QUNO - Geneva - March 2010

Dear Friends,

The New Year in Geneva arrived with buckets of snow, covering the paths up to Quaker House (as can be seen in the picture!) and making Summer a distant memory My usual relaxing walks turned into brief ten minute struggles against the wind and cold, and weekends became a time to hibernate inside, occasionally venturing out along the lake to admire the snow covered statues. Thankfully, however, there’s been plenty of work to keep me busy and distracted from the somewhat miserable weather outside!

Whilst my first three months were quite externally focused - I spent a fair amount of time at sessions of the Human Rights Council, the Human Rights Committee and the Committee on the Rights of the Child, these past three months have instead been concentrated on work at Quaker House. Since writing in November I’ve enthusiastically launched myself into one of the main areas of the Human Rights and Refugees programme – the children of prisoners. Based on an exploratory piece of work of Rachel’s, I am writing a draft Framework for Decision-Making in relation to the children of prisoners, looking at the considerations that arise from each stage along the process of arrest, imprisonment, release and reintegration. The project has involved large amounts of research, contacting relevant people from various parts of the world, reviewing existing literature (including some impressive QUNO publications on the topic) and so far has been a fantastic learning curve for me in how to conduct research – something which will be very useful for the MA I’m hoping to do next! The aim is not for me to leave a finalised piece of work, but rather to construct a draft that can be elaborated on and through which we can hopefully further engage with the relevant UN agencies and governments on this important issue.

Also on this theme, I was fortunate enough in January to attend the launch meeting of a three year, EU funded research project on the mental health of children of prisoners (COPING), of which QUNO is one of 10 organisations involved. The two day meeting in Huddersfield provided me with a fascinating insight into how such a large research project gets started – including the myriad issues that need to be addressed - such as ethics, research methodology, child participation, work coordination and management. This will be an important ongoing project for QUNO to be involved in over the next three years, and looks to make a valuable contribution to how we understand the coping strategies of children of prisoners, and to how governments and service providers can best support them.

My understanding of and appreciation for QUNO’s method of ‘quiet diplomacy’ has increased, with our recent hosting of lunches focusing on two particular concerns surrounding refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs); birth registration of children of concern, and refugees/IDPs with disabilities. These two issues are both under-represented in current protection policies and discussions, but have huge impacts for the persons concerned. I was shocked to discover that less than half of refugee children in camps are issued with a birth certificate, yet this is fundamental for access to, amongst other things, education, health, citizenship, family reunification and legal protection. On the issue of persons of concern with a disability, there is no formal, international structure setting out specific protection standards, the current Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities only refers briefly to situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies, and does not delve into the innumerable issues and risks that face what is an often already marginalised, disadvantaged group. The two lunches we held on these issues brought together governments, UN representatives and NGOs, to facilitate productive dialogue with the aim of stimulating the Executive Committee of the UNHCR (the UN agency responsible for refugees) to produce a Conclusion this year on each of these topics respectively. The Conclusions will aim to raise awareness of the issues, set out goals and international standards, and ultimately contribute towards assisting states to create better protection environments. It has been fascinating and inspiring for me to see QUNO’s role - providing a welcome, neutral space where parties feel comfortable to talk and plan; utilising our connections to facilitate the relationship between governments and NGOs; and assisting the process to move from the early stages of planning to the current stage of considering the content of the Conclusion.

In another area of QUNO life Tom and I are lining ourselves up for the all-consuming (or so we’ve heard!) preparation for the annual QUNO Geneva Summer School – an opportunity for 25 young people to spend two weeks in Geneva learning about QUNO and the UN, and a chance for Tom and I to test out our skills in the area of organising accommodation, food, visas, and a dynamic programme of meetings and evening and weekend activities. No small feat, but I’m looking forward to the challenge! It’s hard to believe that 8 years ago I was getting ready to head off to QUNO New York to participate in their summer school, and I only hope that I can help to provide our group with an experience as enriching and energising as I had.

So now as it approaches March, the weather is getting warmer and scarf and gloves are no longer obligatory, birds and purple crocuses have appeared in the garden, and things are looking greener. In a week we have a weekend in Amsterdam, which will provide a welcome opportunity to catch up with the four British peace-workers with whom we did our initial training, the QCEA programme assistants, and Helen Bradford from QPSW and Liz Roe from Woodbrooke. I’m looking forward to sharing tales of our experiences over the past six months, and supporting each other to look ahead to the next five. From this half-way point in my time here I have an even greater appreciation of how much of a valuable opportunity this is; the practical insight into how the UN actually works; the subtleties of quiet diplomacy and cooperative dialogue at Quaker House meetings; the extensive knowledge and experience that the other QUNO staff bring and share; and the complexities of promoting a topic such as children of prisoners, all are things that cannot be acquired in a three or even six month internship, as most are here in Geneva. I can only be grateful that I have this opportunity, and vow to make the most of the rest of my time here!

In friendship,
Holly Mason-White
March 2010