Inside Geneva

Send us a textCOP30 has ended without a firm commitment to phase out fossil fuels. Inside Geneva talks to some campaigners who remain surprisingly optimistic.“I’m actually quite hopeful, and I think that the answer is probably coming from the countries and the communities that have the most to lose,” says Candy Ofime, from the Climate Justice Team at Amnesty International.Indigenous peoples made their voices heard at COP30.They have deep knowledge of land use and forest preservation, which can help us tackle global warming.“The answer is us and that was part of the campaign that we had as indigenous peoples. [We said] ‘pay attention to the world.’ Basically the solution that many of us are looking for has already been happening in the indigenous local communities,” says Deborah Sanchez, from the Community Land Rights and Climate Initiative (Clarifi).  Some now suggest global warming is a hoax…but the scientific evidence proves otherwise. It is damaging our planet and our health.“These are clever people who want what’s best for you and can read a temperature graph, and they know that there are concrete actions that you can take which are good for your health, as well as good for the planet,” says Diarmid Campbell Lendrum, from the climate change and health unit at the World Health Organization (WHO). So does it matter that the world’s super power, and biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, stayed away from COP30?“The US is usually a blocker, and sometimes having the biggest polluters not in the room allows for consensus to be reached. And so in this forum, decisions have to be made, and they will be made with or without the United States,” says Ofime. Can the world tackle climate change without the US? Join host Imogen Foulkes on Inside Geneva. Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.ch Twitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_en Thank you for listening! If you like what we do, please leave a review or subscribe to our newsletter. For more stories on the international Geneva please visit www.swissinfo.ch/Host: Imogen FoulkesProduction assitant: Claire-Marie GermainDistribution: Sara PasinoMarketing: Xin Zhang

Send us a textHow do journalists report on war when they’re denied access?“For the first time I think since the Second World War, Israel has not allowed foreign journalists to come into Gaza. This is unprecedented,” says Israeli journalist Meron Rapoport.Palestinian journalists, who live in Gaza, have paid a terrible price for their reporting.“Gaza has been a horror story. The Committee to Protect Journalists estimates that around 200 Palestinian journalists have been killed in the past two years,” says Nick Cumming-Bruce, contributor for the New York Times.Many appear to have been deliberately targeted.Irene Khan, UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression and opinion, says: “I’ve been told by journalists that wearing a jacket marked ‘press’ doesn’t protect you. It actually makes you a target. That is just unacceptable."Aid agencies travel to Gaza – they, too, report on what they see. “We’ve reported on a war on children, a famine and a polio outbreak. Always, always, and only with data and testimonials,” says James Elder from the UN children’s charity Unicef.But often their evidence has been dismissed.“There is no famine in the Gaza Strip. It is simply not true,” said Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar.Should journalists have pushed harder for access?“International media should have told Israel, ‘We won’t accept any comments from the Israeli government unless you allow us access,’” adds Rapoport. Join host Imogen Foulkes for a fascinating discussion.Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.ch Twitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_en Thank you for listening! If you like what we do, please leave a review or subscribe to our newsletter. For more stories on the international Geneva please visit www.swissinfo.ch/Host: Imogen FoulkesProduction assitant: Claire-Marie GermainDistribution: Sara PasinoMarketing: Xin Zhang

Send us a textThis week on Inside Geneva, we take the pulse of the United Nations as it turns 80.“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.Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.ch Twitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_en Thank you for listening! If you like what we do, please leave a review or subscribe to our newsletter. For more stories on the international Geneva please visit www.swissinfo.ch/Host: Imogen FoulkesProduction assitant: Claire-Marie GermainDistribution: Sara PasinoMarketing: Xin Zhang

Send us a textOn our Inside Geneva podcast this week, we ask: are other countries following Russia’s lead in cracking down on freedom of expression?“I feel as though I’m monitoring a repression handbook used by the Russian government against its own civil society and, unfortunately, this handbook has been copied by other leaders in some democratic countries,” says Mariana Katzarova, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Russia.Russian journalists warn us not to take our freedoms for granted.“It’s been more than a year since I was released from prison. Every morning I open my eyes and I’m so thankful. I know ‘democracy’ and ‘press freedom’ can sound vague to people living ordinary lives but when it comes to your door and rings your bell, it’s too late,” says Alsu Kurmasheva, Russian journalist freed in a 2024 prisoner swap.They urge us not to stay silent in the face of authoritarianism.“Through our silence, we have lost our country, Belarus. Those who remain silent really need to act, otherwise, what they’re leaving to their children is… silence,” says Svetlana Alexievich, author and Nobel Prize winner from Belarus. Silencing the media isn’t new – but is it spreading? “This issue about the media has long been part of the authoritarian rulebook: go after the press if you want to stay in power. What is happening now is that, in more and more countries, we see an authoritarian trend coming into politics,” says Irene Khan, UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression.“Just be aware of the danger. Don’t let it happen. I’m watching closely what’s unfolding in the United States with the closure of these programmes. How will society respond? What will happen? Because this is how it begins,” says Boris Akunin, Russian author now living in exile in London.Join host Imogen Foulkes on Inside Geneva.Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.ch Twitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_en Thank you for listening! If you like what we do, please leave a review or subscribe to our newsletter. For more stories on the international Geneva please visit www.swissinfo.ch/Host: Imogen FoulkesProduction assitant: Claire-Marie GermainDistribution: Sara PasinoMarketing: Xin Zhang

Send us a textThis week, in the final episode of our Summer Profiles series on the Inside Geneva podcast, host Imogen Foulkes talks to Irish physiotherapist Rieke Hayes, who now works in Gaza for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).“I think I went into physio with the classic idea – I’d have a little clinic, do outpatients, you know, back pain, neck pain. Turns out I really, really didn’t enjoy that setting at all once I was in it,” says Hayes.Her first posting was unexpected.“I got this email: would you be willing to go to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) in two weeks’ time? I didn’t know what DPRK was, so, yes, North Korea, and I went, of course, yes.” Now, she works in Gaza, treating patients with spinal injuries. “It’s very complicated for someone with a spinal injury to get off the ground and to mobilise with a walking frame – if they had one. But you don’t have a walking frame, you don’t have a wheelchair and you don’t have a raised bed. You’re in a tent and you might be sharing it with 20 relatives.” Can her patients recover, given the situation in Gaza?“Many patients leave our hospital and I say: we did a good job, we’ve done the best we can. I don’t know if they’re still alive or if they’re still walking, but we do what we can. But yes, they’re very dependent on friends and family – if they have any left, of course.” Join host Imogen Foulkes on our Inside Geneva podcast for the full interview.Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.ch Twitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_en Thank you for listening! If you like what we do, please leave a review or subscribe to our newsletter. For more stories on the international Geneva please visit www.swissinfo.ch/Host: Imogen FoulkesProduction assitant: Claire-Marie GermainDistribution: Sara PasinoMarketing: Xin Zhang

Richard Gowan, Director for UN and Multilateral Diplomacy at the International Crisis Group, discusses the UN's 80th anniversary and its role in a changing world. He emphasizes the UN's ongoing relevance for refugees and peacekeeping, despite criticisms. Gowan contrasts the quick-fix diplomacy favored by leaders like Donald Trump with the UN's long-term approach to peace. He also highlights troubling trends of states undermining UN operations and financial cuts threatening its efforts, urging a reassessment of member states’ commitment to reform.

Send us a textOn World Humanitarian Day, Inside Geneva spoke to a man who has dedicated his life to humanitarian work. He grew up in a quiet Swiss village – so what inspired him to take this path?“When I was young, I quickly realised that many people didn’t have the same opportunities, they didn’t have equal chances. And to me, that felt fundamentally wrong,” says humanitarian worker Stéphane Jaquemet.His first posting was to Gaza in the 1980s.“Gaza was already in a bad state at the time. I think there were nightly curfews and raids by the Israeli army. They would break into homes and mainly arrest young people,” he says. Then came the 1990s and the conflict in Yugoslavia.“A conflict in the middle of Europe: I don’t think we were ready for that, or for witnessing the same kinds of violations. It was a truly horrific conflict; we saw real ethnic cleansing.”Aid workers today face big challenges and serious personal risks. Yet Jaquemet remains committed. “I would encourage young people to remain interested in humanitarian work, ” he says.Would he do it all again? “Yes, I would. I’m still motivated.”Join host Imogen Foulkes on our Inside Geneva podcast.Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.ch Twitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_en Thank you for listening! If you like what we do, please leave a review or subscribe to our newsletter. For more stories on the international Geneva please visit www.swissinfo.ch/Host: Imogen FoulkesProduction assitant: Claire-Marie GermainDistribution: Sara PasinoMarketing: Xin Zhang

Send us a textInside Geneva’s fourth summer profile – not a person, but a much-loved museum.“In this museum, we ask an essential question: what does humanitarian action have to do with me, in my life, here and now?” says Pascal Hufschmid, director of the Red Cross Museum.This month there’s a special exhibition, “Tuning in” … to the sound of humanity. “It’s an exhibition conceived as an exploration of sound archives – particularly humanitarian sound archives – preserved here in Geneva at the International Committee of the Red Cross(ICRC) and at the museum,” says curator Elisa Rusca.“It’s also a way of saying that, no matter who we are or where we come from, the way we feel is the same and our internal voice is just as important as the one that comes out,” Rusca says.The museum reminds us of our shared humanity.“We really bend over backwards to explain humanitarian principles, international human rights and humanitarian law, and to show that these are lived experiences we can all relate to.”Listen to the full episode on our Inside Geneva podcast hosted by Imogen Foulkes.Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.ch Twitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_en Thank you for listening! If you like what we do, please leave a review or subscribe to our newsletter. For more stories on the international Geneva please visit www.swissinfo.ch/Host: Imogen FoulkesProduction assitant: Claire-Marie GermainDistribution: Sara PasinoMarketing: Xin Zhang

Send us a textRachael Cummings of Save the Children is Inside Geneva’s summer profile this week.  “When I went into nursing, I also wanted to travel, so nursing gave me that opportunity. That was sort of an 18-year-old thinking, ‘Okay, I can use this to travel with’,” says Cummings.Since taking her nursing skills to humanitarian work, she’s been all over the world.“I think one of the things I’m most proud of is Save the Children’s role in the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone in 2014 and 2015. We were able to establish – literally build, together with our Sierra Leonean colleagues – an 80-bed Ebola hospital and everything that went with it.”Now, she’s in Gaza, grappling with desperate shortages of aid.“Nothing came in for months, and since mid-May the UN has only managed to bring in a trickle of humanitarian supplies. But in this context, people are being starved and are on the brink of famine. They’re absolutely desperate – some are jumping onto the trucks and pulling off the aid supplies. And I know I’d do the same,” she says.Wherever she is, Cummings’s priority is always the children.“We’re driven by humanity and the desire to alleviate the suffering of children, wherever they may be. It’s about giving them hope, because they’re living through the worst experiences imaginable, the most desperate of times, and of course, they’re entirely innocent. They’re children who have the right to a childhood.”Join host Imogen Foulkes on Inside Geneva.Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.ch Twitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_en Thank you for listening! If you like what we do, please leave a review or subscribe to our newsletter. For more stories on the international Geneva please visit www.swissinfo.ch/Host: Imogen FoulkesProduction assitant: Claire-Marie GermainDistribution: Sara PasinoMarketing: Xin Zhang

Send us a textInside Geneva brings you our second summer profile, with international lawyer Dapo Akande.“I’m one of those boring people who actually always wanted to be a lawyer. I’m not sure exactly what the motivation was when I was younger, but I think I was very argumentative as a child. And everyone used to say, ‘You should be a lawyer,’” says Akande.As a child in Nigeria, he also took a keen interest in world affairs.“I was brought up in Nigeria and my parents had the BBC World Service on the whole time when I was growing up. So that engendered in me a big interest in world affairs. And when I saw that there was an area of law that actually dealt with international affairs, I thought, yes, that’s the bit I’m interested in.”Once he’d qualified, he assisted on cases at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), where he saw how the court peacefully resolved disputes between United Nations member states, including one between his native Nigeria and neighbouring Cameroon.“This source of real tension, which had occasionally led to flashpoints and the use of force between those two countries, was resolved on the basis of the judgment by the ICJ. I think that’s an amazing achievement and it’s made all the more amazing by the fact that we actually don’t know much about it. If there had been a war, we’d know all about it.”Now, Akande is a candidate to be a judge on the ICJ – at a time, he believes, when international law is more important than ever.“It’s clearly the case that, in far too many cases, international law is disregarded. I think that’s true. There are many instances where the law is not followed and you only have to turn on the news to see that. What I do know is that international law is increasingly seen as relevant, and actions today are judged more often by reference to international law than they were in the past.”Join host Imogen Foulkes in conversation with Dapo Akande on Inside Geneva.Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.ch Twitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_en Thank you for listening! If you like what we do, please leave a review or subscribe to our newsletter. For more stories on the international Geneva please visit www.swissinfo.ch/Host: Imogen FoulkesProduction assitant: Claire-Marie GermainDistribution: Sara PasinoMarketing: Xin Zhang