QUNO hosted an evening reception for the photography exhibition, This Light That Pushes Me: Stories of African Peacebuilders at Quaker House in New York. This photography exhibition highlights African Quaker peacebuilders from nine sub-Saharan African countries who have all experienced some form of violence and are now working for peace in their local communities. The exhibition, and accompanying book, trace the journeys that have transformed that suffering into a force for social change. In addition to colleagues and friends from the UN, QUNO was very pleased to be joined by Adrien Niyongabo from the local organization Healing and Rebuilding Our Communities (HROC) in Burundi, who is one of the Quaker African peacebuilders featured in the exhibition and book.
														A Call for Climate Action: Protect Human Rights and Decrease Military Expending
HICC at the Human Rights Council QUNO participated in the climate and environmental discussions held in the 60th session Human Rights Council in Geneva. Through its Human Impacts of Climate Change (HICC) programme, QUNO delivered an oral statement on the critical role of human rights in climate action. Additionally, HICC contributed to a discussion on how military activities undermine the right to a healthy environment through their toxic and hazardous impacts. Lindsey Fielder Cook, HICC’s Representative, served as a panelist in the side event The Toxic Impact of Military Activities alongside the UN Special Rapporteur on Toxics and Human Rights, and representatives from Earthjustice, the Center for Global Nonkilling, and Dejusticia. The event discussed the findings and implications of the Special Rapporteur’s recent report on the human rights impacts of hazardous substances and waste resulting from military operations. Building on the Quakers Peace Testimony, QUNO emphasized that war is an abomination of human rights and highlighted how this report proves that military activities harm human beings and earth far beyond wartimes. Lindsey also underscored that military activities are responsible for nearly 5.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. However, countries are not required to report these emissions into their National Determined […]






