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.
Paula Dupraz-Dobias
Paula Dupraz-Dobias is an award-winning investigative journalist and news and documentary producer with over 30 years of experience in all forms of media in Europe, North America and South America. She is based in Switzerland, but works regularly in Peru and the United States.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
Why it’s not just about the money for Indigenous leaders at COP26
After a $1.7 billion pledge to help protect their emissions-absorbing forests, Indigenous leaders at COP26 feel their pleas are starting to be heard, but some still see it as too little and worry it won't end up where it’s needed if they continue to be kept out of the decision-making.
Swiss carbon offsetting project adds spark to global debate on credits
Carbon offsetting is among the top issues being discussed at the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow. While internationally-agreed rules on how to implement the schemes are still lacking, a Swiss project in Peru is cooking up a solution.
Humanitarians look for COP26 to deliver on existing climate crisis needs
As global leaders creatively recycle terms to underscore the importance of seizing the “last chance” for action at the COP26 climate summit, hundreds of thousands of poor families living on parched hills above Peru’s capital are already on the dark side of the climate tipping point.
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