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.

Le Temps SA • 30th March 2026

Alors que Philippe Lazzarini s'en va, l’UNRWA s’interroge sur son avenir et sa gouvernance

Après deux mandats particulièrement difficiles, Philippe Lazzarini, 62 ans, quitte l’UNRWA au 31 mars, comme il l’avait annoncé en août 2025. Le Chaux-de-Fonnier, qui dirigeait l’agence depuis le 1er avril 2020, se sera battu jusqu’au bout pour renforcer le soutien international en faveur d’une organisation qui est au bord de l’effondrement, comme il le disait la semaine dernière encore.Rappelons que l’agence vit une grave crise depuis fin 2023, lorsque son budget a chuté après des allégations i...

Geneva Solutions • 28th March 2026

In survival mode, UNRWA awaits outcome of leadership change

As Philippe Lazzarini steps down as UNRWA chief, he warns the embattled organisation may be on its last straw. What happens next with the agency is anyone’s guess, but some say better management skills at the top would be needed.

Geneva Solutions • 26th March 2026

Former UN chief runner-up and Argentine minister Susana Malcorra: ‘A woman secretary general would capture the imagination of the world’

With three women officially in the running so far to become the next United Nations chief, a 2016 contender argues a woman would represent a “new opportunity” for the embattled organisation – and all three have the profiles for the job.

Geneva Solutions • 18th March 2026

At rights council, Venezuela rights abuses struggle for attention as international focus shifts elsewhere

As the US-Israeli war with Iran stifles public attention from other humanitarian crises, a general debate at the UN rights council Monday suggested that Venezuela’s long-running rights violations are slipping from the spotlight.

Geneva Solutions • 15th March 2026

War, mining and disinformation threaten fundamental right to healthy environment: UN expert Astrid Puentes Riaño

Two years into her mandate, the UN special rapporteur on the right to a healthy environment, tells Geneva Solutions about the right’s emerging threats from wars, the latest wave of mining and misinformation.

Geneva Solutions • 3rd March 2026

Iran ambassador calls on UN rights council to respond to US-Israel assault

As hostilities escalate between Iran, and the United States and Israel, Tehran’s top diplomat in Geneva says the UN must address attacks against Iran, and insists that its strikes on neighbouring Arab countries are focused on US targets.

Le Temps SA • 3rd March 2026

L’ambassadeur iranien appelle le Conseil des droits de l’homme de l’ONU à répondre à l’assaut américano-israélien

Alors que les hostilités s’intensifient entre l’Iran, les Etats-Unis et Israël, le principal diplomate de Téhéran à Genève, Ali Bahreini, affirme que l’ONU doit se saisir des attaques contre l’Iran et soutient que les frappes iraniennes contre des pays arabes voisins visent des cibles américaines

Geneva Solutions • 2nd March 2026

Mixed condemnations over US, Israel and Iran strikes at UN rights council expose geopolitical standoff

Two days after US and Israeli strikes on Iran ignited a widening confrontation, members of the UN rights body aired grievances and geopolitical mistrust, revealing sharp divisions as Tehran retaliates across the region.

Geneva Solutions • 1st March 2026

As the financial crisis deepens, UN faces growing pressure to cut salaries

The US is pressing the UN to cut staff pay to ease its budget crisis. Unions in Geneva say compensation is being misrepresented, but other states are also warming to the idea.

Geneva Solutions • 26th February 2026

Negotiators mount last-ditch attempt in Geneva to prevent US-Iran war

Indirect talks between the United States and Iran resumed in Geneva on Thursday as the White House increased threats of military action.

Geneva Solutions • 15th February 2026

Wide gaps on pandemic treaty annex cast doubt on May deadline, says health expert Suerie Moon

As a deadline looms to complete the pandemic treaty, public health expert Suerie Moon says WHO negotiators need to battle out divides even if it means extending talks.

Geneva Solutions • 8th February 2026

WHO board nudges US, Argentina breakups forward before big meet

Ahead of the World Health Organization's big meeting in May, board members may have granted legal favours to the US and Argentina as they withdraw from the agency.

The New Humanitarian • 4th February 2026

As organised crime surges, Peruvians are left to fend for themselves

A nationwide spate of violence and crime has gripped Peruvian communities, disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable.

Geneva Solutions • 1st February 2026

US exit and funding crisis loom over WHO executive board meeting

States will stare down a funding cliff and a legal limbo caused by Washington’s messy departure at the World Health Organization’s executive board meeting this week in Geneva.