A positive Quaker initiative at the United Nations that was started almost 15 years ago came into sharp focus this week as a media storm descended on Raquel Rolnik, the UN Special Rapporteur on Housing. Encouraging governments to issue ongoing ‘Standing Invitations’ to the UN has been a long-standing project of the Quaker UN Office…
Quakers have been recognised among the 100 most influential global actors in armed violence reduction in a new list published by Action on Armed Violence. Andrew Tomlinson and Jonathan Woolley, the directors of the Quaker United Nations Office in New York and Geneva, have been jointly named in the list, under the section of NGO…
A new report has highlighted that “self-harm rates remain shockingly high across the female prison estate and reoffending rates are staggering, especially for women receiving short custodial sentences. A change in attitude is needed in how women are dealt with in the criminal justice system. Diverting women away from custodial settings and investing in those women who do need to be held in prison is…
By Chris Diskin Before arriving at the Quaker United Nations Office Summer School in early July 2012 I was unsure of quite what to expect of the course, the QUNO staff or the other participants. I had worked for Friends House in London for a couple of years and while I thought I had a…
Children with parents in prison are the focus of the UN today (Friday 30/09/2011) as its Committee on the Rights of the Child explores the rights of ‘children of incarcerated parents’ during the committee’s 2011 Day of General Discussion. When parents go to prison their children are often deeply affected. “Children of prisoners are often…
The European Court of Human Rights has affirmed the right to conscientious objection to military service in a judgment that has been published this month. This is the first time that the right of Conscientious Objectors (COs)Â has been explicitly recognised under the European Convention on Human Rights. The judgment came in the case of Bayatyan…
In 06/2011Â David Atwood retires from the Quaker United Nations Office in Geneva. He came to QUNO to lead the peace and disarmament programme and was later appointed as director. Thirteen years ago he was invited to address Switzerland Yearly Meeting on the subject of Faith and Action. David has offered his ministry to Nayler. Friends,…