Today marks the official launch of Inside Geneva, a new podcast produced by SWI swissinfo.ch in partnership with the Graduate Institute and Genève Vision. Every two weeks, the series will provide a global picture of global issues, whether migration crises, human rights, health emergencies, or more specifically China’s growing influence on the world stage, or the future of the United Nations in a time of American isolationism.
How do decisions made in the Swiss city impact the world? How is power distributed? Inside Geneva will go behind the scenes of the many UN agencies and NGOs based in Geneva. With unique access to the people making tough decisions about the future of our world, Geneva correspondent Imogen Foulkes will interview Graduate Institute experts, analysts, aid workers, diplomats, scholars, health experts and human rights defenders.
Today’s special episode entitled “What’s the point of multilateralism: the UN at 75”, focuses on the tensions around the role of the World Health Organization during the coronavirus pandemic.
As the collective memory of the Second World War fades, how much do we know about the international laws and conventions designed to protect civilians during health crises and prohibit atrocities? Do we still think those laws are worthwhile, or is “my country first” a more appealing policy? If so, where does that leave multilateralism and where does it leave the United Nations?
This launch programme will look at the highs, and the lows, of the UN over 75 years, and reflect on the UN’s future with, among others, Mohammad-Mahmoud Ould Mohamedou, Professor of International History and Chair of the Department of International History at the Graduate Institute, and Jasmine Pokuaa Oduro-Bonsrah, master student and former President of the Graduate Institute Student Association (GISA).
This episode can be listened to or downloaded on the SWI swissinfo.ch website, or you can subscribe on iTunes or Spotify.
