SWI swissinfo.ch

Inside Geneva

About the show

Inside Geneva is a podcast about global politics, humanitarian issues, and international aid, hosted by journalist Imogen Foulkes. It is produced by SWI swissinfo.ch, a multilingual international public service media company from Switzerland.

Newest episodes

UN Secretary-General: who wants the world's toughest job?

Nov 10, 2026 31 min

Send us Fan Mail This week on Inside Geneva, host Imogen Foulkes looks at the race to become the next UN Secretary-General. Antonio Guterres will step down in just six weeks, but the UN Security Council cannot agree on his successor. "The whole process is so strange, completely untransparent," says Louis Charbonneau of Human Rights Watch. He is concerned that some candidates for the UN's top job come from countries with poor human rights records. Richard Gowan of the International Crisis Group warns: "It's a bleak time. It feels as though this selection process has existential implications for the UN." The UN is facing huge financial and political challenges. Can it survive if member states cannot even agree on a leader? Listen now to the full episode. Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.chTwitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_enThank 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 Foulkes Production assitant: Claire-Marie Germain Distribution: Sara Pasino Marketing: Xin Zhang

WHO candidate Gevorg Tamamyan: ‘Geography must not decide who lives’

Nov 8, 2026 29 min

Send us Fan Mail In episode four of our series interviewing candidates for director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), we talk to Gevorg Tamamyan. This series is in partnership with the Global Health Centre at the Geneva Graduate Institute. Tamamyan is professor of paediatric oncology at Yerevan state medical university and he has spent his career treating children with cancer. In his native Armenia, he has seen survival rates rise, by raising the funds to ensure his patients have the same access to medicines as those in wealthier countries like Switzerland. If he succeeds in becoming WHO director-general, he wants to tackle health inequity across the board. “People are dying not because of lack of knowledge or science, but because of lack of equity and a lack of access,” he tells us. He sees the Covid-19 pandemic as a prime example of what’s wrong. “In 2021, out of 8 billion vaccine doses, only 3% went to Africa, while other countries were already rolling out booster doses.” He knows the WHO faces big challenges, but believes positive reform can guarantee its future. “I'm convinced that the world is much better with the WHO than without it.” Listen to the full interview and subscribe to our Inside Geneva podcast. Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.chTwitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_enThank 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 Foulkes Production assitant: Claire-Marie Germain Distribution: Sara Pasino Marketing: Xin Zhang

WHO candidate Maria Neira: ‘We need to rebuild credibility and trust.’

Nov 7, 2026 29 min

Send us Fan Mail Inside Geneva has partnered with the Global Health Centre at the Geneva Graduate Institute to bring you exclusive interviews with the candidates for director general of the World Health Organization (WHO). Who wants to lead our top public health body? Maria Neira was a doctor for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) as the genocide in Rwanda began. Now she is a WHO insider, serving as its Director of Public Health, Environment and Social Determinants. And she knows public health from the government side; she was vice-minister of health in her native Spain from 2002 until 2005. She’s a passionate advocate for the WHO, telling us “it is one of the most powerful and beautiful ideas ever created by humanity.” She remembers that when she was a medical student, WHO advice was seen as a gold standard. Today, amid funding cuts and widespread disinformation, she says “we need to be very strategic, to rebuild credibility and trust.” But she’s convinced she can inspire member states to rededicate themselves to the WHO, “through healthcare we can change the world. Imagine if we put in place prevention strategies: people will be healthy, their economies will be better.“ Listen to the full interview and subscribe to our Inside Geneva podcast. Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.chTwitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_enThank 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 Foulkes Production assitant: Claire-Marie Germain Distribution: Sara Pasino Marketing: Xin Zhang

Similar podcasts

The Daily The New York Times

Up First from NPR NPR

The Joe Rogan Experience Joe Rogan

Dateline NBC NBC News

Crime Junkie Audiochuck

Pod Save America Pod Save America

Pardon My Take Barstool Sports

Morbid Ash Kelley & Alaina Urquhart

All episodes

UN Secretary-General: who wants the world's toughest job?

Nov 10, 2026 31 min

WHO candidate Gevorg Tamamyan: ‘Geography must not decide who lives’

Nov 8, 2026 29 min

WHO candidate Maria Neira: ‘We need to rebuild credibility and trust.’

Nov 7, 2026 29 min

WHO candidate Budi Sadikin: no country can fight a pandemic alone

Nov 1, 2026 27 min

Send us Fan Mail Here is episode two of our series in partnership with the Global Health Centre at the Geneva Graduate Institute, bringing you exclusive interviews with the candidates for director general of the World Health Organization (WHO). Budi Sadikin is currently Indonesia’s health minister, but has spent most of his career in finance, as a top executive at Indonesia’s biggest bank. “Before, my job was to make my clients wealthy; now my job is to make my people healthy,” he says with a smile. Sadikin believes his experience in finance will help him tackle WHO reform, even as the organisation suffers big cuts in donor funding. But he is also a firm believer in health equity, telling us that during a global pandemic, emergency treatments “should become global public goods.” He says his good relations with the United States will help him encourage Washington to rejoin the WHO, but also warns that “if any country believes it can safeguard its population on its own during the next pandemic, that is scientifically and practically impossible.” Listen to the full interview and subscribe to our Inside Geneva podcast. Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.chTwitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_enThank 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 Foulkes Production assitant: Claire-Marie Germain Distribution: Sara Pasino Marketing: Xin Zhang

WHO candidate Hanan Balkhy: ‘The bottom line is that the funding is slimmer’

Oct 31, 2026 29 min

Send us Fan Mail Inside Geneva has partnered with the Global Health Centre at the Geneva Graduate Institute to bring you exclusive interviews with the candidates for director general of the World Health Organization (WHO). Who wants to lead our top public health body? Hanan Balkhy is currently regional director for the WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean regional office, so she’s something of a WHO insider. A native of Saudi Arabia, she was educated in the United States and always wanted to be a doctor. Doing the WHO’s top job, she says, is a way “to serve the broader humanity.” She is especially concerned about antibiotic resistance, about the effects of climate change on health, and healthcare in conflict zones. She also warns about a “normalisation” of attacks on hospitals and healthcare workers. But she is also well aware that the WHO needs to reform and do more with less money. “The bottom line is that the funding is slimmer.” Listen to the full interview and subscribe to our Inside Geneva podcast. Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.chTwitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_enThank 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 Foulkes Production assitant: Claire-Marie Germain Distribution: Sara Pasino Marketing: Xin Zhang

Who will defend the International Criminal Court?

Oct 27, 2026 40 min

Send us Fan Mail This week on Inside Geneva, host Imogen Foulkes asks whether the International Criminal Court (ICC) can survive Washington’s brutal sanctions. James Goldston of Open Society tells us the sanctions mean a “financial death sentence” for the court’s judges and lawyers, who can no longer use credit cards and even US based systems like Microsoft. Philippe Bolopion of Human Rights Watch says the court is a last resort for the victims of terrible atrocities, such as war crimes and genocide. But Richard Goldberg of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies describes the ICC as a “kangaroo court”, which he believes is intent on prosecuting US and Israeli citizens. Tune in for a lively debate. Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.chTwitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_enThank 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 Foulkes Production assitant: Claire-Marie Germain Distribution: Sara Pasino Marketing: Xin Zhang

Is Afghanistan guilty of gender apartheid?

Oct 13, 2026 31 min

Send us Fan Mail This week on our Inside Geneva podcast, we ask whether the world has forgotten women in Afghanistan. Under Taliban rule, they cannot work, go to secondary school, leave the house alone or even visit a public park. Human rights defenders say the world is looking away. Some argue that what’s happening in Afghanistan amounts to gender apartheid and want it recognised as a crime under international law. They also warn that if the repression of women in Afghanistan is not challenged, it could happen in other countries too. Listen now to the full episode. Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.chTwitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_enThank 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 Foulkes Production assitant: Claire-Marie Germain Distribution: Sara Pasino Marketing: Xin Zhang

From Kabul to Fiji in the fight for gender equality

Sep 29, 2026 29 min

Send us Fan Mail What takes a woman from a law career in Australia to Somalia, Afghanistan and then…Fiji? On our Inside Geneva podcast, host Imogen Foulkes talks to UN Women’s Alison Davidian about being in Kabul when the Taliban returned and about the effects of climate change and rising sea levels on women’s livelihoods. They also discuss why men and boys should never feel threatened by gender equality. Listen to the full episode now. Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.chTwitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_enThank 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 Foulkes Production assitant: Claire-Marie Germain Distribution: Sara Pasino Marketing: Xin Zhang

International Gender Champions speak out

Sep 15, 2026 35 min

Send us Fan Mail Diversity, equality, inclusion, woke: are these concepts now toxic? The past two years have seen a pushback against gender equality, and it is having real-world consequences for women and girls. Yet in Geneva, the International Gender Champions, led by senior diplomats, are not giving up. “I embrace wokeness,” one ambassador tells us. The data shows that equality benefits everyone, socially, economically and politically. So why is it so out of fashion? Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.chTwitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_enThank 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 Foulkes Production assitant: Claire-Marie Germain Distribution: Sara Pasino Marketing: Xin Zhang

Gaza: Ceasefire, sort of. Reconstruction, no.

Sep 1, 2026 30 min

Send us Fan Mail It’s been ten months since the ceasefire in Gaza. Almost a million people still live in tents. There are 60 million tonnes of rubble to clear. The UN estimates reconstruction will cost at least $70 billion. But the work has not started. Key building materials are being denied entry, there is little clean water, but many rats. Inside Geneva talks to Jehan Salim and Mohammed al Aklouk, aid workers from the Norwegian Refugee Council, about the huge task and the very limited resources. Listen now and subscribe to the podcast. Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.chTwitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_enThank 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 Foulkes Production assitant: Claire-Marie Germain Distribution: Sara Pasino Marketing: Xin Zhang

Pushback on human rights: defenders speak out

Aug 18, 2026 28 min

Send us Fan Mail UN investigations have documented war crimes in Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan. So why is no one being held accountable? Why do some political leaders talk about human rights as though they were an optional nuisance? In this episode of our ‘Inside Geneva’ podcast, we speak with Phil Lynch and Pooja Patel from the International Service for Human Rights. We discuss impunity, scapegoating, funding cuts, standing up for our rights and much more. Listen to the full interview and subscribe to our Inside Geneva podcast! Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.chTwitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_enThank 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 Foulkes Production assitant: Claire-Marie Germain Distribution: Sara Pasino Marketing: Xin Zhang

Inside Geneva’s Summer Profiles: Philippe Stoll

Aug 4, 2026 27 min

Send us Fan Mail Philippe Stoll, the Red Cross’s ‘techplomat’, is Inside Geneva’s Summer Profile this week. “I studied economics and I think I could have been a banker or something like that. A good Swiss indeed! But my mother was a volunteer at the Red Cross, and I think she influenced me a lot about maybe being human or taking care of humans,” he says. He’s helping the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) develop a new digital emblem to warn cyber warriors against attacking protected structures like hospital software, or confidential data. “Cyber attacks are increasingly carried out by machines. It’s a machine talking to another machine, and this certificate is a way to identify something that the machine will understand and not attack.” Such attacks are already happening. “The ICRC suffered from a cyber attack in 2022. It’s not a question of if, it’s more question of when. We know that the ICRC has access to information that is highly interesting for state or non state armed groups,” says Stoll. And they can cause enormous harm, “[such as] the distress of people not being able to get the information online because it was hacked or the fact that some information might put your family or you at risk because you belong to a tribe or clan that is under attack.” Join host Imogen Foulkes for an in-depth discussion – how do we uphold the Geneva Conventions in 21st-century wars? Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.chTwitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_enThank 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 Foulkes Production assitant: Claire-Marie Germain Distribution: Sara Pasino Marketing: Xin Zhang

Inside Geneva’s Summer Profiles: Trish Newport

Jul 21, 2026 26 min

Send us Fan Mail Trish Newport of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Switzerland is Inside Geneva’s first summer profile this year. “My grandma was a humanitarian she had worked in Malawi and I remember when I was about 10 years old she said to me, ‘When you grow up and you become a humanitarian, you should work for MSF because they really have strong values and ethics that you will appreciate,’” says Newport. Originally from Canada, she has worked all over the world, in the most challenging environments. “I worked a lot in acute malnutrition response for a number of years, including in Niger. It’s hard to see, but you can really do something, for example a little malnourished child comes in and, if they get Plumpy Nut and proper care for six weeks, they become a fat little cute kid and they go home,” she says. Now she’s at the heart of MSF’s Ebola response, in Bunia, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). “It’s not just an Ebola outbreak. It’s an Ebola outbreak in a context with massive humanitarian needs, that has high insecurity and where there’s ongoing conflict. We see the outbreak is starting to go into areas with high insecurity, where we hear about community deaths but you don’t have access to them, to be actually sampling to see if it’s Ebola or not, or to have a proper Ebola response.” The World Health Organization (WHO) says this outbreak is spreading at record speed. “A mother had her child, the child was sick, and then the mother died of Ebola. The grandmother took the baby, came to where our project is, and the grandmother died. The baby is now sick with Ebola, none of the family wants to come to the child because everyone that touches the child dies. It just breaks your heart,” says Newport. “And people here they are people and we are all humans and so I have a hard time understanding why we can’t connect that way,” she says. Join host Imogen Foulkes on Inside Geneva to listen to the full interview. Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swis...

Can a woman lead the UN?

Jul 7, 2026 34 min

Send us Fan Mail On Inside Geneva this week, we look at the race to be the next UN Secretary-General. Is it time for a change? Susana Malcorra, candidate for UN Secretary-General 2016: 'I am deeply convinced this is a moment that requires a different type of leadership, and we have tested leadership nine leaders throughout 80 years that were all men.' Geneva recently hosted three of the candidates – we hear from them. What are their plans? Rebeca Grynspan, candidate for Secretary-General: 'My criteria of success as secretary general is that nobody will ask me again: Where is the UN?' If that question continues we will be irrelevant.' What are the UN's challenges? María Fernanda Espinosa, candidate for Secretary-General: 'I think the UN does not suffer from a crisis of purpose or principles enshrined in the Charter. It suffers from a crisis of delivery of impact, of accountability, and of inclusion.' And what does it still have to offer? Michelle Bachelet, candidate for Secretary-General: 'Multilateralism has a lot of problems, but if you didn't have a multilateral system, children in the refugee camps wouldn't have vaccines. People displacement wouldn't have support. So there's a lot of things that multilateralism has done and we need to improve.' Join host Imogen Foulkes on Inside Geneva. Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.chTwitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_enThank 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 Foulkes Production assitant: Claire-Marie Germain Distribution: Sara Pasino Marketing: Xin Zhang

Books to make you think

Jun 23, 2026 29 min

Send us Fan Mail This week, Inside Geneva presents the newest instalment of our “Books to make you think” series. We talk to an author who had a ringside seat as the US development agency USAID was being destroyed. “The people who so recklessly tore down the agency [...] are still sitting in high government positions and have not been held accountable for their actions, so I intentionally named names in the book and explained exactly who was responsible and why,” says Nicholas Enrich, author of Into the Wood Chipper. “USAID was destroyed by people who really had no idea what they were doing, and because of the vindictive ego of Elon Musk,” continues Enrich. And we hear about a forensic analysis of the language used by US media to report the war in Gaza. “The New York Times referred to the killing of Israelis on October 7 as a ‘massacre’ 124 times, and a ‘slaughter’ 53 times. In the same time frame, they used similar language zero times to describe the killing of Palestinians, despite the fact that, in the first 100 days, the death toll was seven or eight times higher than on October 7. Zero, not once, did they describe anything Israel did to the Palestinians in that period as a massacre or a slaughter,” says Adam H. Johnson, author of How to Sell a Genocide. Did the mainstream media sanitise war crimes? “Do you think that it is possible Israel killed 20,000 children at least – that’s the official number that no one disputes – over two years and never once committed a massacre or a slaughter? Does that feel statistically likely to you? I think the answer is, on its face, ‘no’,” says Johnson. Join host Imogen Foulkes on Inside Geneva. Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.chTwitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_enThank 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 Foulkes Production assitant: Claire-Marie Germain Di...

What’s the point of foreign aid?

Jun 9, 2026 1 hr 0 min

Send us Fan Mail On our Inside Geneva podcast this week, we host a debate on a key question: what’s the point of foreign aid? “What’s the point of mobilising taxpayers’ money and sending it to faraway countries to assist vulnerable people? And how do you sell that to your own taxpayers?” says Gilles Carbonnier, former Vice-President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). There are more conflicts and greater needs, yet donor countries want to spend less. “What’s the point of mobilising taxpayers’ money and sending it to faraway countries to assist vulnerable people? And how do you sell that to your own taxpayers?” says Gilles Carbonnier, former Vice-President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). There are more conflicts and greater needs, yet donor countries want to spend less. Do we think some people’s tragedies are less important than others? If a child is in pain in Khartoum, that’s exactly the same as a child being in pain in New York or London. If a mother is grieving in Gaza, that’s exactly the same as a mother grieving in Geneva,” says Chris Lockyear, former Secretary General of Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF). How can aid agencies better explain what they do? “What defines us is humanity, and humanity means we cannot stay idle when we see others suffering. We have to act and do something to try to protect them, assist them and prevent suffering, regardless of where this happens,” says Carbonnier. Listen to the full episode on Inside Geneva. Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.chTwitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_enThank 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 Foulkes Production assitant: Claire-Marie Germain Distribution: Sara Pasino Marketing: Xin Zhang

Is aid failing?

May 26, 2026 36 min

Send us Fan Mail On this week's Inside Geneva podcast episode, we take stock of aid cuts and what they mean for new crises such as Ebola. “It is a catastrophe. It is not an opportunity. But now we have an obligation to transform the system: there’s no other way the humanitarian system can survive this crisis without any change,” says Professor Karl Blanchet from the University of Geneva. A new report says aid delivery must change, but huge cuts are not the way. “The suspension of funding by major donors, not only the United States but also the UK, Germany and others, [means that] there are going to be excess deaths. Millions of people are going to die who should not have died because of these funding cuts,” says Professor Esperanza Martinez from the Australian National University. What happens in a crisis like Ebola if aid funding is driven by ‘anti-diversity’ ideology? “Every process in society follows a gendered pattern, so it is often going to be women who are the caretakers of the sick. It is going to be women who are washing the bodies of the dead and preparing them for burial,” says Hannah Reinl from the Geneva Gender Champions organisation. Who stands to lose the most from the world’s only superpower withdrawing from aid organisations such as the World Health Organization (WHO)? “If the US had not withdrawn from the WHO, then we would have been part of the WHO’s response. Which means that when the WHO learned about this, the US government would have learned about it as well. Instead, [US Secretary of State] Marco Rubio is saying that he did not find out about this until ten days later. Well, maybe we should not have pulled out of the WHO, and we would have found out about it earlier,” says Nicholas Enrich, a former USAID official and author of Into the Wood Chipper. Join Imogen Foulkes on Inside Geneva to listen to the full interviews. Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.chTwitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_enThank you for listening! If you l...

Who controls landmines and drones?

May 12, 2026 32 min

Send us Fan Mail On Inside Geneva, we look at weapons contamination and the harm it causes. “We have at least one casualty every single day in Afghanistan – someone killed or injured –and it is most likely a child,” says Nick Pond, from the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. From old conflicts to new. “Ukraine is the breadbasket of Europe and billions of square metres of land are suspected to be contaminated, which means they can’t be farmed,” says Paul Heslop, from the UN Mine Action, Ukraine. And from old weapons to new. “This is proliferating well beyond Ukraine. Ukraine and Russia are the two leaders in drone technology, but the level of proliferation is scary,” says Sean Moorhouse, from Mine Action, UN Development Programme. In response to Russian aggression, the Baltic states are pulling out of the landmine convention. “We did not say yes to landmines; we said no to unilateral disarmament constructs,” says Jonatan Vseviov, Secretary General, Estonian Foreign Ministry. But others are joining. “We heard that Lebanon will be joining the convention. This is a massive achievement and a massive push for the convention itself,” says Rana Elias, from the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining. As warfare changes, weapons contamination becomes more complicated. Who is responsible when a weapon fails to hit its target and harms someone years later? Who should pay for the clean‑up? And are we turning away from our opposition to indiscriminate weapons? Join host Imogen Foulkes on Inside Geneva to listen to the full episode. Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.chTwitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_enThank 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 Foulkes Production assitant: Claire-Marie Germain Distribution: Sara Pasino Marketing: Xin Zhang

Challenges to press freedom

Apr 28, 2026 45 min

Send us Fan Mail On Inside Geneva this week, we mark Press Freedom Day. Is there anything to celebrate? Irene Khan, UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression: “The role of journalists has never been under such pressure, and the sector itself is suffering. So these are very, very important times to take a deep breath and make sure that freedom of expression, and media freedom as part of that, is protected, because it is an extremely important pillar of democracy.” Increasingly, journalists are being attacked simply for reporting the facts. Antoine Bernard, Reporters Without Borders: “We are in times where facts have become a target; hence, journalists have become more of a target, and this means that they are the ones who are suffering most from the growing polarisation of the public debate.” And are people manipulating press freedom and freedom of expression? Chris Morris, CEO, Full Fact: “Regulating information is a really difficult thing to do well. Getting the right balance between the absolute need to protect freedom of expression and the need to protect people from harm online is really difficult.” Irene Khan, UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression: “You have the First Amendment warriors talking about freedom of speech without any limit. But what they actually mean is freedom of speech for me, but not for you. Because when that happens, when you have freedom of speech without any barriers, then what happens is that we’ve seen a surge of hate speech, attacks against migrants, and terrible misogynist attacks against women politicians.” Join host Imogen Foulkes on Inside Geneva. Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.chTwitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_enThank 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 Foulkes Production assitant: Claire-Marie Germain Distribution: Sara Pasino Marketing: Xin Z...

Can the UN survive?

Apr 14, 2026 39 min

Send us Fan Mail On Inside Geneva this week, we ask: in a world of violent conflict, is the UN – which was founded to keep the peace – doing its job? “On many fronts the UN is doing indispensable work every day, bringing food to hungry people and ensuring practical standards for how we cooperate on the planet. Most countries follow the UN’s rules and principles on an everyday basis, so not too bad. [Former UN Secretary-General] Dag Hammarskjöld said that the UN was not made to take us to heaven, but to prevent us from going to hell, and that’s still true: after 1945 there have been no new world wars,” says Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide. But with the big powers causing conflict, does the UN need a different structure? “It’s worth remembering that when the UN Charter was adopted in 1945, 50 countries were present at the table, and today there are 193 member states. So almost three‑quarters of the UN’s membership have not had a say in the rules of the game that they are now bound by, and they are very frustrated by that lack of voice and representation,” says Heba Aly, director of Article 109. Can a new, reformed UN restore some peace in the world before it’s too late? “History shows that after every severe crisis we come together and try to create a better system, which is what happened after the two world wars. First we had the not‑so‑successful attempt of the League of Nations, but then the much more successful UN, learning from what had gone wrong with the League of Nations. I hope we don’t need to relearn this through a third world war or anything like that,” says Eide. “For the UN overall, I think it’s going to go through a very difficult and dark period. You know, sometimes you just have to hit rock bottom. I hope that, coming out of that, we can emerge with a new global social contract. And if that difficult period leads us to something better, then that is something worth fighting for,” says Aly. Join host Imogen Foulkes on Inside Geneva. Get...

Inside Geneva: women in peace

Mar 31, 2026 24 min

Send us Fan Mail On Inside Geneva this week: who are the peacemakers? “Women are completely absent in high-level politics and from high-level peacemaking at the moment. However, this is only the visible part. Our focus has been so much on US President Donald Trump,” says Sara Hellmüller, professor of International Relations at the Geneva Graduate Institute. Two peace experts, both women, give us their take. “Traditionally, we have seen a low representation of women as mediators. There is a systemic issue inherent in how we understand peace processes, in which women are excluded,” says Hiba Qasas, executive director of the Principles for Peace organisation. Can a few men in suits create real sustainable peace? Is there a role for women? “Women are still working for peace every day in different conflict contexts. They are still involved in peace processes. Maybenot at the kind of transactional, deal‑making level that Trump is engaged in, and that the media mostly focuses on, but these activities have not simply stopped,” says Hellmüller. So is there a recipe for peacemaking? “It is very hard to say there is a blueprint. I don’t believe in blueprints. I don’t believe in toolboxes. I believe that peace is a much broader concept than political peace, and that it needs to be felt and experienced by people,” says Qasas. Join host Imogen Foulkes on Inside Geneva to listen to the full interview. Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.chTwitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_enThank 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 Foulkes Production assitant: Claire-Marie Germain Distribution: Sara Pasino Marketing: Xin Zhang

Inside Geneva: Myanmar, women and justice

Mar 17, 2026 30 min

Send us Fan Mail On Inside Geneva this week, we look at women fighting for justice. In 2017, Myanmar’s military launched an assault on the Rohingya population. Almost a million were displaced, there were reports of horrific violations: rape, the murder of children, including babies. “The accounts that affected me most are those of children. Now I’m a grandfather, I sit there and listen and I think of my own kids when they were young and my grandkids now. How can you not?,” says Chris Sidoti from the Myanmar fact-finding mission. The UN investigators who documented the evidence were shocked, but feared there would be no accountability. “They asked me for justice and when I asked them 'why are you here, why have you been waiting all day in the camps', many of them were not able to walk, they had not eaten and they wanted justice. And at that time, I really thought it would not be possible for justice to come,” says Antonia Mulvey from Legal Action Worldwide. But now, almost a decade later, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is hearing a case of genocide against Myanmar. “To see now, action in the ICJ: I still know how many years it’s going to take. I still know that the Myanmar butchers who are responsible for what happened may never individually be brought to justice. But I certainly live in hope that one day they will,” says Sidoti. Mulvey is at the ICJ, supporting women who are testifying about what happened. “If you were in that court, I can assure you, international law is alive and it is fighting very hard,” she says. Join host Imogen Foulkes on Inside Geneva. Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.chTwitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_enThank 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 Foulkes Production assitant: Claire-Marie Germain Distribution: Sara Pasino Marketing: Xin Zhang

Inside Geneva: what justice means for women in Afghanistan

Mar 3, 2026 30 min

Send us Fan Mail In August 2021, the Taliban took back control in Afghanistan. Women face unprecedented repression. They can’t go to school or work; public parks are banned to them; they are not allowed to speak or sing too loudly. Are we turning away? “This is the time for the international community and for other countries, especially the EU, to step in and to make sure they respond to the crisis in Afghanistan and stand with the women of Afghanistan and to do everything they can to protect their rights,” says Fereshta Abbasi, from Human Rights Watch. Diplomats in Geneva have backed a powerful UN fact-finding mission for Afghanistan. “As an ambassador, and as a woman, [I know that] women have fought for decades if not centuries for their rights, and I also personally do not want to see a back-peddling on those rights that we, and generations of brave women before us, have fought for for so long,” says Deike Potzel, EU Ambassador to the UN in Geneva. Women inside Afghanistan need to know there is support. “Women and girls in Afghanistan resist in ways that don’t form a single movement. It’s about 1,000 quiet and important uprisings and day-to-day revolutions: a resistance that is fierce and creative to show that they exist and that they will never accept that kind of domination,” says Sahar Fetrat, an Afghan campaigner for women’s rights. The fact-finding mission can gather evidence and hold Afghanistan’s government and individual Taliban leaders to account. But ordinary women across Europe can help too. “Here in Europe, in Geneva, we have the wonderful opportunity to actually make our voices heard and to be heard. So use that chance, get engaged. Open your eyes and then do something,” says Potzel. Join some inspiring women talking to Imogen Foulkes on Inside Geneva. Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.chTwitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_enThank you for listening! If you like what we do, please leave a review or subscribe to our newsletter. F...

What’s our problem with immigration?

Feb 17, 2026 32 min

Send us Fan Mail On Inside Geneva this week, we unpick the divisive topic of migration and asylum. Why are some countries closing their doors? “In Europe we are seeing one country after another erect barbed wire around their country and around a continent,” says Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council. When does restricting immigration turn into human rights violation? “We believe it’s within the rights of any government to set immigration policies that they believe make sense for their country and electorate. But setting lawful immigration policies does not mean that you have the right to mistreat migrants,” says Philippe Bolopion, executive director at Human Rights Watch. Is immigration really a threat to our jobs or services? “Overall, most studies are clear that migrant workers are not in competition with national workers in the labour market. [...] In Western countries, the medical sector depends on migrant workers,” says Vincent Chetail from the Global Migration Centre at the Geneva Graduate Institute. Why are some of us so angry about immigration? “We are reaching a peak in violent anti‑migrant rhetoric, which has nothing to do with reality,” continues Chetail. Many countries are cutting foreign aid and limiting immigration. A recipe for disaster? “If you want to live in a stable world without uncontrolled migration, pandemics and insecurity, then you invest in hope for people who have been displaced,” says Egeland. Join host Imogen Foulkes on Inside Geneva for the full interview. Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.chTwitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_enThank 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 Foulkes Production assitant: Claire-Marie Germain Distribution: Sara Pasino Marketing: Xin Zhang

The Board of Peace, war and impunity

Feb 3, 2026 39 min

Send us Fan Mail On Inside Geneva this week, we take an in-depth look at US President Donald Trump’s new ‘Board of Peace’. Experts on conflict resolution are sceptical. “The US circulated an invitation to about 60 countries to join a new board of peace that would not just focus on Gaza but would instead be a global conflict prevention organisation, complete with a pre-baked charter that looks a bit like President Trump took the protocols for a golf club in New Jersey,” says Richard Gowan from the International Crisis Group. Still, the new board could be a challenge to the United Nations (UN). “I don’t really think this is a credible international institution that will have the capacities of the UN, but I do think that it is a very worrying signal for the UN,” Gowan says. We also hear about a new report on growing disrespect for international law. “People only have to look around at the conflicts that they’re seeing today, and the extent of devastation both of civilian life and of civilian property, to know that we are in very bleak times. Disregard of international law is not new. What I think is new is the extent to which it’s being flouted,” says Stuart Casey-Maslen from the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law. Are governments swapping international obligations for short-term political gain? “We look at what’s happened in Gaza. We see the destruction of hospitals in Sudan. We see that people do this and are not held to account. We have institutions, we have the International Criminal Court, but even there, there’s an attempt to undermine it. It becomes a political decision rather than simply a legal one: respect for the law,” says Casey-Maslen. Join host Imogen Foulkes on Inside Geneva to listen to the full episode. Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.chTwitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_enThank you for listening! If you like what we do, please leave a review or subscribe to our newsletter. For more stories on the international Gene...

Can a science and diplomacy partnership save the world?

Jan 20, 2026 31 min

Send us Fan Mail On Inside Geneva this week: world leaders are gathering in the Swiss mountain resort of Davos, but do they have any answers? “I think we are at an amazing moment in history. We have in our hands the opportunity to do well, to save our own environment, the planet, to take the right decisions to bring humanity onto a good path,” says Marilyne Andersen, Director General of the Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator (GESDA). But will they take that path? Technology is racing ahead. “Human rights, like every other field, are very much under the influence now of what’s happening in technology and science. It’s one of the destabilising factors right now,” says Jürg Lauber, Swiss ambassador to the United Nations (UN) in Geneva. “I was absolutely sure that a robot can kill a human. We are living in a situation where we don’t even have these AI ethics,” says Tatiana Valovaya, Director-General of the UN Office at Geneva. “If we just do things when they have already happened, then it’s too late and technology has already evolved to the next stage,” says Sylvie Briand, Chief Scientist at the World Health Organization (WHO). International law is being abandoned. “War is a terrible thing, but at some stage in the past, human beings decided to write the Geneva Conventions to at least reduce a little bit the horror of war,” adds Sami Kanaan, former mayor of Geneva. In Geneva, a group is pushing for partnerships between science and politics, so we’re ready for the challenges ahead. “Let’s take advantage of knowing what is coming to act on it now and not be in reactive mode, not in catch‑up mode,” says Andersen. Join host Imogen Foulkes on Inside Geneva. Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.chTwitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_enThank 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 Foulkes Production assitant: C...

Inside Geneva Special: A bonfire of international law

Jan 13, 2026 32 min

Send us Fan Mail 2026 has started with some momentous events. Israel has banned dozens of aid agencies. What are the consequences? “We’re supporting one in five of the hospitals in the Gaza Strip, and one in three babies that are born in Gaza are assisted by our staff on the ground. We’re doing surgical support, wound care, physiotherapy, maternity and paediatric care,” says Chris Lockyear, Secretary General of Medecins sans Frontieres. The US cut billions from foreign aid, then announced $2 billion for selected projects. “[We saw] Tom Fletcher next to Jeremy Lewin, a 28-year-old with no experience in the humanitarian sector, who said, ‘Well, the humanitarian organisations have to adapt or die,’” adds Dorian Burkhalter, Swissinfo journalist. The money has strings attached, humanitarian crises in Afghanistan or Yemen get nothing. “There was talk about the radical ideologies perpetrated by some of the UN agencies, which had undermined American interests and peace, bizarrely enough,” continues Nick Cumming-Bruce, contributor for The New York Times. Part of that $2 billion goes to several Latin American countries, meanwhile the US says it’s now “running” Venezuela. “Central and South America, obviously Washington views as its domain. And we’re all here in Geneva muttering to ourselves ‘but you just violated international law’. Does it matter to anyone?” says Inside Geneva host Imogen Foulkes. Are we seeing a bonfire of international laws? “The fundamental commitments to some form of international law that have underpinned western security since the Second World War are being completely abandoned by an administration that doesn't acknowledge any accountability to anyone except itself,” says Cumming-Bruce. And what does it mean for the world’s most vulnerable? “All around the world, whether they’re in Gaza, in Sudan, in Ukraine or Venezuela, there are real people who are living through the consequences of these decisions that are made in places like Washington DC and Ne...

Looking back at 2025, and looking forward to 2026

Jan 6, 2026 41 min

Send us Fan Mail This week on Inside Geneva, we discuss the key stories of 2025 that we know will continue to make the news in 2026. “The top story of 2025 has been the cuts to the humanitarian aid sector. We knew that, with Donald Trump returning to the White House, cuts were likely, but we did not expect them to be so brutal,” says Swissinfo journalist Dorian Burkhalter. “I wanted to talk about Gaza, which has been one of the main issues I’ve been writing about for the past two years. It has been, in the words of many humanitarians, the most horrific humanitarian crisis they have seen in their careers,” adds Reuters journalist Emma Farge. “My story of 2025 is climate change. The village of Blatten was completely wiped off the map by a combination of a weak glacier and an unstable mountainside,” says Inside Geneva host Imogen Foulkes. “Ukraine. Peace talks have taken place here in Geneva quite recently. All the talk of peace has eclipsed the humanitarian toll of the conflict: the large numbers of Ukrainians hunted down by drones,” says Nick Cumming-Bruce, contributor for The New York Times: What do you think will be the key challenges for 2026? Join host Imogen Foulkes on Inside Geneva. Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.chTwitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_enThank 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 Foulkes Production assitant: Claire-Marie Germain Distribution: Sara Pasino Marketing: Xin Zhang

Peace talks but the war grinds on

Dec 23, 2025 29 min

Send us Fan Mail Inside Geneva joins aid workers staying in Ukraine this December. The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) supports tens of thousands of people whose homes have been damaged or destroyed. Marcel van Maastrigt, UNHCR, Odessa: ‘At two in the afternoon you might have an air alert, and at three in the afternoon people in shops and restaurants are putting up Christmas decorations, because they want to continue their life. I think it's understandable.’ MSF (Doctors without Borders) works in hospitals on the front line. Robin Meldrum, MSF, Ukraine: ‘Today I had electricity in my flat a few hours in the afternoon when I was at work, not here at home. The electricity is going to be off until about 11:00 until 2:00 in the morning. I'll have 3 or 4 hours of electricity tomorrow but it's wearing, it's tiring.’ Aid workers share the risks with their Ukrainian colleagues. Robin Meldrum: ‘During the night there was a massive attack by Shahed drones and guided aerial bombs. One of the guided aerial bombs landed just about 35 or 40 metres from the two guest houses where our staff were living.’ They share the festive season too. Marcel van Maastrigt: ‘There is a real effort to make it look like everything is normal, and to have the decorations, have the music outside, have the food. Sometimes people go to parties. It's nice to walk through town and see that happening. It gives some hope that this might in the end be better.’ There are 130 conflicts around the world today, affecting millions of people. This holiday season, thousands of aid workers are staying put, hoping to make things a little better. Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.chTwitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_enThank 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 Foulkes Production assitant: Claire-Marie Germain Distribution: Sara Pasino Marketing: Xin Zhan...

Inside Geneva: Are we throwing away international law?

Dec 9, 2025 37 min

Send us Fan Mail On Inside Geneva this week: what does international law mean to you? “When your government is not there to uphold your rights, it’s that safety net – to think that there’s something else out there, other sets of rules that can help right wrongs and bring about some form of justice as well,” says Kasmira Jefford, editor at Geneva Solutions. The Geneva conventions, bans on torture and landmines: global rules that should protect us. And international courts to ensure accountability. “I think there's a different expectation, a different hope for international law today. We now have many rules that are far more ambitious than they used to be,” says Nico Krisch, professor of International Law at the Geneva Graduate Institute. But do they work? “All the justices saying X about Gaza, about Netanyahu. All the decisions of the International Criminal Court. Show me the results. Show me when Putin comes to Alaska. Show me when Netanyahu comes to the White House. How many violations can there be before the treaty or the norm becomes invalid? I think we’re seeing a level of violation that is extraordinary,” says analyst Daniel Warner. Do governments even want the laws to work? “I think if somebody proposed today to create an International Criminal Court, they’d be laughed at. This isn’t the diplomatic climate for such ventures,” continues Krisch. “The way certain leaders are acting today is not sustainable. They might get away with cherry-picking parts of treaties they like best for a while, but at some point there will be a reaction. It could be climate change, it could be massive natural disasters forcing us to work together,” adds Jefford. “We have these laws because we made some awful mistakes and committed terrible crimes. What I really hope is that we don’t have to reinvent everything because we made the same mistakes again,” says host Imogen Foulkes. Join host Imogen Foulkes on Inside Geneva. Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.chTwitter: @Im...

Inside Geneva: is climate change the forgotten crisis?

Nov 25, 2025 31 min

Send us Fan Mail COP30 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.chTwitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_enThank you for listening! If you like what we do, please leave a review or subscribe to our newsletter. For more stories o...

War and the press

Nov 11, 2025 36 min

Send us Fan Mail How 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.chTwitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_enThank 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 Foulkes Production assitant: Claire-Marie Germain Distribution: Sara Pasino Marketing: Xin Zhang

Taking the pulse of the UN at 80

Oct 28, 2025 42 min

Send us Fan Mail This 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.chTwitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_enThank 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 Foulkes Production assitant: Claire-Marie Germain Distribution: Sara Pasino Marketing: Xin Zhang

Are Democracies Copying Russia's Repressive Playbook?

Oct 14, 2025 30 min

Send us Fan Mail On 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.chTwitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_enThank you for listening! If you like what we do, please leave a revie...

Inside Geneva’s final summer profile: ICRC physiotherapist Rieke Hayes

Sep 30, 2025 27 min

Send us Fan Mail This 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.chTwitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_enThank 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 Foulkes Production assitant: Claire-Marie Germain Distribution: Sara Pasino Marketing: Xin Zhang

Is the UN still relevant at 80?

Sep 16, 2025 30 min

Send us Fan Mail The United Nations General Assembly has officially opened and the organisation marked its 80th anniversary. Inside Geneva asks whether the body remains relevant. “If you're a refugee in Bangladesh, or seeking protection in South Sudan, the UN may be imperfect but it’s still relevant,” says Richard Gowan from the International Crisis Group. The UN is bigger than many of us think. “We do sometimes forget that the UN still has 60,000 peacekeepers deployed around the world and that it continues to run vast humanitarian operations. So the UN isn’t dead, but I think it’s drifting,” he says. But what about the UN’s original role – resolving conflicts and promoting peace? “US President Donald Trump said he wants the UN to refocus on peace and security. But in reality, the US, along with other major powers, hasn’t been working through the UN to address any of today’s major crises.” Are world leaders making a mistake by leaving the UN out? “What UN mediators and other conflict resolution specialists have learnt over the past few decades is that peace is a slow business,” Gowan says. “Trump likes to present himself as a master dealmaker, but what he’s talking about isn’t constructing lasting peace. It’s about grabbing headlines on a few occasions.” Join host Imogen Foulkes on our Inside Geneva podcast. Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.chTwitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_enThank 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 Foulkes Production assitant: Claire-Marie Germain Distribution: Sara Pasino Marketing: Xin Zhang

Inside Geneva’s Summer Profiles: Stéphane Jaquemet

Sep 2, 2025 29 min

Send us Fan Mail On 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.chTwitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_enThank 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 Foulkes Production assitant: Claire-Marie Germain Distribution: Sara Pasino Marketing: Xin Zhang

Inside Geneva’s Summer Profiles: the Red Cross Museum

Aug 19, 2025 25 min

Send us Fan Mail Inside 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.chTwitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_enThank 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 Foulkes Production assitant: Claire-Marie Germain Distribution: Sara Pasino Marketing: Xin Zhang

Inside Geneva's Summer Profiles: Rachael Cummings in Gaza

Aug 5, 2025 30 min

Send us Fan Mail Rachael 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.chTwitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_enThank 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 Foulkes Production assitant: Claire-Marie Germain Distribution: Sara Pasino Marketing: Xin Zhang

Inside Geneva's Summer Profiles: A Conversation with international lawyer Dapo Akande

Jul 22, 2025 27 min

Send us Fan Mail Inside 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.chTwi...

Special announcement: Summer Profile 2025 is out now

Jul 8, 2025 1 min

Send us Fan Mail Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.chTwitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_enThank 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 Foulkes Production assitant: Claire-Marie Germain Distribution: Sara Pasino Marketing: Xin Zhang

Inside Geneva's Summer Profiles: Tammam Aloudat

Jul 8, 2025 32 min

Send us Fan Mail Inside Geneva’s Summer Profiles are back! In this episode we talk to Tammam Aloudat, doctor, aid worker and now journalist. “I was born in Syria, and I spent most of my life there until my mid-20s. I studied there; I went to medical school there,” says the CEO of The New Humanitarian. Was being a doctor in Syria his first choice? “One of the first side effects of autocratic dictatorships is that there isn’t really work outside a few private enterprises, one of which is being an engineer, a lawyer, or a doctor,” he says. A chance meeting with a British Red Cross official led him into humanitarian work. “And a couple of years later, when I wanted to go out and work for the Red Cross, it was him who gave me a contract with the British Red Cross and sent me to Iraq. I mean, arguably not the nicest thing to do to someone, but it was exactly what I had asked for.” But the disastrous consequences of that conflict made him question his work, and the traditional neutrality of humanitarianism. “Can we afford to only put roofs over people's heads and do nothing about the system? If your house was bombed for the first time, I understand. If it was bombed for the 17th time, and instead of a house you have a tarp, and instead of food, you have animal feed or grass to eat,” Aloudat says. Join host Imogen Foulkes on Inside Geneva for a fascinating discussion. Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.chTwitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_enThank 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 Foulkes Production assitant: Claire-Marie Germain Distribution: Sara Pasino Marketing: Xin Zhang

War, Peace and Cake: The World in 2025

Jun 24, 2025 42 min

Send us Fan Mail 2025 has been a year of conflict, upheaval, and huge challenges to the international system. Gunilla von Hall, Svenskadagbladet: "It all started downhill from 20th of January. Since then, it's just, well, ‘the Ukraine war will be over in 24 hours?’ Nothing happened. It just got worse. Then we had Gaza, then we have Iran, Israel. Then we had the cuts of all the aid. It's very bleak. I think we should just not give up our hope, but it looks really... We have four years." The humanitarian work Geneva does has been decimated. Nick Cumming-Bruce, contributor, New York Times: "What is disturbing is the very casual destruction of international institutions and agreements that have been pulled together over many years, decades of works since World War II, and which for all their many imperfections are trying, with some cases significant success, to address the critical challenges that the world faces." Is everything bleak? Or can we find some hope somewhere? Imogen Foulkes, host of Inside Geneva: "These are hard times and people I think are very anxious at the moment. Maybe we should still pay tribute, hat tip, to the humanitarian work that comes out of Geneva. People who, they don't live peacefully here in this quiet city. They are in Gaza, they are in Sudan, they are in Afghanistan." Listen to Inside Geneva for a review of the first six months of a momentous year. Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.chTwitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_enThank 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 Foulkes Production assitant: Claire-Marie Germain Distribution: Sara Pasino Marketing: Xin Zhang

Gaza's Aid Crisis: The Failed Militarization of Humanitarian Relief

Jun 10, 2025 32 min

Send us Fan Mail Israel blocked aid into Gaza for 10 weeks. Then the US and Israel came up with a new plan – without the United Nations. Established aid agencies had doubts. Inside Geneva finds out why. Jan Egeland,secretary general, Norwegian Refugee Council: ‘We would welcome anything that would allow us to resume work for a population that is starving and that has been suffocated by a siege over two months. But this seems to be militarized, politicized, manipulated. People have to walk long distances through the rubble to get aid.’ The new Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has had a disastrous start. Dozens of Palestinians have been shot trying to get aid. Chris Lockyear, Secretary General, MSF: ‘This is not child's play. It is not a military operation. It is a different thing that requires years and decades of experience to get where we've got to now. So it breaks my heart to say it, but it wasn't a surprise to see those horrendous images from the first day of operation of the GHF in Gaza.’ It’s not clear who is actually running the new Foundation, but international lawyers warn they could be liable for war crimes. Philip Grant, Trial International: To lend material aid to the Israeli plan can be construed as complicity in the war crime of forcible displacement of the civilian population. And that would entail first of all the possibility for any state, almost any state in the world to use universal jurisdiction. Meanwhile the UN warns that Gaza’s population is now close to famine. Jan Egeland: We now hope to see Europe, the United Nations and those who are there to defend international law to stand up for principle when Israel is besieging 2 million Palestinians, where half of them are children and totally innocent. Join host Imogen Foulkes on Inside Geneva Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.chTwitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_enThank you for listening! If you like what we do, please leave a review or subscribe to our newsletter. For more storie...

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

May 27, 2025 32 min

Send us Fan Mail The world just agreed a pandemic treaty. But without the United States. Is it really a milestone? ‘‘It is a major step forward. I mean, just imagine if we failed. We would not only go back to the point before the pandemic, before COVID-19 struck us, we'd go back to a point much further back,” said Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein from the International Peace Institute. But what about the global challenge of climate change? “We're up against a ticking clock. And even though we've enjoyed successes in the past, even though the renewables rollout is going rather well, it's all too little, too late from the point of view of avoiding genuinely dangerous degrees of warming,” says climate security expert Peter Schwartzstein. Why can’t world leaders really unite around global challenges? ‘Their children and grandchildren have to deal with abominable and extreme heat levels and forest fires and fierce hurricanes and no trade and collapsed economies and extreme food security and complete anarchy. Is this what they wish for their children. What form of love is that?” continues al Hussein. Join host Imogen Foulkes on Inside Geneva for in-depth analysis of where we stand. Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.chTwitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_enThank 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 Foulkes Production assitant: Claire-Marie Germain Distribution: Sara Pasino Marketing: Xin Zhang

Toxic masculinity and the rollback of gender equality

May 13, 2025 32 min

Send us Fan Mail It’s been 30 years since the Beijing Declaration on Women, a landmark agreement to empower women and girls. “The Beijing declaration was such an incredible moment to say that enough is enough. Women are half of humanity and we have to be better,” says Lata Narayanaswamy, associate professor at the School of Politics and International Studies at the University of Leeds. But now, some governments are rolling back women’s rights. Humanitarian programmes that help women and girls are being cut. “During his first presidential term, Trump vetoed a new resolution proposed under the UN Women, Peace and Security agenda because it enshrined the right of women to their reproductive rights,” says Leandra Bias from the Institute of Political Science at the University of Bern. What’s happening? Support for vulnerable women is being cut, and toxic masculinity is growing. The UN is worried. “I am concerned about the resurgence in some quarters of toxic ideas about masculinity and efforts to glorify gender stereotypes, especially among young men,” said UN human rights commissioner Volker Türk. This week Inside Geneva asks what toxic masculinity actually means. Is it even new? “What worries me about the language of toxic masculinity is that it’s like, ‘Oh my God, we didn’t know this was coming.’ But it’s actually just a continuity of how violence and patriarchy combine,” says Narayanaswamy. Is there a connection between toxic masculinity and the repression of women? Are both now identifiers for authoritarian regimes? “‘We are the tough guys, we are actually the proper nations, while look at Europe, they have been completely emasculated and therefore they are not a model to aspire to.’ Therefore, democracy is also not a model to aspire to,” says Bias. Join host Imogen Foulkes on Inside Geneva to listen to the full episode. Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.chTwitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_enThank you for listening! If you like what we do, p...

Women, girls and cuts to humanitarian aid

Apr 29, 2025 43 min

Send us Fan Mail On Inside Geneva this week, aid agencies count the costs of funding cuts. “I am most sad for all the millions of people living with HIV and affected by HIV whose lives have been upended. They have lost access to life-saving medication. They have showed up at clinics for support, only to find no one there to help them,” says Angeli Achrekar, Deputy Executive Director for the Programme Branch at the Joint United Nations (UN) Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). The cuts are hitting women and girls especially hard. “Right now, a woman dies from a preventable form of maternal mortality every two minutes. That’s unacceptable. One of the grants that the United States has just cut supports the training and salaries of midwives,” says Sarah Craven, Director of the Washington Office of UNFPA, the UN Population Fund. What will happen to local NGOs in crisis zones that relied on UN support? “I have to have hope. I am the leader of the Sudanese Red Crescent Society. I have staff and 12,000 volunteers behind me. So, I always have to be really strong and give hope to everyone to continue serving Sudan,” says Aida Al-Sayed Abdullah, Secretary General of the Sudanese Red Crescent Society. But could the cuts bring much-needed reform? “Sure, the humanitarian system isn’t perfect. It can be inefficient and a little bit colonialistic at times. But it was delivering results. We were seeing actual progress. Now, in just a few months, decades of progress will be erased,” says Dorian Burkhalter, SWI swissinfo.ch journalist. Or will the cuts cost lives and cause more crisis? “We’re so close to ending AIDS, full stop. Now, we could very well be turning back completely. All those years of work, dedication and progress,” says Achrekar. Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.chTwitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_enThank 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 pleas...

Multilateralism, the Global South and the future

Apr 15, 2025 33 min

Send us Fan Mail On Inside Geneva this week, we ask whether the United Nations (UN) and multilateralism have a future. “Is the UN anachronistic? I mean, it was formed after the Second World War. Obviously, it’s getting a little bit dusty,” says political analyst Daniel Warner. Younger generations from the Global South tell us where they see the UN’s flaws. “The countries of the Global North have not stood up to the ideals that they have created in an equitable manner. It’s simply like preaching water and drinking wine,” says Pratyush Sharma from the Global South Centre of Excellence in Dehli. “The United Nations Security Council is absolutely inefficient in dealing with the reality of people, especially from the Global South,” continues Marilia Closs from Plataforma CIPÓ in Brazil. “The Global South cannot exist on its own. Likewise the Global North also cannot exist on its own,” says Olumide Onitekun from the Africa Policy and Research Institute in Nigeria. But the UN was created for very good reasons. “When you think about the end of the Second World War and how the UN was created, the world was so sick and tired of war, they wanted it to end. It’s a different mindset. You know, it just makes me think, is that what we’re going to need?” says Dawn Clancy, UN journalist in New York. Can the UN survive? Join host Imogen Foulkes on our Inside Geneva podcast to find out. Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.chTwitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_enThank 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 Foulkes Production assitant: Claire-Marie Germain Distribution: Sara Pasino Marketing: Xin Zhang

Democratic rights and freedoms at a crossroads?

Apr 1, 2025 34 min

Send us Fan Mail The world is changing fast. Are democracy and human rights under threat? Our Inside Geneva podcast takes a deep dive. “Donald Trump is unravelling the constitution, where I believe we could describe this as a coup d'état,” says human rights lawyer Reed Brody. What happens when Big Tech gets involved in politics? “It is fine for Instagram or TikTok to realise that I am into biking and then try to sell me bikes. That’s fine. That’s a product. Manipulate me to sell me that. But that’s not fine with political ideas,” continues Alberto Fernandez Gibaja, Head of Digitalisation and Democracy at the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA). What about free speech? “For the first time in my life, I am listening to Americans on the radio and TV, talking to the press and refusing to use their names because they are afraid of retaliation,” says Brody. Is it still possible to have a democratic, fact-based debate? “For those of us who believe that we share a reality based on facts and science, we are on the losing side,” says Fernandez Gibaja. Are we losing the fundamental freedoms set out in the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights? Join host Imogen Foulkes on Inside Geneva to find out. Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.chTwitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_enThank 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 Foulkes Production assitant: Claire-Marie Germain Distribution: Sara Pasino Marketing: Xin Zhang

Inside Geneva: where are women's voices in peace talks?

Mar 18, 2025 39 min

Send us Fan Mail In Ukraine, and in the Middle East, men say they are negotiating peace. But are they? “Ending war is necessary to peace without a doubt, but ending war does not mean peace. So, whenever these men use the word ‘peace’ in order to say ‘ceasefire’ and ‘stop the guns’, this is not peace,” says Deborah Schibler from PeaceWomen across the Globe (PWAG). “What the US is doing right now is an extractivist assertion of power, arguably even a second imperial ambition that we are seeing now alongside Russia. Democracy, peace and gender equality mutually reinforce each other,” adds Leandra Bias from the Universtiy of Bern. So, where are the women in these “peace” negotiations? Our guests tell Inside Geneva that they should be everywhere... not nowhere. “Women, women’s perspectives, gender perspectives and human security perspectives have to be in every process and every structure of armed forces,” says Mahide Aslan, head of women and diversity at Swiss Armed Forces. “There are so many women who are really keen to get involved in these formal peace negotiations and who are ready for it, but it is made very difficult for them,” says Larissa Lee, from PWAG. How can women’s voices be heard in peace talks? Join host Imogen Foulkes on our Inside Geneva podcast. Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.chTwitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_enThank 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 Foulkes Production assitant: Claire-Marie Germain Distribution: Sara Pasino Marketing: Xin Zhang

See all 194 episodes

–

0 ratings from members

Rate this podcast

No reviews yet — be the first member to rate "Inside Geneva".

This podcast, its content and its artwork are not owned by, affiliated with, or endorsed by Castquire.

UN Secretary-General: who wants the world's toughest job?

Share this podcast

Podcast details

Created by: SWI swissinfo.ch
Status: Active
Latest episode: Nov 10, 2026
Episodes: 194
Release period: Every two weeks
Avg. episode length: 31 min
Explicit: No
Language: English

Links

Official website ↗ Apple Podcasts ↗ RSS feed ↗

Is this your podcast?

Claim it to show it on your profile. Using the email from your RSS feed approves it instantly.

Keep listening

Discover more podcasts like this.

Browse podcasts See the charts