Can you do more than just pray for peace in the Middle East and make a statement? This is the question posed by Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac to faith leaders and their communities. Rev. Dr. Isaac is a Palestinian Christian pastor for the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem and the Lutheran Church in Beit Sahour and serves as the Academic Dean of the Bethlehem Bible College. A vocal advocate of interfaith efforts toward reconciliation, Rev. Dr.

QUNO Geneva’s Human Impacts of Climate Change Programme, speaking on behalf of Friends World Committee for Consultation, took part in the 61st Session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in Sofia, Bulgaria from the 27th of July to 2nd of August.  Our FWCC interventions and the IPCC Meeting summary are available to read here. 

As part of the 2024 World Plenary Meeting (WPM), QUNO Geneva Interim Deputy Director and Representative for the Human Impacts of Climate Change Lindsey Fielder Cook, contributed personal reflection and testimony by video recording on the theme of ‘care for creation’. Taking place in South Africa from 5-12 August 2024, the WPM was organized by the Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC) and hosted by the Southern Africa Yearly Meeting.

As part of QUNO’s Sustainable and Just Economic Systems programme and the Uncommon Collaborations initiative, we are pleased to announce the release of a new brief titled Trade Issues and the International Legally Binding Instrument on Plastic Pollution: A Legal Analysis. Authored by Dr. Alexandra Harrington, the report provides a critical examination of the intersection between international trade law and the proposed global treaty to end plastic pollution (ILBI), currently under negotiation.

In September of 2024, QUNO’s offices in both New York and Geneva bid fond farewells to this year’s cohort of Programme Assistants. Natalie Dewar and Nyeri Otero Flanagan departed from QUNO’s New York office to pursue their future endeavours, and Anna Aguto, Maria Kamenias, and Chatrina Schumacher reached the end of their terms at QUNO in Geneva. The entire QUNO team thanks these committed advocates of peace and justice for their hard work and contributions to our programmes and community. We wish them the best of luck in their next steps! 

This August saw the gathering of Quakers from around the world in Johannesburg, South Africa. The World Gathering of Friends brought 250 Quakers together in person with many more individuals and hubs gathering online for a week-long celebration of our different Quaker traditions and work. QUNO was given the opportunity to hold a plenary session introducing the work of Quakers at the UN.

QUNO Interim Deputy Director and Representative for the Human Impacts of Climate Change, Lindsey Fielder Cook, recently spoke in two webinars focused on climate, peace, and militarism. In July, Quaker Earthcare Witness held a conversation between Lindsey and General Secretary of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), Joyce Ajlouny, about the interwovenness of peacemaking and climate justice.

As the United Nations prepared to open the 79th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in September, QUNO began a new chapter of its own. In both the New York and Geneva offices, the QUNO staff was excited to welcome new members of our team. In Geneva, we welcomed new Programme Assistants Johan Cavert and Kaya Van der Horst. In New York, we were joined by Programme Assistants Chelsea Comas and Ailih Weeldreyer, as well as a new UN Representative, Jessica Walker-Keleher.  

Friday 20 September marked the start of the Summit of the Future Action Days, where United Nations stakeholders gathered to address the most pressing issues of our time and express their efforts to work towards a better future. World leaders sought to reaffirm their commitment to peace efforts through the Pact for the Future. Civil society organizations, like QUNO, had an opportunity to engage in the implementation of the Pact for the Future during the Action Days.