International Geneva

We cover global affairs from Geneva, focusing on humanitarian aid, conflict resolution, and climate change. Our UN-based reporters provide first-hand access to sources and information.

Chinese parcel service Speedaf challenges Swiss Post

Speedaf is setting up in several Swiss cities

This content was published on Oct 8, 2026 Surge in Temu and Shein parcels in Switzerland creates opportunity for Chinese logistics firm Speedaf.

Human rights

Opinion

Indigenous human rights: what the UN’s approach is missing

This content was published on Oct 8, 2026 At the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, the repression of Indigenous Peoples is on the agenda – but indigenous voices still need more space to tell their stories of it, write Yana Tannagasheva and Olga Kostrova.

Swiss drag queen faces Chinese repression

This content was published on Aug 20, 2026 In China, the space available for queer subcultures is shrinking. A drag artist from Zurich experienced this first-hand while on tour.

Opinion

International Youth Day should recognise young people’s common dissatisfaction

This content was published on Aug 12, 2026 The global Gen Z movements expose a widening gap between young people and the institutions that claim to represent them, argues Prathit Singh.

Perihan Kaya, Najibah Zartosht and Saddam Hamed Abu Asim look into the camera

Three journalists in exile in Switzerland tell their stories

This content was published on Aug 10, 2026 For those seeking refuge and looking to continue their careers, the challenges are considerable.

Illegal pushbacks at the EU border: Was Swiss money involved too?

Report finds no link between Swiss funds and EU border pushbacks

This content was published on Jul 23, 2026 After parliamentary pressure, independent experts took a close look at what happens to the Swiss contribution to protecting the EU’s external borders.

What Chile’s 1988 referendum can teach democrats today

This content was published on Jul 14, 2026 We asked our users whether they had cast their vote in what was arguably the most consequential referendum ever held under a dictatorship.

Illustration about civilians conducting cyber operations in armed conflict zones

Blurring the lines: when does a civilian hacker become a combatant?

This content was published on Jul 7, 2026 Civilians are conducting cyber operations in armed conflicts around the globe. In doing so, they expose themselves to being attacked and can endanger other civilians.

A ‘European disaster’: a personal reflection in photographs on the Yugoslav Wars

This content was published on Jun 29, 2026 Swissinfo photographer Thomas Kern witnessed the wars in Croatia and Bosnia and, for several months, the siege of Sarajevo. A personal retrospective.

Can Switzerland latch on to EU plans for migrant deporation centres?

This content was published on Jun 10, 2026 The Swiss government welcomed the EU’s decision to set up deportation centres in third countries. Joint pilot projects with like-minded countries are conceivable.

Opinion

Africa’s heritage in Switzerland: what should the mandate of museums be?

This content was published on May 15, 2026 Restitution can play a central role in relations with African partners, says Samuel Bachmann, curator of the African collections at the Bern Historical Museum.

A man in handcuffs in front of a Swiss aircraft

Why Switzerland does not extradite its own citizens

This content was published on May 7, 2026 Some countries extradite citizens who are wanted by foreign authorities. Switzerland does not – with one exception.

Global health

Teams from the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies prepare for burial at Mbiyo cemetery the body of a fourth orphan who died from Ebola virus disease at an orphanage in Bunia, Ituri Province, June 19, 2026

Ebola vaccine: ‘In an outbreak situation we’re racing against time’

This content was published on Aug 25, 2026 Finding and producing a vaccine for Ebola is a race against time. First clinical trials have proved successful.

A speculum and a test swab used for HPV test and pap smears that help detect cervical cancers are laid out.

Switzerland needs to improve cervical cancer screening

This content was published on Jun 22, 2026 Most of Europe uses HPV tests to screen for potential related cancers, but not Switzerland. It’s time the country updates to the gold standard.

The new WHO head will have to face budget cuts and redefine its role.

WHO at strategic crossroads ahead of leadership contest

This content was published on May 19, 2026 The race to lead WHO comes as the UN agency faces budget cuts, internal strains and questions about its role.

A designated hotel worker waits for arriving visitors at Suvarnabhumi Airport, Samut Prakan province, Thailand, 01 February 2022.

The world will have to wait another year for final Pandemic Agreement

This content was published on May 15, 2026 WHO members remain divided about who will benefit most from a global approach to sharing pathogens, vaccines and diagnostic tools.

A Swiss diplomat, Sabrina Dallafior is taking over as director-general of the OPCW in July 2026

Swiss becomes first woman to head chemical weapons body

This content was published on Feb 14, 2026 Sabrina Dallafior will assume the role of OPCW director-general in July, at a time when the use of deadly toxins against civilians has intensified worldwide, from Syria to Ukraine.

World fights nicotine addiction but Switzerland continues to drag feet

This content was published on Dec 4, 2025 The COP11 meeting of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control recently concluded in Geneva. Switzerland has still not ratified the treaty.

While international data flows and digital services may boost the economy, they also raise concerns, particularly over privacy of individuals whose online habits, financial standing and even health stats may be collected and stored in the cloud.

Switzerland among vanguard shaping global digital age

This content was published on Nov 17, 2025 A new deal on digital services trade between Singapore and EFTA states shows that even coalitions of small economies can help set global standards in the digital age.

Geneva hosts some 1,350 foundations, many of which receive public funding from Switzerland and other countries.

A Geneva-based global health foundation in turmoil. Where were regulators?   

This content was published on Aug 28, 2025 Swissinfo investigates how Swiss regulators failed to avert a crisis which upended operations at a prominent Geneva-based diagnostics non-profit.

extreme heat work health. Construction worker Justino cools off during a heat wave in Texas.

Too hot to work? Extreme heat endangers billions of workers

This content was published on Aug 22, 2025 Billions of workers face heat stress, illness and lost income as global temperatures climb, warns a WHO-WMO joint report.

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is seen on a screen delivering his report before delegates during the World Health Assembly in Geneva on May 19, 2025.

The WHO has to close a billion-dollar gap. Can private funding help?

This content was published on Jul 21, 2025 The US withdrawal from the WHO has left it scrambling for funds. Private donors are one solution but come with caveats.

Taiwanese honor guards hold a Taiwan flag at Liberty Square, amid a surge of domestic COVID-19 cases and the rising Taiwan-China tensions, in Taipei, Taiwan, 23 May 2021.

Fifty years of hurt: Taiwan struggles for Geneva role

This content was published on Jun 6, 2025 Taiwan hasn’t been part of the WHO since 1972. One man is trying to change that.

Geneva organisations

An advocate for the laws of war in a world that no longer believes in them

This content was published on Sep 24, 2026 Alain Délétroz’s job involves meeting with warlords to convince them to protect civilians.

The city of Geneva is host to 40 international institutions, organisations, bodies as well the UN's European headquarters, 750 NGOs and the permanent representations of 185 member states, including Switzerland.

Rival cities vie to ‘poach’ international organisations from Geneva

This content was published on Sep 7, 2026 Trump aid cuts prompt European and Gulf capitals to try to lure away UN bodies and NGOs.

With international law under attack, can Geneva remain a guardian of global order?

This content was published on Aug 13, 2026 Nations and leaders must step up to protect the rules and demand accountability at a time of conflict, polarisation and disregard, say legal and humanitarian experts.

Opinion

International Youth Day should recognise young people’s common dissatisfaction

This content was published on Aug 12, 2026 The global Gen Z movements expose a widening gap between young people and the institutions that claim to represent them, argues Prathit Singh.

A Kashmiri worker paints the red and white medical emblem in the shape of a cross on the roof of the SMHS hospital as tensions escalate between India and Pakistan in Srinagar, in Indian-administered Kashmir, on Wednesday 27 February 2019. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

The Red Cross plans to extend its protection to cyberspace

This content was published on Jul 27, 2026 The ICRC has unveiled a prototype of its new digital emblem designed to protect humanitarian and health organisations against cyberattacks.

At CERN, AI will drive future discoveries

This content was published on Jul 13, 2026 CERN’s Large Hadron Collider produces 40 million particle collisions per second – far more data than computers can handle. Through real-time filtering, AI can help.

Geneva-based United Nations employees hold slogans during a demonstration in Geneva, on May 1, 2025, over deep funding cuts.

What’s next? Moving on after losing a job in International Geneva

This content was published on Jul 2, 2026 Over 1,300 aid workers have been laid off in Geneva over the past year. Many want to remain in Switzerland.

Can CERN’s $19bn effort to rewrite physics survive a fracturing world?

This content was published on May 18, 2026 The science behind CERN’s proposed Future Circular Collider is settled, but the funding is not.

CERN’s next giant leap is a machine that could unlock the universe

This content was published on May 18, 2026 CERN’s Large Hadron Collider transformed our understanding of the universe. Now the lab wants to build something far bigger.

Opinion

Do Afghan lives matter?

This content was published on Apr 27, 2026 In Afghanistan, women and girls in particular are paying the price for failed policies. The Afghan Fund in Geneva should finally act to recapitalise the Central Bank, writes Norah Niland.

Cyberwar brings frontline to heart of European infrastructure

This content was published on Apr 27, 2026 The threat of malicious attacks on Swiss power, telecommunications and transport is rising.

Global trade

Humanitarian aid

Community corner: latest debates and surveys on International Geneva

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International Geneva

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Chinese parcel service Speedaf challenges Swiss Post

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Indigenous human rights: what the UN’s approach is missing

More

Swiss drag queen faces Chinese repression

More

International Youth Day should recognise young people’s common dissatisfaction

More

Three journalists in exile in Switzerland tell their stories

More

Report finds no link between Swiss funds and EU border pushbacks

More

What Chile’s 1988 referendum can teach democrats today

More

Blurring the lines: when does a civilian hacker become a combatant?

More

A ‘European disaster’: a personal reflection in photographs on the Yugoslav Wars

More

Can Switzerland latch on to EU plans for migrant deporation centres?

More

Africa’s heritage in Switzerland: what should the mandate of museums be?

More

Why Switzerland does not extradite its own citizens

More

Ebola vaccine: ‘In an outbreak situation we’re racing against time’

More

Switzerland needs to improve cervical cancer screening

More

WHO at strategic crossroads ahead of leadership contest

More

The world will have to wait another year for final Pandemic Agreement

More

Swiss becomes first woman to head chemical weapons body

More

World fights nicotine addiction but Switzerland continues to drag feet

More

Switzerland among vanguard shaping global digital age

More

A Geneva-based global health foundation in turmoil. Where were regulators?

More

Too hot to work? Extreme heat endangers billions of workers

More

The WHO has to close a billion-dollar gap. Can private funding help?

More

Fifty years of hurt: Taiwan struggles for Geneva role

More

An advocate for the laws of war in a world that no longer believes in them

More

Rival cities vie to ‘poach’ international organisations from Geneva

More

With international law under attack, can Geneva remain a guardian of global order?

More

International Youth Day should recognise young people’s common dissatisfaction

More

The Red Cross plans to extend its protection to cyberspace

More

At CERN, AI will drive future discoveries

More

What’s next? Moving on after losing a job in International Geneva

More

Can CERN’s $19bn effort to rewrite physics survive a fracturing world?

More

CERN’s next giant leap is a machine that could unlock the universe

More

Do Afghan lives matter?

More

Cyberwar brings frontline to heart of European infrastructure

Community corner: latest debates and surveys on International Geneva

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A Geneva-based global health foundation in turmoil. Where were regulators?   