Newsroom

Newsroom

Sustaining peace needs intersectional approach at United Nations

6th November 2023

Florence Foster from QUNO Geneva participates at Geneva Peace Week 2023 panel

Peacebuilding has been viewed mainly as post-conflict intervention at the United Nations (UN), but the Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) believes peace work is needed throughout the conflict cycle.

QUNO takes a human rights-based approach to achieve sustaining peace. Focusing on human rights towards peacebuilding can further reduce the risk of violent conflict, end hostilities through inclusive processes and move towards reconciliation and just recovery. 

Often, human rights violations can be indicators of root causes of destructive conflict. Conversely, peace is fundamentally linked to human rights, social and economic justice, and political participation. 

Florence Foster, QUNO’s Peace and Disarmament programme Representative at the UN, elaborated on the organisation’s approach at Geneva Peace Week during a panel discussion this week. She said it was vital to take an intersectional view of peacebuilding as well as including all pillars of the UN with its different agencies to this end. 

She said that more work is needed, despite the considerable paradigm shift within the UN in the last years — from a limited understanding of peacebuilding as post-conflict activities, delivered nearly exclusively by its peace & security architecture, towards recognising that all pillars of the UN are relevant to delivering peace dividends throughout the conflict cycle. 

This means the UN system’s fragmented processes and institutions need to collaborate to deliver on its commitment to prevent violent conflict.

To that end, Florence Foster said during her presentation that further work was needed to ensure findings of human rights mechanisms were effectively communicated to different parts of the UN system, notably the Peacebuilding Commission. 

This offers an opportunity to enhance institutional collaboration and forge closer links between the human rights and peace & security pillar to better address and prevent violent conflict.

Florence Foster talked also about how various human rights bodies and mechanisms have been reflecting on how sustaining peace functions could be integrated into their respective mandates. 

QUNO looks forward to sharing these lessons learned at the upcoming New Agenda for Peace processes ahead of the Summit for the Future in September 2024.  

Geneva Peace Week has been an opportunity for QUNO to also share its work with other stakeholders. QUNO is a founder-member of Geneva Peace Week, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year in Geneva, Switzerland.

Other organisations that participated alongside QUNO at this event at Geneva Peace Week include the United Nations University Centre for Policy Research, Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, Centre for Civilians in Conflict and Geneva Centre for Security Policy.

Areas of work: Peace & Disarmament | Sustaining Peace

Explore more

Applications are Now Open: Quaker United Nations Summer School 2026

Applications are Now Open: Quaker United Nations Summer School 2026

We are excited to announce that the applications for the Quaker United Nations Office Summer School (QUNSS) 2026 are now open!  QUNSS is a two-week programme where young changemakers are introduced to the United Nations and the vibrant international community in Geneva to deepen their understanding of multilateralism, strengthen their policy, negotiation, and advocacy skills, and connect with a supportive international youth network rooted in Quaker values to promote peace, justice, and the protection of Earth.  This year’s themed edition will explore today’s debates on the value and challenges of multilateralism, supporting participants to accurately understand, critically question, and humanize the United Nations.  Over the course of the programme, participants will:  We welcome applications from young people aged 20–26 from all regions and backgrounds who are globally minded, locally rooted, and involved in areas such as social justice, community engagement, climate action, advocacy, or policy, among others.  The deadline for applications is January 25th, 2026 at 23:59 Central European Time (CET).  For the full description of QUNSS 2026, please see the document below. To apply, please access this application form.

At a critical moment, Security Council Resolution on Gaza falls short

At a critical moment, Security Council Resolution on Gaza falls short

On Monday, November 17, the UN Security Council adopted resolution 2803 (2025) authorizing the creation of an “International Stabilization Force” and a “Board of Peace” aimed at addressing the critical security, humanitarian, and reconstruction needs in Gaza. The resolution affirms the importance of enabling humanitarian aid, maintaining a ceasefire, and the goal of working towards “a horizon for peaceful and prosperous coexistence.” However, QUNO notes with concern the resolution’s disregard for the consent or agency of Palestinians within the mechanisms proposed by the resolution. Furthermore, the resolution fails to establish clear mechanisms for transparency, accountability, and effective humanitarian aid and reconstruction. Both observers and UN member states have pointed out that the resolution’s unilateral approach could sideline the United Nations and risk repeating colonial actions and ideologies that lie at the heart of the conflict.   At its core, the Security Council resolution gives UN backing to the “Comprehensive Peace Plan,” also known as the “20-point plan,” proposed by US President Donald Trump earlier this year. The United States proposed the resolution and lobbied strenuously to push it through the Security Council on an expedited timeline. The resolution gives a green light to main tenets of the President’s plan, principally, […]

Drawing Hope: Children Reimagining Peace Across Borders

Drawing Hope: Children Reimagining Peace Across Borders

In a world often divided, Drawing Hope is a trans-local peace project that uses children’s art to remind us of our shared humanity. Through artwork created by children, the exhibit sends messages of hope, peace, and reconciliation. After being displayed in venues around the world, Drawing Hope arrived at the United Nations in New York City in early November. QUNO worked closely with the American Friends Service Committee, Okedongmu Children, and the Permanent Mission of Ireland to ensure the exhibit could be displayed inside the UN. From 10 to 21 November, diplomats, UN officials, and guests were able to view drawings created by children in eight countries: North Korea, South Korea, Japan, South Africa, Colombia, Cambodia, Ireland, and the United States. Visitors were inspired by the simple example of children working to connect, transcend barriers, and use creativity to build understanding and empathy across divides. Drawing Hope began on the Korean Peninsula, which in 2025 marks 80 years of division between North and South Korea. Over the past eight decades, cross-border interactions have been strictly prohibited, with both sides dehumanizing the other through propaganda, influencing adults and children alike. As a result, many children grew up surrounded by narratives of […]

QUNO attends COP30 in Brazil: Report 1 of 2

QUNO attends COP30 in Brazil: Report 1 of 2

QUNO’s Human Impacts of Climate Change (HICC) staff, Lindsey Fielder Cook and Daniela Campos, were present at the Conference of Parties (COP30) from 9–23 November in Belém, Brazil. This first report focuses on QUNO’s activities and will be followed by a second report offering an analysis of both concerns and positive outcomes.  While knowing that more than 56,000 people from all over the world came together to share and negotiate global climate action, some might still wonder what happens inside COPs. To offer a clearer glimpse of this experience, we are sharing a narrated report of the major events, negotiations, and interactions where QUNO brought a Quaker voice—advocating peaceful, just, and equitable transformations of activities driving existential levels of climate change and related planetary crises.  Amplifying our Voice and Values at COP30 – Interfaith events : With our Interfaith Liaison Committee colleagues, we helped host an interfaith Talanoa Dialogue at the Lutheran Church Igreja Evangelica de Confissão Luterana, bringing together over 120 people in person from all over the world, with translation between English and Portuguese, and more than 30 participants online.  During the COP, we supported faith-based colleagues in their efforts, including newcomers navigating the space, and engaged with […]

QUNO at the IPCC’s session in Lima

QUNO at the IPCC’s session in Lima

From 27–30 October, QUNO participated in the 63rd Session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in Lima, Peru. The IPCC collates the best available climate science worldwide, and its reports help advise governments and policymakers on what is happening, why, and the available options for climate policy and action. During this meeting, country delegates, scientists, and observers prioritized three difficult key issues: the timeline for the publication of the 7th Assessment Report (AR7); the inclusion of high-risk marine geo-engineering in a Methodology Report; and gaps in the IPCC budget. On the first issue, and for the fourth consecutive attempt, country delegates were unable to agree on a timeline for delivery. On the second issue, QUNO worked effectively with a range of concerned countries and observers to prevent the inclusion of marine geo-engineering as a carbon dioxide removal technology. On the third issue, the budget was passed for 2026 but remains significantly underfunded for the assessment cycle. For more information about QUNO’s work at the IPCC and our Plenary interventions, as well as the Earth Negotiations Bulletin, which references our (FWCC) interventions, please download the reports below.

QUNO Representative brings Quaker Perspective to Disaster Resiliency

QUNO Representative brings Quaker Perspective to Disaster Resiliency

QUNO NY Representative Kavita Desai had the rare opportunity to moderate a panel at the United Nations entitled “Investing in Resilience to Safeguard the Sustainable Development Goals” during a special event held on October 16, 2025, hosted by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and the UN Economic and Financial Committee.  The UNDRR event, “Towards a Risk-informed approach to Development: Financing Resilient Development Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow,” highlighted the need to increase investment in disaster protection measures such as early warning systems, community protection plans, and resilient infrastructure to safeguard progress made towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a series of 17 globally agreed-upon goals that form a blueprint for sustainable peace and prosperity. As Desai noted in her opening remarks, “It is well known that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure…investing in DRR saves resources in the long-term and futureproofs development gains.”   Desai’s panel provided valuable insight on the necessity of financing resilient development, warning that progress towards the SDGs has been limited and that current investments in disaster risk and resilience account for only about 25% of actual needs in many countries. The panel noted that this funding gap emerges […]