Inside Geneva
A podcast from SWI swissinfo.ch, a multilingual international public service media company from Switzerland, where Imogen Foulkes puts big questions facing the world to the experts working to tackle them in Switzerland’s international city.
Episodes
129 episodes
Can the UN's Summit for the Future tackle today’s toughest challenges?
This month the United Nations (UN) will host the ‘Summit of the Future’ in New York. What's the point of this high-level event? Inside Geneva investigates.“The UN is not an entity that does anything. I mean, we can all blame it, but wha...
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34:42
Special episode: Can the WTO shape a fairer world economy?
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) Public Forum is underway in Geneva and its key theme is ‘re-globalisation’. Are we nervous of that word? Inside Geneva sat down with WTO officials to find out what it means.“Trade has been a very powerf...
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35:24
Summer profiles: Recognising and supporting survivors of sexual violence
Conflict-related sexual violence has existed for as long as war itself – forever.“It is a weapon of war. I would say it’s a weapon of mass destruction. It is really maximising harm,” says Esther Dingemans, Executive Director of the Globa...
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27:42
Summer profiles: Afghan women’s struggle against Taliban oppression
It’s three years since the Taliban took back control in Afghanistan. Inside Geneva talks to an Afghan human rights defender.“I was scared and I could see it coming. Yes, I mean, I think for the women of Afghanistan, we knew that the Tali...
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24:12
Special episode: World Humanitarian Day stories from crisis zones
Join us for a special extra edition of Inside Geneva to mark World Humanitarian Day, with testimonies from aid workers who have given their all – and who have often lost a great deal.“So I had taken him to the airport together with our c...
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28:51
Summer profiles: using sport to unite refugees and host communities
In the fourth episode of our summer profile series on Inside Geneva, we talk to a Geneva career woman and a Geneva asylum-seeker about a project to unite communities through sport. Surely the world’s humanitarian capital is good at welcoming re...
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22:15
Summer profiles: unlocking treatment for neglected diseases
On Inside Geneva, we bring you part three of our summer profile series. This week we talk to a doctor looking for treatments for some of the world’s most neglected diseases.“Neglect means that there are diseases that affect an important...
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28:42
Summer profiles: challenges in humanitarian aid with MSF’s Secretary General
Here’s episode two of our summer profiles series on the Inside Geneva podcast. We talk to the head of one of the world’s leading humanitarian agencies. We start with his first assignment in Darfur, in western Sudan.“As I was one day buil...
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24:48
Summer profiles: women defending other women around the world
On Inside Geneva, we’re bringing you a series of summer profiles, from doctors in war zones to researchers into the diseases that affect the world’s poorest.Today, we talk to international human rights lawyer Antonia Mulvey, who devotes ...
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20:19
Is international law dead?
Geneva is the home of international law, the rules that are supposed to stop the worst violations in war. But does anyone respect it anymore? P...
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49:50
Laws that changed our world and the people who fought for them
In this week’s episode of our Inside Geneva podcast, we revisit our coverage of laws that changed the world. Save the Date for a live recordingWe’d like to invite you to a live recording session of our Inside Geneva ...
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29:01
Is the world brave enough to agree on a pandemic treaty?
Four years ago, our lives were upended by the Covid-19 pandemic. Countries locked down, millions became ill, millions died. And when the vaccine finally arrived, it was not fairly distributed. Rich countries bought too many, poor countries wait...
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34:14
New wars, new weapons and the Geneva Conventions
In the wars in Ukraine and in the Middle East, new, autonomous weapons are being used. Our Inside Geneva podcast asks whether we’re losing the race to control them – and the artificial intelligence systems that run them. “Aut...
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25:00
The Rwandan genocide 30 years on: witnessing atrocities - and trying to stop them
The world is marking 30 years since the Rwandan genocide. Inside Geneva talks to those who witnessed it. “We came to one village where there were a few survivors and a man came to me with a list and said ‘look, the names have been c...
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37:24
Eyewitness in a Gaza hospital and defending human rights defenders
In Inside Geneva this week we get an eyewitness account of a mission to supply Gaza’s hospitals. Chris Black, World Health Organisation: ‘People have told me oh you must be very brave for going to Gaza. I don’t think so, I think wha...
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32:13
Is AI a risk to democracy?
In 2024, four billion of us can vote in elections. Can democracy survive artificial intelligence (AI)? Can the UN, or national governments, ensure the votes are fair? “Propaganda has always been there since the Romans. Manip...
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38:57
What’s the future of UNRWA? The Struggle for Balance in Gaza's Aid Operations
The UN’s refugee agency for Palestinians, UNRWA, is the focus of major scrutiny after Israel claimed some UNRWA staff were involved in the October 7th attacks, and thousands more were members of Hamas, or supportive of it. Now one of two UN inv...
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35:41
Reflecting on Ukraine's Struggle and Perseverance Two Years into the Russian Invasion
The war in Ukraine is two years old. Inside Geneva discusses the latest military developments in Ukraine, the chances of peace and where the war will go from here.“Isn’t there a limit when there are so many civilian deaths so you as a st...
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39:40
Humanitarian and business alliances: Reflecting on Earthquake Rescue Efforts in Turkey and Syria
It’s one year since devastating earthquakes hit Turkey and Syria. Inside Geneva talks to search and rescue teams who were there: Filip Kirazov, from Search and Rescue Assistance in Disasters (SARAID) says: “Every member of SA...
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36:35
A look into South Africa’s genocide case against Israel
The International Court of Justice (the United Nations’ top court) is considering charges of genocide against Israel. The case was brought by South Africa.Adila Hassim, the lawyer for South Africa, says: “Palestinians are subjected to r...
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29:51
Israel, Gaza and the challenge to humanitarianism
The bitter conflict in Gaza has polarised opinions. Aid agencies are caught in the middle.Fabrizio Carboni, Regional Director of the Near and Middle East division of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC): “People tend to be...
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29:31
Narratives from the frontlines of human suffering
In the last Inside Geneva of 2023, UN correspondents look back at the year..and what a year it’s been.Emma Farge, Reuters: ‘This year has felt like lurching from one catastrophe to another.’Earthquakes, climate change, or war...
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35:17
Beyond declarations: UN voices reflect on 75 years of human rights advocacy
The world is marking an important anniversary: the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. After the Second World War, this was supposed to be our "never again" moment. The Universal Declaration of Human Rig...
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40:26