Human Rights and Refugees
The Human Rights and Refugees programme of Quaker United Nations Office, Geneva (QUNO) seeks to remind the international community of those it fails to see or chooses to forget, such as women in prison, children of imprisoned mothers, refugees and conscientious objectors.
Women in prison
Prisons, designed with male prisoners in mind, have a different impact on female prisoners. This is true in the UK and around the world.
QUNO increases the attention given by the United Nations to women in prison by preparing research, publications and making submissions to UN bodies and staff and many others working in criminal justice and prison systems.
This has led to a new UN handbook on the management of women prisoners and to a process for creating new UN standards specifically addressing the treatment of women offenders and prisoners, in which QUNO is a direct participant as well as providing much of the background through our publication:
- ‘Women in Prison – Commentary on the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners’
All publications are available at www.quno.org
Children of prisoners
Most women in prison are mothers. This raises the questions: ‘Should young children live with their mothers in prisons? Or should all children live on the outside and be separated from their mothers?’ There are no easy answers, and QUNO works to ensure that the principle of the best interests of the child is applied to children in either situation. Most men in prison are also parents although fewer are the sole or primary carer of children. Nevertheless, paternal imprisonment also impacts on their children.
The key concerns arising from parental imprisonment and the impact on children are identified in a series of QUNO papers, including:
- 'Children Imprisoned by Circumstance’
- 'Impact of Parental Imprisonment on Children’
How QUNO works
QUNO has a long tradition of providing opportunities for people to meet on an equal footing. Such informal, off-the-record meetings, away from the pressures of public life, provide a setting for dialogue where the voices of delegations from all countries may be heard equally and valued for their substance, not the political or economic bargaining power of the country. These meetings, often held over lunch at Quaker House in Geneva, encourage a greater understanding of each other’s positions and provide an opportunity to challenge assumptions between participants who might not otherwise have the chance to talk openly.
“Prisons are not a safe place for pregnant women, babies and young children and it is not advisable to separate babies and young children from their mother.”
Special Rapporteur on Prisons and Conditions of Detention in Africa
Refugees
QUNO is increasingly concerned about the public and governmental attitudes towards those who seek to enter other countries without authorisation, whether as refugees or migrants. QUNO’s work on prisoners extends to concern about the increasing use of detention outside the criminal justice system, and the criminalisation of those who cross borders without authorisation.
QUNO also seeks to improve the UN’s human rights and refugee protection systems. Recently this has included work on, and engagement with, the UN Human Rights Council.
Our short analytical reports are in great demand:
- ‘Righting Historic Wrongs’
- 'Neither Mountain nor Molehill’
- ‘Digging Foundations or Trenches?’
Conscientious Objection
Persecution of those who refuse to fight on grounds of conscience is still a concern as it was when Quakers first raised the issue. Having achieved the recognition of the right to conscientious objection under international human rights law, more of QUNO’s work now focuses on working with the groups and individual conscientious objectors in different countries for implementation of this right. The results of this work should make a real difference for conscientious objectors around the world by giving guidance to governments on what their obligations are and how they can fulfill them.
"Your excellent publication has arrived and I am most grateful to you and the Quaker UN Office. It is the most sensitive, thorough and user friendly document that I have seen on the subject and will be an invaluable tool in my work of establishing a mentoring system and training volunteer mentors to support and assist women exiting the … prison system"
Australian Prison Reformer
Get involved
Visit: www.quno.org
Subscribe to The Geneva Reporter, our regular newsletter, available electronically or in hard copy.
Support this work with a donation: www.quaker.org.uk/donate
Contact
Rachel Brett
QUNO Geneva, 13 Avenue du Mervelet, 1209 Geneva, SWITZERLAND
+ 41 22 748 48 04
Quaker Peace & Social Witness works with, and on behalf of, the Religious Society of Friends in Britain to translate our faith into action. As Quakers we are impelled by our faith to make our lives an active witness for peace and justice. Our historic testimonies to equality, justice, peace, simplicity and truth challenge us to alleviate suffering and seek positive social change.
The Quaker UN Offices, located in Geneva and New York, represent Quakers through Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC), which has General Consultative Status as an NGO with the United Nations.
June 2009
