Artisanal miners working at the Shabara artisanal mine near Kolwezi, 12 October 2022. Some 20,000 people work at Shabara, in shifts of 5,000 at a time. (Keystone/AFP/ Junior Kannah)

♤Calling a spade a spade amid the ‘green’ scramble for minerals. Calls to decolonise climate policy and humanise the green energy transition were heard at the opening of the World Resources Forum this month.

🦟Mosquito-to-toe: the race to contain climate-sensitive diseases. As climate change drives temperatures up, offering the perfect cosy conditions for mosquitoes to thrive, organisations are exploring ways to prevent them from spreading dengue and other climate-sensitive diseases.

​​👩‍⚖️Children in conflict: a historical blind spot for international courts. After working with some of the major international tribunals, international criminal law expert Cécile Aptel examines how they have neglected to address crimes affecting children.

🏗️ITU rethinks plans for new Geneva headquarters. The International Telecommunication Union is reviewing its plans to build a new headquarters in Geneva after postponing the project due to budget constraints.

🇻🇪Venezuela-UN aid deal in limbo as humanitarian crisis drags on. An agreement signed last November between the Venezuelan government and its opposition to deliver aid using frozen assets with the assistance of the United Nations is on pause as the country’s crisis endures.

Amir Khalil, a veterinarian with Four Paws International, feeds Kavaan, Pakistan's only Asian elephant, at the Marghazar Zoo in Islamabad on 11 November 2020 before travelling to a sanctuary in Cambodia. (Keystone/AFP/Aamir Qureshi)

🦁‘War’s forgotten victims’: rescuing animals from Gaza to Sudan. Marion Lombard has saved lions, elephants, hyenas and baboons in war-torn countries. She takes Le Temps behind the scenes of a unique job.

☠️UN toxics expert: climate action no good if it poisons the planet. Solving the climate crisis shouldn’t come at the expense of causing another one, United Nations human rights expert Marcos Orellana tells Geneva Solutions.

Customers shop at Niamey's main market on August 8, 2023. (Keystone/AFP)

🚧In Niger, the population has been taken hostage. Sanctions imposed on Niger since July's military coup are blocking aid from reaching those in need, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) warns, calling for exemptions for humanitarian organisations.

🇨🇭Swiss diplomacy at a historic crossroads. Troubled by ambiguous relations with the EU and weakened on the international stage, Switzerland would benefit from capitalising on other forms of diplomacy, writes diplomat Theodor Winkler in his latest book, reviewed by François Nordmann.

🇨🇫Can Central African Republic set an example for justice on the continent? These past weeks, there has been considerable movement on the international justice front in countries such as France and Switzerland. When victims of international crimes are unable to find justice in their own countries, some manage to find it elsewhere.

Either states, for the most part in Europe, pursue such cases through universal jurisdiction, or the International Criminal Court holds its own trials in the Hague. However, this raises the question as to whether justice for international crimes is ever served where the crimes were actually committed. On the African continent, precedents do exist.

- Alain Werner, director of Civitas Maxima

🌐Read September’s full war crimes round-up, in partnership with Geneva-based NGO Civitas Maxima, on Geneva Solutions

Flags on Geneva's Pont du Mont Blanc during the AI for Good Global Summit 2023, held on 6-7 July 2023. (ITU Pictures)

AI Diplomacy: what vision for the future of multilateralism? From the corridors of the Palais des Nations in Geneva to bustling embassies around the world, diplomats are increasingly relying on artificial intelligence (AI) to implement foreign policy. However, the integration of AI into diplomacy also brings with it significant risks that could compromise the very essence of diplomatic practice, writes Dr Jérôme Duberry, managing director of the Tech Hub at the Geneva Graduate Institute and academic advisor of the Executive Degree in Diplomacy, Negotiation and Policy.

This section was produced for, and in partnership with, the Geneva Graduate Institute's Executive Programme. More information here.