Inside Geneva

Send us Fan Mail The troops have left Afghanistan but aid agencies say they’re staying. How will that work, with the Taliban back in control? Join host Imogen Foulkes and regular analyst Daniel Warner who are joined by Marie Lequin of Geneva Call, an NGO that works to protect civilians caught up in armed conflicts, Ken Roth, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch, and Irwin Loy, Asia Editor of T...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode Imogen Foulkes is joined by Susan Misicka, host of sister podcast The Swiss Connection. We take a deep dive into what one country – Switzerland – is doing to honour the United Nations principles on business respecting human rights. How much child labour is used to produce Swiss chocolate?  Why is so much gold refined in Switzerland? And what happens to that gold be...

Send us Fan Mail Some call the war in Afghanistan "the forever war". But now the US and NATO are leaving. The conflict is escalating. Inside Geneva tries to figure out what the future might look like. In this episode, host Imogen Foulkes talks to Firouzeh Mitchell, acting head of mission in Afghanistan for Geneva Call; Forozan Rasooli, Deputy Director of Equality for Peace and Democracy;...

Send us Fan Mail Ten years ago, the United Nations adopted a landmark set of guiding principles on business and human rights. "Those who have been harmed by business activity have a right to seek effective remedy through effective process." (Lene Wendland, Chief, Business and Human Rights Section, UN Human Rights Office) But how can we make sure guiding principles are followed? "The...

Send us Fan Mail How do we bring war criminals to justice? Who can bring prosecutions? The country where the crimes took place? The International Criminal Court? Or anyone? In this week's episode, Imogen Foulkes talks to Philip Grant, executive director of Trial International, Gerald Staberock, secretary-general of the World Organisation against Torture, and swissinfo.ch journalist, Julia Cra...

Send us Fan Mail Geneva is welcoming two of the most powerful men in the world: US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin. What do they hope to gain? In this episode host Imogen Foulkes talks to former US ambassador to Finland Charles Adams, Professor of International Relations Jussi Hanhimaki, and analyst Daniel Warner. Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.ch Twitter...

Send us Fan Mail Education is fundamental to the life of every child. Not being in school puts children at immediate risk and it ruins their futures. So why does education seem to come a poor second during humanitarian crises? In this episode of Inside Geneva host Imogen Foulkes talks to experts on education in emergencies, including Yasmine Sherif, Director of Education Cannot Wait (ECW), Julienn...

Send us Fan Mail The 194 members of the World Health Organisation will meet for the annual World Health Assembly from May 24. The body decides global health policy. What could be more important in this pandemic year? In this episode host Imogen Foulkes looks at the challenges that lie ahead. Her guests are Suerie Moon of Geneva’s Global Health Centre, Maria Guevara of Medecins sans Frontieres and...

Send us Fan Mail Not knowing the fate of a loved one causes unimaginable heartbreak and anxiety for families. People go missing in wars and natural disasters, but they are also forcibly disappeared. What can families do? In this episode host Imogen Foulkes looks at the United Nations Convention on Enforced Disappearances. How does it work? Does it help prevent disappearances? And why are so many c...

Send us Fan Mail The United Nations is 75 years old – but there has never been a woman Secretary General. Now Antonio Guterres is standing for a second term, so it will likely be another five years before a woman candidate can have a chance at the UN’s top job. Why is it taking so long? Does Guterres’ record even merit a second term? And why are some senior UN positions traditionally reserved for...

Send us Fan Mail It is regarded as the worst of all crimes, but what constitutes genocide? How does it differ from crimes against humanity? How are the atrocities of 1970’s Cambodia different from 1990’s Rwanda? What about Myanmar, or Xinjiang in China? Why have so few people ever been convicted of genocide? And why do human rights groups themselves use the term so carefully? In this episode host...

Send us Fan Mail The war in Syria began 10 years ago this month. Throughout that decade, Geneva has been at the heart of diplomatic efforts towards peace, and at the heart of the humanitarian operation. Were chances for peace missed? Did we expect too much from the aid agencies? Host Imogen Foulkes is joined by Fabrizio Carboni of the ICRC, Jan Egeland, former head of the UN’s humanitarian taskfor...

Send us Fan Mail Billions of us use social media – but how much control do we have over how it uses us? Big tech giant Facebook could block news content for its users in Australia without asking anyone. Authoritarian regimes use social media to promote their sometimes violent policies. Has the information sharing we once thought so liberating become a danger to democracy and to human rights? In th...

Send us Fan Mail In January nuclear weapons were banned by international treaty. But the treaty doesn’t apply to any of the nuclear powers, since none of them signed it. So are nukes really banned? In this episode, Imogen Foulkes talks to Cordula Droege, Chief Legal Officer of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Beatrice Fihn of the International Campaign to Ban Nuclear Weapons, and Elai...

Send us Fan Mail It’s a year since Covid 19 went global, and we all headed into lockdown. In this episode Imogen Foulkes revisits some eerily prescient interviews we did with health experts Vinh Kim Nguyen of MSF and Margaret Harris of the WHO one year ago – and brings us up to date talking to Suerie Moon of Geneva’s Global Health Centre. We ask: what did we think then, what do we know now, and wh...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode Imogen Foulkes is joined by journalists Gunilla von Hall and Tom Miles, and analyst Daniel Warner, to look at what 2021 might hold. Is the United States’ recommitment to the World Health Organisation a good sign for international Geneva? What about the future of the WHO itself? And how does our own future, our ‘new normal’ look, one year into the pandemic? Get in t...

Send us Fan Mail Reporting a public health crisis is a huge responsibility. How do journalists tackle it? Whose message is the right one? Governments? Frontline doctors? Epidemiologists? Or all of them?  In this episode, host Imogen Foulkes is joined by swissinfo.ch correspondents Jessica Pluess-Davis and Julia Crawford – and analyst Daniel Warner. Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo....

Send us Fan Mail Simply known as the Ottawa Treaty, the global convention banning antipersonnel landmines has saved thousands of lives. In the first of a series on landmark treaties, Imogen Foulkes talks to survivors, doctors, and campaigners about how they achieved their goal - and what still needs to be done. Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.ch Twitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissi...

Send us Fan Mail In a year where crises seem to be everywhere, how will help get to those who need it? And are we even approaching humanitarian aid in the right way? A discussion with guests Rein Paulsen of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Julie Billaud of Geneva's Graduate Institute, and analyst Daniel Warner. Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.ch Twi...

Send us Fan Mail Jussi Hanhimaki of Geneva’s Graduate Institute, Peggy Hicks of the UN’s Human Rights Office and analyst Daniel Warner join host Imogen Foulkes for an in-depth discussion about what the next four years might hold for Geneva, the US, and the world. Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.ch Twitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_en Thank you for listening! If you like what...

Send us Fan Mail Why does Africa have so few coronavirus cases compared to Western Europe and North America? What are countries on the African continent doing right, and is the West prepared to learn from  them? A discussion from 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 revi...

Send us Fan Mail The United Nations: fit for another 75 years, or extinct in 5? Host Imogen Foulkes joins guests Mallika Goel, Mohamed-Mahmoud Ould Mohamedou and Daniel Warner for a special live edition of Inside Geneva to mark 75 years of the UN. 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 le...

Send us Fan Mail How do we know aid agencies and their workers are really delivering on what they promise? Host Imogen Foulkes discusses aid agency accountability with Tanya Wood of CHS Alliance, Charles-Antoine Hofmann of Unicef, and analyst Daniel Warner.  Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.ch Twitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_en Thank you for listening! If you like what we do...

Send us Fan Mail Pandemic Fatigue: we’ve all got it. How are we going to cope this winter? Imogen Foulkes talks to global health expert Ilona Kickbusch, and members of the Swiss government’s Covid-19 taskforce for perspective.   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 sub...

Send us Fan Mail Geneva-based humanitarian aid agencies are soul searching as they stand accused of institutional racism. What's behind the accusations, and how are they being addressed?  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...