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.

The Davos set in decline: can the World Economic Forum save itself?

This content was published on Oct 9, 2025 Battered by scandal, the Swiss-based WEF faces a moment of crisis. Insiders say its future may depend on the success of next year’s meeting.

Human rights

Timeline: Switzerland and the war in the Middle East since October 7, 2023

This content was published on Oct 7, 2025 Since October 7, 2023, Switzerland has repeatedly emphasised the need to end hostilities in the Middle East. However, its positions have attracted criticism.

Navi Pillay (right) and Chris Sidoti during the presentation of the new report of the UN Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

UN Commission of Inquiry concludes genocide is taking place in Gaza

This content was published on Sep 19, 2025 The report’s authors point to the responsibility of Israeli leaders and call on states to act. Its publication has drawn little reaction in Europe.

Opinion

The challenge of proving genocide

This content was published on Sep 18, 2025 The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has to decide on whether Israel’s alleged crimes in Gaza amount to a genocide. Key to the ruling will be proving intent.

An aerial photograph taken by a drone shows Palestinians walking through the destruction caused by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Mohammad Abu Samra)

When is a ‘genocide’ really genocide?

This content was published on Sep 18, 2025 Is genocide being committed in Gaza? While more and more experts in international law say it is, the issue continues to divide opinion.

Slowness and alleged political interference mark Swiss record on international crimes

This content was published on Sep 16, 2025 In Switzerland, justice on universal jurisdiction cases continues to go at a snail’s pace, despite the attorney general’s promises to make them a priority.

Mehdi Rajabian (face on the phone) accompanies a rehearsal of the Zurich ensemble from his home in Teheran.

Zurich orchestra gives voice to composer who can’t leave Iran

This content was published on Sep 14, 2025 Mehdi Rajabian’s music is banned in his homeland. In Zurich, an orchestra led by Swiss conductor André Bellmont will play some of his songs for the first time.

Human Rights Council meets in Geneva amid budget crisis

This content was published on Sep 9, 2025 The UN’s main human rights body has begun its final session of the year in a context of budgetary woes and geopolitical tensions.

The Swiss-Tunisian Mustapha Djemali (left) has been in prison for over a year without charge. His daughter Yusra Djemali and his son Fadhel Djemali are very worried. They would like to see more commitment from the Swiss authorities.

Relatives fear for 81-year-old Swiss detained in Tunisia

This content was published on Sep 6, 2025 A former UN employee has been held in custody for over a year. Are the Swiss authorities and UNHCR doing enough for him?

Sand, an overexploited resource at the heart of global tensions

This content was published on Sep 5, 2025 Sand extraction is not subject to any global regulation and has tripled in the last 20 years. In Geneva, a global observatory is tracking this still little-known phenomenon.

On August 13, Roskomnadzor, the state media regulator, restricted calls on WhatsApp and Telegram, calling them “main voice services used to deceive and extort money, and to involve Russian citizens in sabotage and terrorist activities”

Behind Russia’s digital Iron Curtain: how the West and Switzerland look online

This content was published on Aug 29, 2025 We demonstrate how Russia’s digital Iron Curtain works with and without a VPN. [Spoiler: Swissinfo’s website doesn’t load in the country without one.]

This photo taken on May 21, 2024 shows a destroyed house and burned trees following fighting between Myanmar's military and the Arakan Army (AA) ethnic minority armed group in a village in Minbya Township in western Rakhine State. Fighting has rocked Myanmar's western Rakhine state since the Arakan Army (AA) attacked the junta there in November last year, and according to the UN more than 100,000 people have been displaced by conflict in the state since then. (Photo by AFP) / To go with 'MYANMAR-CONFLICT-COUP-RAKHINE'

How digital evidence is reshaping UN investigations in Myanmar

This content was published on Aug 27, 2025 UN investigators are using digital evidence to document war crimes in Myanmar, from torture to airstrikes, but shrinking funds threaten the work.

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

The Davos set in decline: can the World Economic Forum save itself?

This content was published on Oct 9, 2025 Battered by scandal, the Swiss-based WEF faces a moment of crisis. Insiders say its future may depend on the success of next year’s meeting.

On the night of August 31, Afghanistan was hit by a destructive earthquake measuring 6 on the Richter scale. More than 6,700 houses were destroyed.

Aid workers race against clock after earthquake in Afghanistan

This content was published on Sep 17, 2025 With winter approaching, humanitarian workers in Afghanistan are short of resources and are struggling to reach victims of a deadly earthquake, especially women.

Human Rights Council meets in Geneva amid budget crisis

This content was published on Sep 9, 2025 The UN’s main human rights body has begun its final session of the year in a context of budgetary woes and geopolitical tensions.

Russia has been increasing its isolation in technology, culture and education.

Russia bans International Baccalaureate over ‘Russophobia’

This content was published on Aug 29, 2025 Russia bans International Baccalaureate: Students lose access to global diplomas as Kremlin tightens educational isolation.

Ripple effect of aid freeze becomes real in Geneva

This content was published on Aug 26, 2025 Geneva is reckoning with fewer funds, fewer people and competition from cheaper countries vying for an international role.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Global trade

Humanitarian aid

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International Geneva

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The Davos set in decline: can the World Economic Forum save itself?

More

Timeline: Switzerland and the war in the Middle East since October 7, 2023

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UN Commission of Inquiry concludes genocide is taking place in Gaza

More

The challenge of proving genocide

More

When is a ‘genocide’ really genocide?

More

Slowness and alleged political interference mark Swiss record on international crimes

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Zurich orchestra gives voice to composer who can’t leave Iran

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Human Rights Council meets in Geneva amid budget crisis

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Relatives fear for 81-year-old Swiss detained in Tunisia

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Sand, an overexploited resource at the heart of global tensions

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Behind Russia’s digital Iron Curtain: how the West and Switzerland look online

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How digital evidence is reshaping UN investigations in Myanmar

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Too hot to work? Extreme heat endangers billions of workers

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

More

Fifty years of hurt: Taiwan struggles for Geneva role

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Global concern over measles is rising. Should Switzerland worry?

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One paper, 20 years of damage

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Rare diseases take centre stage at global health summit

More

Pandemic treaty comes as welcome sign of multilateralism

More

PFAS regulation: ‘forever chemical’ banned under global treaty

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Trump’s aid cuts plunge humanitarian sector into existential crisis

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International public media face uncertain future in democracies

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

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The Davos set in decline: can the World Economic Forum save itself?

More

Aid workers race against clock after earthquake in Afghanistan

More

Human Rights Council meets in Geneva amid budget crisis

More

Russia bans International Baccalaureate over ‘Russophobia’

More

Ripple effect of aid freeze becomes real in Geneva

More

Egyptian, Chinese and Russian dissidents tracked and threatened in Switzerland

More

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

More

UN Charter turns 80 – but does it still matter?

More

Fifty years of hurt: Taiwan struggles for Geneva role

More

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

More

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

Community corner: latest debates and surveys on International Geneva

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