On December 2, QUNO NY Programme Assistant, Sadhbh O’Driscoll, attended the UN-Civil Society Townhall. The event was held at UN headquarters in New York with the President of the 77th General Assembly (PGA), H.E. Mr. Csaba Kőrösi. This event was jointly organized by the PGA, civil society, and the UN Department of Global Communications.

From 28 November to 2 December 2022, the first session of the Intergovernmental negotiating committee (INC) on Plastic Pollution was held in Punta del Este, Uruguay. Negotiations were held to make initial progress on the development of a legally binding instrument on plastic pollution.

On the 20th February, as part of the 29th meeting of the Human Rights Advisory Committee in Geneva, a discussion was held about the findings of an emerging report on the “Impact of new technologies for climate protection on the enjoyment of human rights” prepared by Patrycja Sasnal, the Rapporteur of the drafting group. QUNO Programme, Assistant Alana M Carlson, speaking under the Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC) and Amnesty International, delivered an intervention.

The Quaker United Nations Office welcomes the landmark decision by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to ask the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for an advisory opinion on “the obligations of States in respect of climate change.” The UNGA decision came after Vanuatu led a core group of nations, made up mostly of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and others, including New Zealand, to bring forward the resolution to the General Assembly.

On 29 March, QUNO Geneva engaged with the work of the Human Rights Council on systemic racism. Human Rights and Refugees Programme Assistant, Yasmin Beldjelti, spoke in both the Debate in commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the General Debate Item 9 on Racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related forms of intolerance.

This year, 2023, marks 75 years since the Quakers United Nations Office (QUNO) was founded in 1948. QUNO represents Quakers at the United Nations (UN) and related multilateral institutions, such as the World Trade Organisation (WTO).