The Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) seeks a committed and motivated person with considerable knowledge and experience to carry forward work on Peace and Disarmament in the QUNO Geneva office.

At the 60th session of the Human Rights Council, attention turned once again to the urgent need for stronger human rights monitoring in migration governance.

During September’s high-level week, world leaders gathered in New York for the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) under the theme, “Better together: 80 years and more for peace, development, and human rights.” The week reflected on eight decades of UN work while spotlighting some of today’s most pressing global challenges.

September 2025 marked the opening of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and highlights the final stretch to achieve the 2030 Agenda. As world leaders convened in New York, QUNO NY joined the Accountability Lab, CIVICUS, the Ford Foundation, Forus, and the Transparency, Accountability & Participation (TAP) Network to co-host “Civic Space Under Threat: An Interactive Workshop on Existential Challenges to Civil Society and Strengthening Resilience” virtually on 25 September.

The Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) seeks a committed and motivated person with considerable knowledge and experience to carry forward work on Human Rights in the QUNO Geneva office.
Leading the Human Rights and Refugees Programme, the Representative will maintain QUNO’s long-term Quaker presence at the United Nations. As a senior staff member and part of a small team, they will help ensure the effective and efficient management of QUNO Geneva.
 

On 12 August, QUNO NY, in collaboration with Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC), hosted a virtual event titled “Discerning the Path Forward – Quaker Engagement in the UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent”. The event gathered Friends across the global Quaker family to reflect, worship, and discern how QUNO and Quakers are called to engage with the United Nations Permanent Forum on People of African Descent (PFPAD).   

At the end of July, QUNO Programme Assistant Ailih Weeldreyer attended New York Yearly Meeting’s summer sessions. The meeting was held under the theme “Dare to Hope, Dare to Heal, Dare to Witness.” This focus encouraged Friends to reflect on messages of renewal and action to uplift voices silenced by historical and ongoing injustice. Friends in the New York region demonstrated the ways they are living these messages through partnerships in their communities and around the world.  

This briefing note by the Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) and Eunomia Research & Consulting presents the preliminary findings from the third phase of our "Plastic Money" initiative. Released in August 2025 to coincide with the second part of the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5.2) on Plastic Pollution, this work continues our effort to bring clarity and evidence to the global discourse on plastic subsidies.

"Is the Arms Trade Above International Law?"

This pressing question was at the heart of a recent public event co-organized by QUNO, together with the Geneva Academy, the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), and the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR). Held on 20 May in Geneva, the panel brought together legal experts, UN officials, diplomats, students, and human rights advocates to hear about challenges in coming to grips with the arms trade, as well as possible ways forward.