Inside Geneva goes to New York: what really happens at the UN?

11/12/24 • 31 min

This week Inside Geneva goes to New York. The United Nations (UN) General Assembly is hearing multiple reports of serious human rights violations.

“I think it’s more difficult to get the human rights message [across] here in New York at the General Assembly. But hopefully we will be heard,” says Mariana Katzarova, UN special rapporteur on human rights in Russia.

Ukraine, the Middle East and Sudan are on the agenda. But so is the situation of human rights groups inside Russia.

“The situation with political prisoners in Russia today is no longer a crisis, it’s a catastrophe. We now have more political prisoners in Russia alone than there were in the whole of the Soviet Union, so that’s 15 countries put together,” says Vladimir Kara-Murza, a former political prisoner.

In Geneva, the Human Rights Council can order investigations – but will New York respond?

“There is Gaza, the situation in Sudan, Myanmar, Syria – so many conflicts and humanitarian disasters, and there’s an inability of member states to reach an agreement,” says Louis Charbonneau, UN Director at Human Rights Watch NGO.
The UN Security Council, dominated by the US, China, Russia, the United Kingdom and France, can’t agree – so it’s paralysed.

“I do have moments where I perhaps would like to stand up in the middle of the chamber and say: ‘Hey, do something!’ But that’s not professional and I would lose my press pass,” says journalist Dawn Clancy.

The UN’s main role is upholding peace and security. Is New York failing?

“For peace and security, human rights are the core. Without human rights we cannot have peace or security,” says Katzarova.
Join host Imogen Foulkes for Inside Geneva – in New York!

Get in touch!

Email us at [email protected]
Twitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_en

Thank you for listening! If you like what we do, please leave a review or subscribe to our newsletter.
For more stories on the international Geneva please visit www.swissinfo.ch/
Host: Imogen Foulkes
Production assitant: Claire-Marie Germain
Distribution: Sara Pasino
Marketing: Xin Zhang

Send us a text

This week Inside Geneva goes to New York. The United Nations (UN) General Assembly is hearing multiple reports of serious human rights violations.

Ukraine, the Middle East and Sudan are on the agenda. But so is the situation of human rights groups inside Russia.

In Geneva, the Human Rights Council can order investigations – but will New York respond?

The UN’s main role is upholding peace and security. Is New York failing?

“For peace and security, human rights are the core. Without human rights we cannot have peace or security,” says Katzarova.
Join host Imogen Foulkes for Inside Geneva – in New York!

Get in touch!

Email us at [email protected]
Twitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_en

Previous Episode

Love for life in Gaza and COP29’s ethical dilemma in Azerbaijan

Send us a text

On Inside Geneva this week we talk to the people behind a new book about life in Gaza, told through the words of those who live there.
“People are actually travelling in the middle of a war, in the middle of Gaza at midnight – the peak of the risk, if you like – to get somewhere where they can get a better internet so they can actually talk to us,” says Mahmoud Muna, editor of Daybreak in Gaza.
This book, edited by Mahmoud Muna and Matthew Teller with Juliette Touma and Jayyab Abusafia, is about history, culture, food, music and life.
“It’s not a football game. This is about our humanity and it’s about being able to sympathise with people wherever they are. This is not about taking sides. It’s about whether we’re human or not,” says Touma.
“This book does not give voice to the voiceless. The people of Gaza, like people everywhere, have voices. The point of this book is not to give a voice; the point of this book is to amplify the voices of the people who are not being listened to,” continues Teller.
In this episode, we also ask why human rights groups are uneasy about the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Azerbaijan.
“Dozens have been arrested in the months leading up to COP29, including 16 journalists, other society activists, and NGO leaders. There is still time for Azerbaijan to set the record straight, and they should release them. The UN should engage with Azerbaijan to ensure that it does so,” says Giorgi Gogia from Human Rights Watch.
Tales from life in Gaza, climate change, and human rights. Catch this and more in the latest episode of our Inside Geneva podcast.

Get in touch!

Email us at [email protected]
Twitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_en

Next Episode

Europe, the UN and the battle for human rights

Send us a text

Is the world still committed to human rights? Our Inside Geneva podcast is in Strasbourg, where the Council of Europe is discussing how to defend the fundamental principles we agreed upon after the Second World War.
“We can’t just say, ‘Do it because it’s a human right’ or ‘Do it because it’s in a treaty.’ We have to demonstrate: ‘Do it, and this is how it will make your society better and stronger,’” says Michael O’Flaherty, Human Rights Commissioner at the Council of Europe.
With autocracies in Russia and China and uncertain times ahead in the US, can Europe hold the line?
“If Europe doesn’t get this right, I can guarantee you it will not be good for Europe. It will be worse in the rest of the world as well, so it’s a vicious spiral,” continues Peggy Hicks, UN Human Rights.
But even in Europe, the commitment to human rights is sometimes weak.
“For many, human rights are a bit of an afterthought in our policy. It’s something to make us feel good about ourselves,” says Olof Skoog, the EU’s Special Representative for Human Rights.
We also talked to Sofia Moschin, student and human rights defender, who said that “inside Europe, there are constant violations of human rights, so I don’t agree with the narrative that Europe is a human rights champion.”
We also talked to Sofia Moschin, a student and human rights defender, who said, “Inside Europe, there are constant violations of human rights, so I don’t agree with the narrative that Europe is a human rights champion.”
How should Europe stand up for its values?
“I’m not going to accept defeatism. Get furious – that’s what we need to do now. Don’t throw in the towel, don’t surrender. Get indignant, get furious and fight back to save this astonishing achievement,” says O’Flaherty.
Join host Imogen Foulkes on the latest episode of our Inside Geneva podcast to listen to these interviews in full.

Get in touch!

Email us at [email protected]
Twitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_en

Inside Geneva - Inside Geneva goes to New York: what really happens at the UN?

Transcript

Speaker 200:00:07.608

This is Inside Geneva . I'm your host , imogen Foulkes , and this is a production from Swissinfo , the international public media company of Switzerland .

Speaker 300:00:20.422

In today's programme . I think it's more difficult to get the human rights message here in New York at the General Assembly , but hopefully you know we will be heard .

Speaker