International Geneva

We cover global affairs from Geneva, focusing on humanitarian aid, conflict resolution, and climate change. Our UN-based reporters provide first-hand access to sources and information.

UN-backed report declaring famine in Gaza ‘important’ but won’t change much

Palestinians struggle to get donated food at a community kitchen in Gaza City, northern Gaza Strip, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025.

This content was published on Aug 22, 2025 Declaring a famine in Gaza is important but won’t bring any short-term relief to the Palestinian population, experts say.

Human rights

The Place des Nations square opposite the UN headquarters in Geneva often hosts events and political demos. In this photo, Russians protest against the war in Ukraine, March 2025.

Egyptian, Chinese and Russian dissidents tracked and threatened in Switzerland

This content was published on Aug 19, 2025 Repression by autocratic states abroad is also happening in Switzerland, and the human rights hub Geneva is particularly exposed to this threat.

Egyptian repression targets journalist even in exile

This content was published on Aug 19, 2025 Surveillance, intimidation, threats: for years, Egyptian journalist Basma Mostafa has suffered reprisals from her country of origin.

Dmitry Muratov: ‘I’m not afraid to live without hope’

This content was published on Aug 14, 2025 Dmitry Muratov, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former editor-in-chief of the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, talks to Swissinfo about truth in the era of digital autocracies.

Radu Jude is back: the Romanian director's anarchic version of "Dracula" is in the main competition of Locarno this year.

Locarno Festival counters the somber mood of the world with art and comedy

This content was published on Aug 5, 2025 The Swiss film festival kicks off with a program reflecting the current pulse of the planet – and offers a roster of comedies celebrating art.

Michiko Kodama, Hiroshima atomic bomb survivor

A Hiroshima survivor’s voice against nuclear weapons, 80 years on

This content was published on Aug 2, 2025 A Hiroshima survivor recounts the stigma of surviving what she calls “hell” – and her fight for peace and a world without nuclear weapons.

A youth looks out through a metal fence as she stands in the rain at Camp Roj in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province.

Lost in limbo: calls for repatriation of Swiss jihadist detainees in Syria grow louder

This content was published on Jul 31, 2025 Human rights experts, humanitarian groups, and even the US are calling for repatriation. Switzerland says it won’t support their coming back.

Elena Servettaz talks to Belarusian writer Sasha Filipenko

He can’t go home: a Belarusian author on lost roots and life in Switzerland

This content was published on Jul 30, 2025 Discover the story of Belarus writer Sasha Filipenko as he shares his experiences of dictatorship and literary resilience.

A Ukrainian soldier launches FlyEye WB Electronics SA, a Polish reconnaissance drone, which is in service with the Ukrainian army, in Kyiv region, Ukraine, Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022.

Warfare rewired: drones and civilian risk

This content was published on Jul 4, 2025 Drone warfare is rapidly reshaping modern conflict, raising urgent questions about accountability and compliance with international humanitarian law.

The United States' Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield holds up a copy of the United Nations charter while addressing a United Nations Security Council meeting, which is being chaired by Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, at the United Nations headquarters in New York, New York, USA, 24 April 2023

UN Charter turns 80 – but does it still matter?

This content was published on Jul 2, 2025 The United Nations Charter turns 80 at a time when Israel, Iran and the US have been launching missile attacks and Russia is continuing its invasion of Ukraine.

Vincenzo de Bellis photographed at this year's Art Basel in Basel

Art Basel expands to Qatar despite the drums of war in the Middle East

This content was published on Jun 27, 2025 Art Basel will launch its first Qatar fair in 2026, led by the Italian curator Vincenzo de Bellis, with ambitious plans for the Middle East and North Africa region.

Asylum in Switzerland: the most important figures at a glance

This content was published on Jun 25, 2025 Who comes and who is allowed to stay? A series of graphics illustrating the most important developments in Switzerland.

Global health

extreme heat work health. Construction worker Justino cools off during a heat wave in Texas.

Too hot to work? Extreme heat endangers billions of workers

This content was published on Aug 22, 2025 Billions of workers face heat stress, illness and lost income as global temperatures climb, warns a WHO-WMO joint report.

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is seen on a screen delivering his report before delegates during the World Health Assembly in Geneva on May 19, 2025.

The WHO has to close a billion-dollar gap. Can private funding help?

This content was published on Jul 21, 2025 The US withdrawal from the WHO has left it scrambling for funds. Private donors are one solution but come with caveats.

Taiwanese honor guards hold a Taiwan flag at Liberty Square, amid a surge of domestic COVID-19 cases and the rising Taiwan-China tensions, in Taipei, Taiwan, 23 May 2021.

Fifty years of hurt: Taiwan struggles for Geneva role

This content was published on Jun 6, 2025 Taiwan hasn’t been part of the WHO since 1972. One man is trying to change that.

Global concern over measles is rising. Should Switzerland worry?

This content was published on May 30, 2025 Measles is making a global comeback. In Switzerland, a crisis is unlikely – but authorities warn a strong vaccination rate remains crucial.

MMR vaccine. Syringe and vial on a counter. This combined vaccine protects infants from three viral diseases: measles, mumps and rubella.

One paper, 20 years of damage

This content was published on May 30, 2025 Nearly 30 years ago an academic paper wrongly linked autism to a measles vaccine. The impacts are still being felt today.

A young patient is fitted with an exoskeleton.

Rare diseases take centre stage at global health summit

This content was published on May 27, 2025 Rare diseases have been recognised as a global health priority for the first time. How could this impact access to life-saving treatment?

Dolores Reyes Fernández, 61, hugs her father, José Reyes Lozano, 87, for the first time in nearly four months as visits resume at the nursing home in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, June 22, 2020.

Pandemic treaty comes as welcome sign of multilateralism

This content was published on May 16, 2025 Can the pandemic treaty withstand the withdrawal of the United States from the WHO?

Outdoor apparel companies have long relied on PFAS, so-called forever chemicals, to make products water-resistant.

PFAS regulation: ‘forever chemical’ banned under global treaty

This content was published on May 8, 2025 International negotiations in Geneva have led to a major breakthrough: the addition of a new “forever chemical” to the Stockholm Convention’s blacklist

An Ethiopian man carries a USAID donated sack of wheat on his shoulders to be distributed by the Relief Society of Tigray in the town of Agula, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia, in May 2021.

Trump’s aid cuts plunge humanitarian sector into existential crisis

This content was published on May 8, 2025 US President Donald Trump’s return to the White House has come with sweeping cuts to humanitarian aid.

International public media face uncertain future in democracies

This content was published on Apr 25, 2025 More and more Western governments are paring down their funding for international public media, even as authoritarian regimes beef theirs up.

Illustration depicting the break of USAID and Geneva, Switzerland.

Is Geneva prepared for Trump’s – and others’ – cuts to foreign aid?

This content was published on Mar 22, 2025 US cuts to foreign aid will have implications reaching around the world. For Geneva, home to thousands of NGOs, a lot is at stake.

Geneva organisations

Egyptian, Chinese and Russian dissidents tracked and threatened in Switzerland

This content was published on Aug 19, 2025 Repression by autocratic states abroad is also happening in Switzerland, and the human rights hub Geneva is particularly exposed to this threat.

The WHO has to close a billion-dollar gap. Can private funding help?

This content was published on Jul 21, 2025 The US withdrawal from the WHO has left it scrambling for funds. Private donors are one solution but come with caveats.

UN Charter turns 80 – but does it still matter?

Fifty years of hurt: Taiwan struggles for Geneva role

This content was published on Jun 6, 2025 Taiwan hasn’t been part of the WHO since 1972. One man is trying to change that.

What is the future of global climate cooperation without the US?

Inside Geneva: pandemics and climate change, can multilateralism still work?

This content was published on May 27, 2025 How will the world find consensus on weighty issues, such as pandemic and climate policies, without US support?

Workers unload humanitarian aid and relief goods for Sudan floods victims that were sent from UAE's emirate of Dubai, September 7, 2022.

Who will come to the aid of a humanitarian system left behind by the West?

This content was published on May 14, 2025 Emerging players such as China and the Gulf states could step up their financial contributions – but are likely to bypass the UN system.

Signing of the United Nations Charter in San Francisco on 26 June 1945.

What remains of the UN dream 80 years after the Second World War?

This content was published on May 6, 2025 Eighty years after the creation of the United Nations, the rise of extremes and the return of open conflict are challenging the international institutions that emerged after the war.

UN activities in Geneva hampered by financial constraints

This content was published on Jun 3, 2024 Facing an unprecedented budget crisis, the United Nations in Geneva has been forced to implement drastic cost-saving measures.

Lights out for the UN Palais des Nations

This content was published on Dec 21, 2023 The United Nations Office at Geneva is facing a severe funding shortfall, causing temporary closures of the building and power disruptions.

Global trade

Lobbyists and oil-producers blamed for failure of Geneva plastics treaty

This content was published on Aug 18, 2025 Talks on a binding treaty on plastic pollution broke down on Friday. Several experts are pointing the finger at interest groups and oil- and plastic-producing countries.

Trump’s tariffs expose weakness of Switzerland’s economic independence

This content was published on Aug 12, 2025 Officials worry that Switzerland’s historic strengths have become liabilities in an age of trade wars.

A view of the White House website with customs duties in front of a television screen

‘Knives out’: Switzerland descends into blame game after US tariff shock

This content was published on Aug 4, 2025 President Karin Keller-Sutter is under fire for failed trade talks with the Trump administration.

Volunteers collect waste (mostly plastic and Styrofoam) on the shores of Lake Geneva.

In Geneva, global accord in sight on plastics pollution

This content was published on Jul 29, 2025 Geneva is set to host final talks on a global treaty to curb plastics pollution. But major sticking points remain.

Beyond tariffs: how Switzerland turned trade talks into climate action with Mercosur

This content was published on Jul 18, 2025 After eight years, EFTA and Mercosur have a deal. But with such agreements facing public scrutiny, negotiators were keen to include protections – including environmental ones.

Deep-sea mining: has Trump unleashed a scramble for the seabed?

This content was published on Jun 26, 2025 By forging ahead with deep-sea mining, the US is bypassing the UN and creating a diplomatic storm – with a Swiss firm at the centre.

Despite Trump’s bold claims, medicine prices in Europe won’t rise anytime soon

This content was published on May 15, 2025 US President Trump has taken aim at Europe for undercharging for medicine. But raising prices in Europe would face strong pushback.

A passer-by walks in front of a graffito of Berlin-based artist Eme Freethinker that shows US President Donald J. Trump next to the writing 'Made in China' at the Mauerpark in Berlin, Germany, 28 April 2025. The United States of America and China are in a fight about tariff policies.

China–US tariff talks place Swiss diplomacy on centre stage

This content was published on May 9, 2025 Trade talks this weekend in Geneva between China and the US are seen as a diplomatic win for Switzerland that’s been increasingly sidelined in international affairs.

Chinese biotechs eye Swiss collaboration as relations with US sour

This content was published on May 8, 2025 With growing uncertainty in the US, Chinese companies are swooping in to present themselves as stable, open partners to the Swiss biotech sector.

PFAS regulation: ‘forever chemical’ banned under global treaty

This content was published on May 8, 2025 International negotiations in Geneva have led to a major breakthrough: the addition of a new “forever chemical” to the Stockholm Convention’s blacklist

US tariffs pressure Swiss pharma powerhouse

This content was published on Apr 25, 2025 Looming US pharma tariffs could challenge the status quo in pharmaceutical hubs like Switzerland as investment shifts to the US.

Humanitarian aid

UN-backed report declaring famine in Gaza ‘important’ but won’t change much

This content was published on Aug 22, 2025 Declaring a famine in Gaza is important but won’t bring any short-term relief to the Palestinian population, experts say.

Lost in limbo: calls for repatriation of Swiss jihadist detainees in Syria grow louder

This content was published on Jul 31, 2025 Human rights experts, humanitarian groups, and even the US are calling for repatriation. Switzerland says it won’t support their coming back.

Cambodia’s Tun Channareth renews fight for mine-free world in Geneva

This content was published on Jul 18, 2025 A long-standing campaigner against anti-personnel mines, Cambodian Tun Channareth was in Geneva to defend the convention banning them, which has been weakened by the withdrawal of several Eastern European countries.

Afghan men who have lost their legs due to landmines learn to use their new prosthetics at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) physical rehabilitation center in Kabul, Afghanistan, Tuesday, May 16, 2022.

Why five European countries want to allow anti-personnel mines again

This content was published on Jul 18, 2025 The three Baltic countries, Poland and Finland have decided to withdraw from the international treaty banning anti-personnel mines. Why now?

Viola Amherd, right, President of the Swiss Confederation, and Denys Shmyhal, left, Prime Minister of Ukraines, talk together during a bilateral meeting at the Ukraine Mine Action Conference, in Lausanne, Switzerland, Thursday, October 17, 2024.

Switzerland signs controversial reconstruction aid package for Ukraine

This content was published on Jul 14, 2025 The deal, which includes binding contracts for the involvement of Swiss companies in Ukraine’s reconstruction, has been widely criticised.

Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting on Gaza and the Middle East, at UN headquarters in New York City on March 18, 2025.

Is the UN still relevant in the Middle East?

This content was published on Jun 5, 2025 The UN is no longer at the center of negotiations for a solution to the Middle East conflict. But that doesn’t mean it’s irrelevant.

Palestinian girls crowd to receive food portions from a charity kitchen in a refugee camp in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Friday, May 30, 2025.

Gaza Humanitarian Foundation begins aid deliveries amid chaos and bloodshed

This content was published on Jun 3, 2025 The new Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is accused of militarising aid. Witnesses report chaos and shootings at aid delivery points.

Climate refugees left in legal limbo

This content was published on Jun 3, 2025 “Climate refugees” are not recognised by international law. Should a new status be created to protect them?

Opinion

What is the cost for killing humanitarians?

This content was published on May 26, 2025 Médecins Sans Frontières calls for respect of international law and the end of attacks on humanitarian aid workers.

Children react as Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, April 24, 2025.

A Geneva-based NGO is Israel’s answer to aid in Gaza

This content was published on May 21, 2025 The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an NGO backed by Israel and the US, will privatise aid into Gaza. The UN has strongly opposed the plan.

President John F. Kennedy signed the Foreign Assistance Act on 3 November 1961. It served as the legal basis for the creation of USAID that same month.

How the United States used humanitarian aid for influence

This content was published on May 20, 2025 By dismantling USAID and weakening a pillar of US diplomacy, Washington risks running counter to its own interests.

Community corner: latest debates and surveys on International Geneva

What do recent events tell us about the risks and rewards of sticking to nuclear treaties?

Russia, Ukraine, North Korea, Israel, Iran. What’s the point of nuclear deals if it pays off to flout them?

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Aug 2, 2025

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External Content

Latest content on International Geneva

Too hot to work? Extreme heat endangers billions of workers

This content was published on Aug 22, 2025 Billions of workers face heat stress, illness and lost income as global temperatures climb, warns a WHO-WMO joint report.

Inside Geneva’s Summer Profiles: the Red Cross Museum

This content was published on Aug 19, 2025 Inside Geneva’s fourth summer profile – not a person, but a much-loved museum.

Egyptian, Chinese and Russian dissidents tracked and threatened in Switzerland

This content was published on Aug 19, 2025 Repression by autocratic states abroad is also happening in Switzerland, and the human rights hub Geneva is particularly exposed to this threat.

Egyptian repression targets journalist even in exile

This content was published on Aug 19, 2025 Surveillance, intimidation, threats: for years, Egyptian journalist Basma Mostafa has suffered reprisals from her country of origin.

Lobbyists and oil-producers blamed for failure of Geneva plastics treaty

Dmitry Muratov: ‘I’m not afraid to live without hope’

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External Content

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More content on International Geneva

Trump’s tariffs expose weakness of Switzerland’s economic independence

This content was published on Aug 12, 2025 Officials worry that Switzerland’s historic strengths have become liabilities in an age of trade wars.

Taiwan is voting to restart a nuclear power plant – what’s at stake?

This content was published on Aug 8, 2025 Votes on nuclear energy are always about long-term risk assessment. In Taiwan, they are also about the risk posed by China.

Summer profile: Rachael Cummings, humanitarian director, Save the Children, Gaza

This content was published on Aug 5, 2025 Rachael Cummings has been in Gaza since the start of the war. She shares just how difficult it has become to work.

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Inside Geneva’s Summer Profiles: Rachael Cummings in Gaza

This content was published on Aug 5, 2025 Rachael Cummings of Save the Children is Inside Geneva’s summer profile this week.

Locarno Festival counters the somber mood of the world with art and comedy

This content was published on Aug 5, 2025 The Swiss film festival kicks off with a program reflecting the current pulse of the planet – and offers a roster of comedies celebrating art.

Are you noticing or anticipating any changes in your life as a result of the tariffs introduced by US President Donald Trump?

How do you think your life could be impacted by the US tariff policy? Let us know.

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Aug 5, 2025

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‘Knives out’: Switzerland descends into blame game after US tariff shock

This content was published on Aug 4, 2025 President Karin Keller-Sutter is under fire for failed trade talks with the Trump administration.

80 years on: Hiroshima, Geneva and the global struggle to ban the bomb

This content was published on Aug 2, 2025 Eighty years after the nuclear attack on Hiroshima, global spending on atomic weapons is surging. One survivor reminds the world what’s at stake.

A Hiroshima survivor’s voice against nuclear weapons, 80 years on

This content was published on Aug 2, 2025 A Hiroshima survivor recounts the stigma of surviving what she calls “hell” – and her fight for peace and a world without nuclear weapons.

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How a Swiss diplomat experienced the end of WWII in Japan

This content was published on Aug 2, 2025 Eighty years ago, the US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, precipitating the end of the Second World War. Camille Gorgé captured the moment in his memoirs.

Lost in limbo: calls for repatriation of Swiss jihadist detainees in Syria grow louder

This content was published on Jul 31, 2025 Human rights experts, humanitarian groups, and even the US are calling for repatriation. Switzerland says it won’t support their coming back.

On July 28, Matviyenko arrived in Switzerland and delivered a speech at the IPU’s Summit of Women Speakers in support of her country’s military aggression against Ukraine.

Sanctioned Russians in Geneva: who are they and why can they enter Switzerland?

This content was published on Jul 30, 2025 Sanctioned Russians are speaking at an event in Geneva this week – critics say their appearance in Switzerland helps Putin’s regime look legitimate.

He can’t go home: a Belarusian author on lost roots and life in Switzerland

This content was published on Jul 30, 2025 Discover the story of Belarus writer Sasha Filipenko as he shares his experiences of dictatorship and literary resilience.

In Geneva, global accord in sight on plastics pollution

This content was published on Jul 29, 2025 Geneva is set to host final talks on a global treaty to curb plastics pollution. But major sticking points remain.

Opinion

What Switzerland can achieve with its 2026 OSCE chairmanship

This content was published on Jul 24, 2025 The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is a shadow of its former self. Switzerland, which will chair the organisation next year, must prepare for a range of very different scenarios.

What exactly was signed in Helsinki in August 1975?

This content was published on Jul 24, 2025 Fifty years ago, the Helsinki Accords were an attempt to reduce tensions between the Soviet and Western blocs. But what exactly did 35 countries sign up to?

Trump left a power vacuum at the UN. China saw an opportunity

This content was published on Jul 23, 2025 Beijing is making a concerted effort to place officials and push its agenda in Geneva, say western diplomats.

Inside Geneva’s Summer Profile: Dapo Akande, International Lawyer and candidate for the ICJ

This content was published on Jul 22, 2025 Is it worth having international courts? Or do they just interfere with the sovereignty of nation states?

Inside Geneva’s summer profiles: Dapo Akande

This content was published on Jul 22, 2025 Inside Geneva brings you our second summer profile, with international lawyer Dapo Akande.

Former National Security Advisor Mike Waltz waits for the start of his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to be ambassador to the United Nations (UN).

Former US national security advisor to push MAGA agenda at the UN

This content was published on Jul 22, 2025 Mike Waltz vows major UN reforms and a hard stance on China if confirmed as US ambassador to the UN.

The WHO has to close a billion-dollar gap. Can private funding help?

This content was published on Jul 21, 2025 The US withdrawal from the WHO has left it scrambling for funds. Private donors are one solution but come with caveats.