QUNO was present at the UNFCCC Conference of Parties (COP25) in Madrid, Spain from 27 November to 15 December. Our focus was on supporting the central negotiations, mechanisms for response measures, loss and damage, and the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform. At COP25, we launched The Government Official's Toolkit – 2020 edition, and distributed a leaflet on Rights-Based Approaches to Climate Action to negotiators and civil society actors alike. QUNO continues to support the international climate change negotiations by engaging groups and individual negotiators through quiet diplomacy to ensure that climate action is effective, fair, and ambitious. Lindsey, and Programme Assitant Detmer Yens Kremer also spoke at press conferences regarding interfaith organizing, available here (for Lindsey) and here (for Detmer). To learn more about the negotiations, Lindsey shares her experiences and perspectives at COP25 in The COP of Sharpened Knives and Damage Control, available below.
Humanitarian Challenges in Myanmar: Navigating Conflict and Crisis
On 9 July, the Quaker United Nations Office hosted a private briefing on Myanmar’s humanitarian crisis in the aftermath of the devastating 7.7 magnitude earthquake that struck on 28 March 2025. At Quaker House, Gum San Nsang, Secretary of the Kachin Political Interim Coordination Team, briefed UN diplomats. With the monsoon season threatening to worsen the humanitarian crisis, he emphasized the need for the international community to address aid distribution issues, reminding them that “each day later is a day worse than before.” In his remarks, Gum San noted that the distribution of humanitarian assistance has been exacerbated by the dwindling control of the military junta that seized control during a coup in 2021. He explained that the military has prevented aid from reaching parts of the country not under its control, while diverting aid to its own stockpiles. Beyond the focus on humanitarian issues, Gum San also addressed the ongoing conflict situation between the military and armed resistance groups. He highlighted that the struggle to control the mining of rare earth minerals represents a major driver of conflict, especially in northern Myanmar. Currently, the UN’s Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimates that 20 million people, over one […]






