Subscriber-only episode

Subscribe to our newsletter https://theunbrief.substack.com/

Subscriber-only episode

On February 4th the NGO’s asked the UN Secretary-General to guarantee their access to UN Treaty Body reviews. Vincent Ploton, Director of Development and Treaty Body Advocacy at the Geneva office of the NGO International Service for Human Rights notes that there is a continued “lack of physical access to UN premises during in-person reviews, despite the fact that states and UN Treaty Body members have access. This was raised notably during a meeting between NGOs and OHCHR officials on 29 November 2021”. 

“The fact that in 2021 states were able to access UN premises — including Palais Wilson and Palais des Nations — to participate in UNTB reviews, but NGOs were not, or only some NGOs, constitutes a serious and worrying precedent. It is incompatible with the basic and well-established principle of equality of access to UNTB reviews by both state and non-state actors. Unless clear indications are provided and publicly disseminated by OHCHR and UNTBs providing access to in-person sessions of UNTBs to civil society, there is a risk that such limited access could become a practice beyond the pandemic.”

Nathalie Fontanet is a member of the Geneva cantonal government since June 2018. She is head of the Department of Finance and Human Resources. A representative of the Liberal-Radical Party (PLR), she also lead the efforts on gender equality for the State of Geneva.

Subscriber-only episode

Subscribe to our newsletter https://theunbrief.substack.com/

Subscriber-only episode

The Partnership for Action on the Green Economy is a partnership between 5 UN agencies, UNDP, UNEP, UNIDO, ILO, and UNITAR.  We interviewed Asad Naqvi, Head of Secretariat for the Partnership for Action on the Green Economy, to speak about PAGE and what is in store for 2022. 
 

Subscribe to our newsletter https://theunbrief.substack.com/

Subscriber-only episode

Listen to my interview with Dr. Morris Tidball Binz on his work in forensic anthropology to support the investigation of unlawful deaths by authoritarian regimes and the Minnesota Protocol.

Subscriber-only episode

This morning Dr. Tedros held a press conference with Germany’s Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Mrs. Svenja Schulze. 

Germany is the largest donor to the WHO in voluntary contributions, the second is the US. On the core, regular budget, the US is still number one. 

The WHO Executive Board is meeting this week, they are calling for reforms, in particular in the way the budget of the organisation is structured. 

The New York-Presbyterian Hospital alone had, by 31 December of 2020, revenues of around $9.4 billion. Compared to it WHO barely scrapes by, with slightly below $2 billion, and that to serve the demands of its 194 country-members and coordinating a global health system of emergency responses that are strong enough to manage pandemics.

They spoke about allowing emerging economies to produce their own COVID vaccines, technology transfer and programs led by Germany currently under way with Rwanda, Senegal, Ghana, and South Africa.

They also discussed cooperation and collaboration with developing countries through the Berlin hub that was created last Summer with the blessings of former chancellor Angela Merkel and USD $100 million grant from the German government, to make it a global centre for data research and pandemic preparedness. 

WHO Director-General, Dr. Tedros, who is expected to have his appointment as the chief of the global health organisation renewed, outlined WHO’s priorities going forward:

Deliver results for country-members.
 
Help countries focus on prevention and well-being.

 We spoke also about the new hub that was launched in Berlin this past Summer for pandemic early warning and prevention, and data gathering in collaboration with developing countries. Watch:

Subscribe to our newsletter https://theunbrief.substack.com/

Subscriber-only episode

Interview with Gale Wilkinson, CEO of VC platform based in Chicago.

Subscribe to our newsletter https://theunbrief.substack.com/

Subscriber-only episode

Interview with Tim Engelhardt

Subscribe to our newsletter https://theunbrief.substack.com/