Geneva Solutions • 31st July 2026

UN trade and development chief leads informal poll in UN chief race - Geneva Solutions

Informal voting to select the next UN leader kicked off Thursday in the Security Council, with former Costa Rican vice-president Rebeca Grynspan emerging as the early favourite. It remains to be seen who the five veto-yielding powers will back, in a process veiled in secrecy.

Geneva Solutions • 29th July 2026

UN refugee agency in talks with US following reports of departure threats

UN refugee chief Barham Salih downplayed a crisis within the UN refugee agency following media reports that Washington was considering ditching the agency and stripping it of its key financial support.

Geneva Solutions • 27th July 2026

'You end up feeling caged’: Refugee convention turns 75 as states redraw asylum rules

Adopted in the turbulent years after World War II to address the massive displacement in Europe, the UN Refugee Convention marks its 75-year history as governments twist the principles of protection to serve political purposes. For refugees like Peter Kidi, it has real effects.

Geneva Solutions • 26th July 2026

Race for UN's top job enters final, murkiest stretch

This week, the UN Security Council will begin straw-polling for the next secretary general. Sources with inside knowledge of the process say that despite measures adopted to make it more transparent, opacity will prevail.

PassBlue • 13th July 2026

NGOs Allege Rights Abuses by Western States Amid Pandemic Pact Talks

More than a year after the Pandemic Agreement was adopted, talks drag on at the World Health Organization in Geneva this week over a key annex that would ensure health equity and allow developing countries to share pathogen materials with the understanding that resulting treatments will be shared with them.

Geneva Solutions • 13th July 2026

NGOs allege rights abuses by Western countries in deadlocked pandemic agreement talks

Civil society groups are calling on a UN human rights expert to investigate alleged foot-dragging by pharma-intensive countries at ongoing pandemic treaty talks, but will the motion have teeth?

Geneva Solutions • 7th July 2026

UN reform chief admits structural changes ‘difficult’, rules out further budget cuts

Guy Ryder, who is leading UN chief António Guterres’s reform push, says controversial merger proposals were to assess the merits of fusing organisations, not to force decisions on member states.

Geneva Solutions • 1st July 2026

‘Iranian people are barely visible’ in US-Iran deal, says UN rights expert Mai Sato

An initial deal struck between the US and Iran, aimed at de-escalating tensions and paving the way for further talks, fails to address human rights issues, an issue that worries Mai Sato, the UN rights expert on Iran.

Geneva Solutions • 23rd June 2026

Hard work lies ahead for US-Iran negotiators after Bürgenstock talks

Iran’s ambassador in Geneva confirmed that the initial conditions for a peace process agreed with the US had been met. But there is little doubt that much can still go wrong in talks, with both parties disagreeing on what was agreed to regarding UN nuclear inspections.

Geneva Solutions • 18th June 2026

Iran wants to charge ‘fees’ on Hormuz passage. What impacts could that have?

As Iran and the US unveil a preliminary agreement signed on Wednesday, shrouded in political nuances, experts consider what the deal may mean if Tehran imposes fees on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

Geneva Solutions • 15th June 2026

What we know about the US-Iran deal to be inked in Geneva

Geneva may provide the stage this Friday for the greatest breakthrough yet towards ending the US-Israeli war against Iran. But long-held divergences and Trump’s unpredictability make an actual peace agreement still elusive.

Le Temps SA • 7th June 2026

Pékin et Washington, les ombres géantes qui planent sur le destin des Péruviens appelés aux urnes dimanche

Washington veut que Lima reconsidère ses relations commerciales avec Pékin, qui construit à Chancay le plus grand port d’Amérique latine. Un enjeu majeur pour le Pérou, pays instable depuis une décennie qui choisira dimanche un nouveau président

Geneva Solutions • 17th May 2026

How serious is the UN’s warning of imminent bankruptcy?

Amid warnings that UN funding may run out by mid-summer, a member state finance committee has the option to change an outdated rule that has made the organisation’s budget crisis a lot worse.

Geneva Solutions • 10th May 2026

WHO says its finances are stable, but uncertainties loom

A year after the US exit from the global health body, WHO officials say finances are secure, for now. But amid donor cuts, rising inflation, and future economic uncertainties, will funding be sufficient to meet its needs?

Geneva Solutions • 4th May 2026

Washington falls short in overseeing UN renovation spending, US federal watchdog says

As Washington ramps up pressure on the UN, a US agency looking into the organisation’s renovation spending notes that while multiple UN bodies are focused on ensuring that plans stick to budget, the State Department lacks the capacity to keep a closer eye.

Geneva Solutions • 26th April 2026

In the critical mineral race, UN body highlights tools for fairer deals

Amid rising geopolitical tensions, access to critical minerals has become a new frontline in great power competition. Rules governing their extraction and management remain fragmented, but one UN agency says it has developed tools that may help bridge regulatory gaps.

PassBlue • 15th April 2026

Has the UN Aid 'Reset' Made the System Better or Worse?, Experts Ask

As the global humanitarian sector grapples with the fallout from sweeping aid cuts imposed in 2025 by the United States administration of Donald Trump and other major donors, a United Nations plan to “reset” the system, unveiled a year ago, may be gliding away from its expectations, according to experts.

Geneva Solutions • 15th April 2026

A year after its launch, aid experts ask: humanitarian reset or rollback?

Amid plummeting donor contributions, particularly from the US, the UN’s aid office announced a reform plan aimed at making the sector more efficient while hyperprioritising assistance and shifting leadership more to local NGOs. A year later, aid experts question if the plan has lost its way.

Geneva Solutions • 1st April 2026

Freight logistics sector struggles as Gulf war disrupts trade

As the Iran war brings one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes to a near standstill and cuts off key air routes, containers pile up in unintended ports. Freight intermediaries are left to pick up the pieces. The sector is meeting in Geneva to discuss the challenges it faces.

Geneva Solutions • 31st March 2026

UNRWA’s future hinges on Gaza peace plan implementation, outgoing chief says

Warning of the risks of a collapse of the UN Palestinian refugee agency, its outgoing chief, Philippe Lazzarini, says the organisation needs to be part of a political solution for the population that it has long provided services to.