on the role of human rights in UN reform

On 3 December, QUNO NY Director, Andrew Tomlinson, spoke as the only NGO representative on a high-level panel discussion, The place of human rights in a reformed United Nations: A transatlantic human rights dialogue, held at UN headquarters.  The panel was convened by  Switzerland and Germany as the Co-Chairs of the Human Rights/Conflict Prevention Caucus, the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) and Universal Rights Group (URG). 

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January 2019

QUNO co-hosts civil society briefing with Under-Secretary-General Menéndez

To support an inclusive approach to the prevention agenda between the UN and civil society, the Civil Society-UN Prevention Platform held an informal, off the record meeting with Under-Secretary-General (USG) and Senior Policy Advisor, Ms. Ana Maria Menéndez, who has played a central role in Secretary-General António Guterres’s focus on prevention since she was appointed in June 2017.

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February 2019

QUNO convenes annual discussion - What's Next in Peacebuilding?

In February, QUNO hosted our annual three-day gathering of peacebuilding leaders at Quaker House in New York. The previous year’s event had focused on efforts to articulate the ‘heart of peacebuilding’, resulting in a fresh affirmation of core principles and tools. Using that base, this year the group chose to survey the current and future global peacebuilding policy environments.

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March 2019

QUNO Geneva welcomes Joachim Monkelbaan

QUNO is pleased to welcome Joachim Monkelbaan to our Geneva office, as Representative for our new Sustainable and Just Economic Systems programme, which seeks to foster economic systems that deliver prosperity for all. Joachim brings 15 years of professional experience with organizations such as UN Environment, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD), and the World Health Organization (WHO), among others.

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March 2019

UN Reform in Practice: Tangible Impact On Prevention?

As of 1 January 2019, Secretary-General Guterres’s hard-won reform proposals officially took effect. To strengthen the delivery of its mandate, the United Nations has introduced sweeping changes to the Peace and Security Architecture, the Development System, and the Management System. These reforms are designed to strengthen coherence within the system, make it more field-focused, and support the implementation of sustaining peace and prevention. 
 

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Event of Note
March 2019

The 2019 QUNO Review is now available online

Our new, March 2019 edition of the QUNO Review is now available for download. The annual report provides a brief introduction to QUNO and our way of working, as well as an overview of each of our programme areas. Learn more about our past year of our work and see where we are headed in 2019.

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April 2019

In & Around the UN

Read QUNO New York’s newsletter, In & Around the UN, featuring articles on:

  • Landmark changes to the UN system
  • Attending FWCC Section of the Americas Meeting
  • Partnering with the UN to strengthen inclusive approaches for peace

and more from New York.

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