The United Nations in Geneva – before and during the pandemic
The Conference on Afghanistan on November 28, 2018.
UN / Violaine Martin
The 43rd session of the UN Human Rights Council on February 26, 2020.
UN / Jean Marc Ferr / Jmf
The Conference on Afghanistan, November 28, 2018.
UN / Violaine Martin
Online conference on Afghanistan, UN Palais des Nations, November 23, 2020.
UN / Jess Hoffman
Meeting of the Syrian Constitutional Committee on January 25, 2021.
UN / Violaine Martin
Staffan de Mistura, United Nations Special Envoy for Syria gives a press conference prior to the Intra-Syrian talks, Geneva. 22 February 2017.
UN / Violaine Martin
Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani addresses the 2020 Conference on Afghanistan via a video message, UN Palais des Nations, on November 23, 2020.
UN / Violaine Martin
The UN Palais des Nations complex in Geneva on January 25, 2021.
UN / Violaine Martin
An online conference on Afghanistan, UN Palais des Nations, on November 23, 2020.
UN / Violaine Martin
Ahmad Kuzbari, Government Co-Chair and Geir O. Pedersen, United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, attend the Syrian Constitutional Committee, Geneva. January 28, 2021.
UN / Violaine Martin
Since March 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic has forced the European headquarters of the United Nations and international organisations in Geneva to remain almost empty.
This content was published on
Abdelhafidh began working for swissinfo.ch in 2008. Over the years, he has done features and reports on various topics invoving life in Switzerland, particularly immigrant and refugee issues, education at different levels, tourism, and Islam in Switzerland.
Born in England, I've lived in Switzerland since 1994. I trained as a graphic designer in Zurich between 1997 – 2002. More recently I have moved on to work as photo editor and joined the team at swissinfo.ch in March 2017.
With the exception of a few organisations and institutions that continue to operate in person, such as the UN Human Rights Council, which is currently conducting its Universal Periodic Review process, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the WHO and some permanent missions to the United Nations, most day-to-day business and multilateral activities are conducted online.
March 2020 marked a major turning point for International Geneva. Due to the partial lockdowns and restrictions in spring and winter imposed by the Swiss authorities, almost all staff have worked from home and international conferences moved to the internet, via videoconferencing applications and platforms.
These photos reflect the sharp contrast between the situation at the UN Palais des Nations complex in Geneva before and after the arrival of the virus.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
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You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.