The exterior of the International Criminal Court in The Hague. (Keystone/ANP Laurens Van Putten)

The arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court against Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been met with reluctance from western democracies. Yet any wavering support for the UN court risks undermining the very foundations of the rule of law that allowed them to flourish.

🪄SWITZERLAND’S TIME TO SHINE. The Human Rights Council is set to gather today to choose its president for 2025. Switzerland, recently elected as a member of the UN body and running unopposed for the top role, should be appointed without any hindrances. The Swiss ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Jurg Laüber, would then preside over next year’s sessions.

📖Read our past reporting: Will Switzerland finally obtain the Human Rights Council presidency?

🔍STEPPING UP FOR CLIMATE FINANCE. It’s that time of the year when Geneva's private finance sector shows up on the right bank of Lake Geneva to spotlight its SDG credentials, speaking side-by-side with representatives from international Geneva and Bern, as well as global capital experts, philanthropists and social entrepreneurs.

Building Bridges, which organises the event of the same name, became a foundation last year whose board includes a cross-section of Geneva’s finance and international sectors, including Klaus Schwab’s son – and potential heir.

Post Cop29 squeeze. On the heels of the new annual climate finance target agreed in Baku of $300 billion a year – much below the $1.2 - $1.5 trillion estimated by UN agencies to cover needs in developing countries – the pressure is on to find the cash to fill the gap, including from “private sources”.

Heavier weights. In parallel to informal discussions taking place at the CICG conference centre, private sector banks and insurers, central and multilateral development banks will meet under the umbrella of the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative.

🇳🇮NICARAGUA UPDATE. UN rights chief Volker Türk is scheduled to deliver an update on the Central American country today, two weeks after the national assembly approved a law allowing critics to be banned from entering or exiting the country, formalising a practice that was already going on for years.
The legislature also scrapped foreign sanctions against the family of president Daniel Ortega, including his wife and soon-to-be co-president, Rosario Murillo, forcing banks in the country to ignore them.

– By Paula Dupraz-Dobias