SWI swissinfo.ch • 26th September 2022

Gold sourcing and Switzerland in focus at the Human Rights Council

As the latest session of the Human Rights Council got underway at the United Nations European headquarters in Geneva, illegally-mined gold came up in multiple discussions, with the role of importers, including Switzerland, being cited in UN findings.

The New Humanitarian • 14th July 2022

Nowhere left to turn: In a region hit hard by COVID, the welcome for Venezuelan migrants wears thin

The vast majority of the 6 million Venezuelans who have escaped poverty, insecurity, and economic collapse in their homeland since 2015 have tried to start new lives in South America. But two years after COVID-19 led governments to close borders and enforce quarantines, many are discovering that the region is becoming a less welcoming place.

The New Humanitarian • 11th July 2022

What a difference a year makes (or not) in Cuba

On 11 July 2021, nationwide protests erupted in Cuba over food and medicine shortages – before being crushed by a brutal government crackdown. A year after the largest demonstrations since Fidel Castro took power in 1959, the streets of Havana are quiet, but the root causes of the protests persist: long food lines, electricity cuts, and fuel and medicine in short supply.

SWI swissinfo.ch • 23rd June 2022

Swiss press freedom under scrutiny at the United Nations

The United Nations Human Rights Council is pointing its finger at Swiss media law. Current legislation protects the banking sector from whistleblowers in the banking sector.

The New Humanitarian • 7th June 2022

Most aid funds go to just a few disasters. What about the rest?

Every year for the past two decades, an estimated 350 to 500 medium-to-large disasters have taken place globally; numbers only expected to rise further due to the climate crisis. But many, like the case studies we report on here in Peru and Nepal, receive little attention beyond the areas directly affected. As a result, the response can fall far short of what’s needed.

SWI swissinfo.ch • 5th June 2022

How Russian sanctions are permeating Switzerland’s luxury sanctum

After Western countries mounted sanctions against Russian assets abroad in response to the war in Ukraine, a cat-and-mouse game regarding that wealth started in Switzerland between regulators and oligarchs. The luxury sector is feeling the chill.

Al Jazeera • 2nd May 2022

Peru: Months after huge earthquake, survivors feel abandoned

Displaced families have been camping out in tents, as critics say the government must deliver on promised aid.

SWI swissinfo.ch • 2nd March 2022

Swiss trading hub adapts to new wartime reality

After Switzerland took a historical step to impose economic sanctions against Russia to align them with Europe and the United States on Monday, its commodities trading ecosystem - a key cogwheel for Russian exports - is having to adapt.

The New Humanitarian • 1st March 2022

How climate data scarcity costs lives

In the sparsely populated highlands of the Andes Plateau, alpaca herders like Florencio Vargas Hancco are starting to see the impact of frequent droughts and harsh winters on their lives and livelihoods.

The New Humanitarian • 7th February 2022

How Haiti’s gang violence strains aid operations and demands new approaches

Haiti’s surge in gang violence and kidnappings is forcing aid organisations to rethink shipment routes, staff risks, and security costs – and to consider the ethical and safety implications of trusting leaders of armed gangs who say they can help.

SWI swissinfo.ch • 7th February 2022

Are Swiss banks’ glass ceilings for women ready for a real shattering?

As one of the world’s most conservative financial preserves, Switzerland’s clannish private banks have in recent years had to adapt to a changing world. Globalisation and a push for greater transparency is putting its historic hub into rebranding mode, while its top management has ever so slowly begun cracking the door open to a “new” type of talent: women.

The New Humanitarian • 17th January 2022

How COVID has made education an urgent humanitarian issue

A dirt road is the only way to reach the remote Peruvian village of Tarucani, located high in the vast arid plains of the Andes, where pink flamingos paddle shallow brooks along the Bolivian border and herds of alpacas forage the dry and sparse vegetation for the few edible morsels.

SWI swissinfo.ch • 10th January 2022

Former IOC director-general and FIFA reformer Carrard dies

The Swiss lawyer, who was a specialist in sports law, was IOC director-general from 1989 to 2003. Prior to that, he worked as a legal advisor to the Olympic organisation from 1979 alongside the presidents Juan Antonio Samaranch and Jacques Rogge.

The New Humanitarian • 6th January 2022

Q&A: How can a global treaty to end violence against women succeed?

As COVID-19 enters a third year, so does the “shadow pandemic” of violence against women. Such violence is not new of course, but it has been fostered by lockdowns and economic blows dealt by the coronavirus.

revistapiaui • 13th December 2021

O Sequestro da Amarelinha #4: Senhor, a polícia está subindo

Podcast series co-produced by Swissinfo, Piauí and Radio Novelo on corruption in international football. (In Portuguese)

The New Humanitarian • 9th December 2021

What happened to the emergency UN money promised for gender-based violence?

Twelve months ago, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned of a “shadow pandemic” of violence against women – a neglected by-product of COVID-19 lockdown measures – and the world body announced it was releasing emergency funds to fight the scourge globally. But if the more intense media coverage helped to generate a greater awareness of the problem, it is yet to translate into a significant jolt in funding for those at the sharp end. It has been more than a year since Guterres made that speech, and many victims of gender-based violence have seen no tangible change in support.

The New Humanitarian • 15th November 2021

Why COP26 leaves humanitarians wanting more

Ahead of this weekend’s final agreement at the UN climate summit, delegates filed onto the podium in Glasgow for family photos while wine bottles were uncorked. But this latest global pact is not the game-changing and celebratory moment many had hoped for.

SWI swissinfo.ch • 14th November 2021

Compromise COP26 deal disappoints

The COP26 summit approved a climate deal late Saturday evening. But the watered-down ambitions on the end of coal subsidies left many delegates frustrated, including Switzerland.

SWI swissinfo.ch • 13th November 2021

COP26 blog: Live from Glasgow

Deadline past After going into overtime, delegates to the COP26 from 197 countries are expected to review a new draft text of a final decision later today. These include issues such as carbon markets, climate finance for developing countries, carbon mitigation and adaptation as well as defining the frequency at which carbon-cutting pledges should be submitted by countries.

SWI swissinfo.ch • 12th November 2021

Is Switzerland still a credible climate negotiator?

Six years after the Paris climate agreement was signed, Switzerland has had to backtrack on some of the more ambitious goals it had set on climate change mitigation. At the COP26 summit, nonetheless, it has advocated hard for its model of a carbon offset mechanism elaborated in treaties with a handful of developing countries. But is the Alpine nation still legitimate as a negotiator ? This content was published on November 12, 2021 - 14:00 Heckled as she left a press conference on Thursday by