Geneva Telegram

What a second Trump Administration will mean for multilateralism, in particular International Geneva

The "Geneva Telegram" deals with events in Geneva's multilateral organizations on a current topic, this time the possible impact of a second Trump Administration on International Geneva.

Fast, but not fast-tracked

Mitglieder der Welthandelsorganisation (WTO) bestätigen WTO-Generaldirektorin, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala für eine zweite Amtszeit

Am Freitag, den 29.11.2024 bestätigten alle 166 WTO-Mitglieder die amtierende WTO-Generaldirektorin und frühere zweimalige nigerianische Finanzministerin und Direktorin der Weltbank in ihrer zweiten Amtszeit.

The pandemic agreement on the home straight?

The "Geneva Telegram" deals with events in Geneva's multilateral organizations on a current topic, this time the 12th meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body on the World Health Organization (WHO) Pandemic Convention (INB), which met in Geneva from 4 to 15 November 2024.

The 12th meeting of the intergovernmental negotiating body represented a further step in the negotiations on a global pandemic agreement. Although progress was made, the member states decided not to convene a special session of the World Health Assembly (WHA) in December. Instead, the aim is to conclude the negotiations in May 2025 for the next regular World Health Assembly. WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus opened the round of negotiations by emphasising the importance of reaching an agreement in the near future: ‘Perfection must not be the enemy of good.’ Nevertheless, numerous delegations warned that content must take precedence over speed to ensure a robust agreement.

Geneva Telegram on the 11th meeting of the intergovernmental negotiating body on the pandemic agreement

The "Geneva Telegram" deals with events in Geneva's multilateral organizations on a current topic, this time the 11th meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body on the Pandemic Agreement (INB11), which met in Geneva from 9 to 20 September 2024.

This round of negotiations marked another crucial step in the process of finalizing the pandemic agreement. However, WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed his disappointment at the lack of significant progress: “Progress has been made, but not to the extent we had hoped for.” The urgency of a binding pandemic agreement has further increased after the WHO Director-General declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on August 14, 2024, due to the ongoing Mpox outbreak on the African continent. This escalation underscores the importance of globally coordinated pandemic preparedness and response measures and shows that a pandemic will not wait for negotiations to be concluded.

Geneva Telegram for the July session of the General Council of the World Trade Organisation (WTO)

The ‘Geneva Telegram’ discusses current deliberations in the Geneva-based multilateral organisations, in this case the July meeting of the General Council of the WTO

The telegram covers the proceedings of the General Council meeting of 22-23 July 2024, chaired by Petter Ølberg (Norway).

Ministerialerklärung in der Verlängerung

Ergebnisse und Einschätzungen der 13. Ministerkonferenz der Welthandelsorganisation (WTO)

Die "Genfer Depesche" geht auf Vorgänge in den Genfer multilateralen Organisationen zu einem aktuellen Thema ein. Dieses Mal steht die 13. Ministerkonferenz der Welthandelsorganisation (WTO) im Fokus, die vom 26. Februar bis zum 01. März in Abu Dhabi, in den Vereinigten Arabischen Emiraten, stattfand.

The E-Commerce Moratorium: 404 Not Found

The "Geneva Telegram" explores events in Geneva-based multilateral organizations on a current topic. This time, we focus on the E-Commerce negotiations ahead of the 13th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization, which will take place from 26-29 February in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

The 154th Meeting of the WHO Executive Board

The "Geneva Telegram" explores events in Geneva-based multilateral organizations on a current topic. This time, we focus on the 154th meeting of the Executive Board of the World Health Organization (WHO), which met in Geneva from 22 to 27 January 2024.

Significant progress was made at the 154th meeting of the Executive Board of the World Health Organization (WHO). A decisive milestone was the design of the WHO strategy for the period 2025-2028, which will be submitted to the World Health Assembly (WHA) for approval in May. Member states signalled broad support for the comprehensive plan of the first round of investment, which is supposed to take place in November 2024. This was a crucial step for sustainable financing and strengthening of the WHO. The session comprehensively covered health priorities, including universal health coverage, noncommunicable diseases, immunization, maternal and child health, neglected tropical diseases, antibiotic resistance, polio, emergencies, and health and peace. Progress has also been made on organisational and governance reform.

A dramatic milestone is reached – the UNHCR's new Global Trends report

The "Geneva Telegram" explores events in Geneva-based multilateral organisations on a current topic. This time, the focus is on the new global trends report of the UNHCR.

On the 16th of June 2022, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) presented its new global trends report. While the report focuses mainly on developments in the calendar year 2021, the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine in particular pushed the number of displaced persons over the 100 million mark within just a few weeks.

Geneva Telegram – WTO gives clear life sign at Ministerial Conference

The "Geneva Telegram" explores events in Geneva-based multilateral organisations on a current topic. This time, the focus is on the 12th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

After having been postponed several times, the 12th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) took place in Geneva from 12-17 June with a two-year delay. Originally, the high-level meeting, to which several thousand delegates of the 164 WTO members, media and other stakeholders were invited, was to take place in Kazakhstan in 2020. However, the meeting had to be rescheduled multiple times because of the COVID-19 pandemic before it finally took place in Geneva - formally with Kazakhstan as co-host. In light of the WTO's crisis, which has been going on for years, the ministerial conference was seen as an important stress test for its ability to (re-)act.