Welcome to the Quaker United Nations Office

The Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) serves as a Quaker presence at the United Nations (UN), representing Friends’ concerns at the international level, with offices at UN headquarters in New York, as well as in Geneva.

In addition to representing Friends, QUNO facilitates dialogue and works on specific issues in a manner that is unique in the UN community. QUNO advocacy is carried out in a number of ways, particularly by facilitating informal, open negotiating processes in which all participate on an equal footing.

New at QUNO

• Rachel Brett, QUNO Representative for Human Rights and Refugees will deliver Britain Yearly Meeting's annual Swarthmore Lecture in 2012. She will speak about Quaker processes and ways of working and how they have been applied to the United Nations sphere, with particular reference to QUNO's work on human rights. The lecture will be on 26 May 2012 in London, and an accompanying book will be published. To read more about Rachel Brett's Swarthmore Lecture, please click here.

• QUNO invites applications for its Geneva Summer School 2012. Each year QUNO Geneva organises a summer school to introduce young people to the work of the UN and other international agencies in Geneva. The Summer School gives 20-26 year-olds a unique insight into the workings of international policy-making, in a hard-working and enjoyable context. To read more about the Summer School and how to apply, please click here.

• On 16 January, QUNO welcomed new staff member Diane Hendrick to Geneva as Programme Officer in Peace and Disarmament. Diane brings more than 25 years’ diverse experience of work on peace and conflict resolution to the QUNO team. To read more about Diane, please click here.

• QUNO Geneva is preparing a digest of the discussions during the UN Climate Change Conference that took place in Durban in November-December. This concise digest provides a readable overview of developments in the two weeks of negotiations as they occurred, pointing out some of the key issues and actors. To receive a copy of the digest, please click here.

• The issue of Palestinian Statehood came before the UN in September. This is a complex topic, with historical, technical and political dimensions. QUNO New York has put together an informal information resource covering matters relating to the discussions, that was regularly updated during December. Please click here to read the full resource document. In addition, Quaker organisations in the U.S. recently issued a public statement on Palestinian Statehood recognition. To read the statement please click here.

Recent QUNO Publications

In & Around the U.N. (New York), December 2011 (pdf 273 kb)

International Standards on Conscientious Objection to Military Service, (English), (Español), (Français), Rachel Brett, updated December 2011 (pdf 295 kb)

Palestinian U.N. Bid: U.S. Should Press for Peace, Not Punishment, Joint Statement from AFSC, FCNL, QUNO September 2011 (pdf 43 kb)

Collateral Convicts - If my parents go to prison, what happens to me? Exhibition on children of incarcerated parents, September 2011 (exhibition version, pdf 4.78 mb) (light version 1.8 mb)

Geneva Reporter, July 2011 - October 2011 (pdf 500 kb)

Civil Society Good Practices Magazine: Paths Toward Peace - Best practices in violence reduction and development in South and Southeast Asia, June 2011 (pdf 1.17 mb)

Please click here to read other QUNO publications