Inside Geneva: taking the pulse of the UN at 80

AP Photo/John Minchillo

This week on Inside Geneva, we take the pulse of the United Nations as it turns 80.

Inside Geneva

Subscribe

Subscribe to

Close

• Apple PodcastsExternal link
• SpotifyExternal link
• Amazon MusicExternal link
• Podcast IndexExternal link
• OvercastExternal link
• YouTubeExternal link
• iHeartRadioExternal link
• PandoraExternal link
• Podcast AddictExternal link
• CastroExternal link
• CastboxExternal link
• PodchaserExternal link
• Pocket CastsExternal link
• DeezerExternal link
• Listen NotesExternal link
• Player FMExternal link
• GoodpodsExternal link
• True FansExternal link
• Buzzsprout RSS Feed External link Copy RSS Feed link Copied Failed to copy

“Someone celebrating their 80th birthday cannot be expected to be in tip-top shape. The UN is an old lady,” says Corinne Momal-Vanian, executive director at the Kofi Annan Foundation.

Some world leaders don’t have much time for the UN

“All I got from the UN was an escalator that stopped halfway on the way up and a teleprompter that didn’t work,” said US President Donald Trump.

Others think it needs an injection of fresh ideas.

“We have to reimagine the UN, and reimagine multilateralism, from the point of confidence. And this confidence only comes once we account for the lived realities of people from the Global South,” says Prathit Singh, project coordinator at the Geneva Policy Outlook.

“It’s just not the right answer anymore to have all these men in dark suits in conference rooms deciding the future of humanity,” continues Momal-Vanian.

But we shouldn’t forget its successes: from eradicating smallpox, to reducing maternal mortality, to supporting the most vulnerable every day, all over the world.

“It’s important to keep our optimism, and maybe realise that the UN is what we make of it,” says Fuad Zarbiyev, professor of international law at the Geneva Graduate Institute.

“What would happen if we don’t cooperate? If we look at Covid, if we look at a potential climate disaster? People will be forced to cooperate and I think that’s something we should never forget,” adds analyst Daniel Warner.

Join host Imogen Foulkes on Inside Geneva.

Find out more about the ‘Inside Geneva’ podcast and our other Swiss podcasts in English here.

Subscribe below to the ‘Inside Geneva’ newsletter to make sure you never miss a new episode.