Inside Geneva

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Education: Making it a priority in humanitarian emergencies Jun 01, 2021

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Education is fundamental to the life of every child. Not being in school puts children at immediate risk and it ruins their futures. So why does education seem to come a poor second during humanitarian crises? In this episode of Inside Geneva host Imogen Foulkes talks to experts on education in emergencies, including Yasmine Sherif, Director of Education Cannot Wait (ECW), Julienne Vipond, head of the Unicef-led education cluster in Sudan, and Manuel Bessler, head of Swiss Humanitarian Aid. They discuss a brand new global hub for education here in Geneva, and Imogen asks whether the Covid 19 pandemic – and the school closures in wealthy countries – have reminded us just how important education is.

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Twitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_en

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Host: Imogen Foulkes
Production assitant: Claire-Marie Germain
Distribution: Sara Pasino
Marketing: Xin Zhang

Finding common ground to battle future pandemics May 18, 2021

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The 194 members of the World Health Organisation will meet for the annual World Health Assembly from May 24. The body decides global health policy. What could be more important in this pandemic year? In this episode host Imogen Foulkes looks at the challenges that lie ahead. Her guests are Suerie Moon of Geneva’s Global Health Centre, Maria Guevara of Medecins sans Frontieres and Thomas Cueni of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers.

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Twitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_en

Defending the Disappeared May 04, 2021

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Not knowing the fate of a loved one causes unimaginable heartbreak and anxiety for families. People go missing in wars and natural disasters, but they are also forcibly disappeared. What can families do? In this episode host Imogen Foulkes looks at the United Nations Convention on Enforced Disappearances. How does it work? Does it help prevent disappearances? And why are so many countries reluctant to ratify it?
Imogen is joined by Cordula Droege of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Olivier de Frouville of the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances, and Aileen Bacalso, President of the International Coalition against Enforced Disappearances.

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Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.ch
Twitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_en

Is the United Nations' top job for men only? Apr 20, 2021

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The United Nations is 75 years old – but there has never been a woman Secretary General. Now Antonio Guterres is standing for a second term, so it will likely be another five years before a woman candidate can have a chance at the UN’s top job. Why is it taking so long? Does Guterres’ record even merit a second term? And why are some senior UN positions traditionally reserved for certain countries? In this episode host Imogen Foulkes talks to Heather Barr, co-director of the Women’s Rights Division at Human Rights Watch, Geneva journalist Nick Cumming-Bruce, and analyst Daniel Warner.

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Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.ch
Twitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_en

Genocide: why we apply the term sparingly Apr 06, 2021

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It is regarded as the worst of all crimes, but what constitutes genocide? How does it differ from crimes against humanity? How are the atrocities of 1970’s Cambodia different from 1990’s Rwanda? What about Myanmar, or Xinjiang in China? Why have so few people ever been convicted of genocide? And why do human rights groups themselves use the term so carefully? In this episode host Imogen Foulkes puts those questions to Paola Gaeta, Professor of International Law at Geneva’s Graduate Institute, Ken Roth, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch, and analyst Daniel Warner.

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Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.ch
Twitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_en

Syria, a decade of war Mar 23, 2021

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The war in Syria began 10 years ago this month. Throughout that decade, Geneva has been at the heart of diplomatic efforts towards peace, and at the heart of the humanitarian operation. Were chances for peace missed? Did we expect too much from the aid agencies? Host Imogen Foulkes is joined by Fabrizio Carboni of the ICRC, Jan Egeland, former head of the UN’s humanitarian taskforce for Syria, and Ayman Gharaibeh, of the UN Refugee Agency.

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Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.ch
Twitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_en

Is Facebook a danger to democracy? Mar 09, 2021

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Billions of us use social media – but how much control do we have over how it uses us? Big tech giant Facebook could block news content for its users in Australia without asking anyone. Authoritarian regimes use social media to promote their sometimes violent policies. Has the information sharing we once thought so liberating become a danger to democracy and to human rights? In this episode host Imogen Foulkes explores these questions with Shalini Randeria of Geneva’s Graduate Institute, Scott Campbell of UN Human Rights, and analyst Daniel Warner.

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Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.ch
Twitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_en

Are nuclear weapons really banned? Feb 23, 2021

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In January nuclear weapons were banned by international treaty. But the treaty doesn’t apply to any of the nuclear powers, since none of them signed it. So are nukes really banned? In this episode, Imogen Foulkes talks to Cordula Droege, Chief Legal Officer of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Beatrice Fihn of the International Campaign to Ban Nuclear Weapons, and Elaine Whyte Gomez, the ambassador from Costa Rica, who steered the treaty through the United Nations.

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Twitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_en

Covid 19: When hindsight is 20/20 Feb 09, 2021

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It’s a year since Covid 19 went global, and we all headed into lockdown. In this episode Imogen Foulkes revisits some eerily prescient interviews we did with health experts Vinh Kim Nguyen of MSF and Margaret Harris of the WHO one year ago – and brings us up to date talking to Suerie Moon of Geneva’s Global Health Centre. We ask: what did we think then, what do we know now, and what have we learned?

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Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.ch
Twitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_en

How strong is US's renewed global commitment? Jan 26, 2021

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In this episode Imogen Foulkes is joined by journalists Gunilla von Hall and Tom Miles, and analyst Daniel Warner, to look at what 2021 might hold. Is the United States’ recommitment to the World Health Organisation a good sign for international Geneva? What about the future of the WHO itself? And how does our own future, our ‘new normal’ look, one year into the pandemic?

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Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.ch
Twitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_en

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