Quaker United Nation Office
Connecting Friends' values with the global communityWe are a Quaker presence at the United Nations sharing Friends’ concerns for global peace and justice with the international community.
The Quaker United Nations Office promotes justice, peace and sustainability at the United Nations. Our priorities are based on the concerns of Quakers worldwide. Through different areas of work in Geneva and New York, we seek to ensure that the UN system and community of nations support and uphold the dignity of all, so that justice and peace can flourish, and our shared home can be nurtured.
Perseverance and Hope During Challenging Times
On 28 January 2026, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres wrote to all UN member states to warn that the UN is facing "imminent financial collapse". While it is not unusual for the Secretary-General to raise alarm about...
A Dialogue – but with fewer words: Civil Society at the UN
The third annual CSO-UN Dialogue on Peacebuilding, held in December of 2025 in Geneva, brought together civil society actors, UN officials, and member states to strengthen partnerships amid rising geopolitical tensions. The dialogue aimed to connect local...
QUNO Geneva Welcomes Two New Programme Representatives
We are delighted to welcome two new colleagues to QUNO Geneva, strengthening our work across human rights, peace, and disarmament.Lucy Richardson joined QUNO as Human Rights and Refugees Representative in January 2026, working to strengthen the promotion and...
Former Programme Assistant bears witness in the Occupied West Bank
Former Programme Assistant Ailih Weeldreyer, now a National Organizer with the World Student Christian Federation – US, reflected with QUNO-New York about her experience accompanying a group of students on a solidarity pilgrimage through the Occupied Palestinian West...
Myanmar “sham elections”: QUNO hosts Quaker House briefing
On 2 December, the Quaker UN Office hosted diplomats at Quaker House for a private briefing in advance of the elections in Myanmar that began on 28 December 2025. QUNO Director, Sarah Clarke, opened the meeting, noting that “the world will be watching carefully to see...
The 2025 Peacebuilding Architecture Review: Progress, Omissions, and What’s at Stake
The United Nations’ Peacebuilding Architecture Review (PBAR) takes place every five years, providing UN actors and other stakeholders with an opportunity to review and improve the implementation and impact of the UN’s peacebuilding efforts. The year 2025 marked the...
New York
Supporting the UN’s Role for Peace Globally
QUNO New York seeks to strengthen member states’ understanding of and commitment to important concepts that build what has been called Positive Peace. Peace in this view requires the presence of social justice, equity, and systems that support sustainable...
Supporting the UN’s Role for Peace in Regional Contexts
In New York, QUNO has a long history of engaging diplomats and UN officials around specific country and regional contexts. In this effort, we work closely with UN diplomats, officials, and civil society organizations, often using Quaker House as a space to host...
Supporting the UN to Build Peaceful and Just Societies with Inclusive Institutions
QUNO works towards implementing the UN’s 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which comprise a global action plan for people, planet, prosperity, and peace through partnership. In particular, QUNO works on SDG 16: the “peace goal.” QUNO has a...
Geneva
Human Impacts of Climate Change
QUNO works for effective, fair and ambitious climate action and environmental protection. QUNO is concerned about the impacts of climate change on people’s lives, and works to ensure that the rights and dignity of all are upheld in the face of a changing...
Human Rights & Refugees
QUNO works for international law, standards and processes that uphold the inherent worth of each and every person. We work to strengthen the promotion and protection of human rights through the United Nations system, with particular reference to the interface between...
Peace & Disarmament
QUNO works for holistic approaches that address the seeds of war, including inequality, injustice and the proliferation of arms. Our peace and disarmament programme grows out of a long Quaker history of working for peace, understanding that this means more than the...
Sustainable & Just Economic Systems
QUNO works for economic systems that improve livelihoods, strengthen resilience, and ensure just transitions to sustainability. The ways in which we design and implement economic systems have critical impacts on sustainability, peace, and justice. QUNO strives to...