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☀️Switzerland calls on UN to explore possibility of solar geoengineering. In a proposal submitted to the United Nations environment assembly that begins next week in Nairobi, Switzerland has suggested the world body should look into whether the “risks, benefits and uncertainties” of dimming the sun should be studied.

🕊️As conflicts spiral, five ideas to bolster the UN’s peace commission. With the UN Security Council paralysed by geopolitics, could the Peacebuilding Commission be just the kind of multilateral – and more nimble – arena worth investing in?

☣️New firm to fight biosecurity threats. Headquartered in Geneva, the International Biosecurity and Biosafety Initiative for Science was officially launched at the Munich Security Conference by the US-based Nuclear Threat Initiative.

💸No ‘plan B’ once Palestinian aid agency funds end in March, its Lebanon head says. Unrwa’s Lebanon branch warns of Cashflow issues soon if donors uphold fund freeze over allegations that 12 staffers participated in the Hamas 7 October attack.

🌿What to expect at the 6th UN Environment Assembly: four issues to watch. From plastic pollution to climate and conflict to geopolitics, here are the main things to look out for as environment ministers meet next week in Nairobi.

A litmus test for the Human Rights Council: navigating divides and global crises. The Human Rights Council is gearing up for its first session of the year on 26 February amid a tumultuous global landscape. From war in Ukraine to conflicts in Sudan, Syria, Myanmar and Gaza, a spectrum of human rights crises awaits the 47-member UN body. As geopolitical fractures deepen and accusations of double standards tarnish the West’s credibility, can the council stay relevant? How will the UN’s funding crisis impact its effectiveness? How will the freshly elected council president, Morocco’s ambassador Omar Zniber, chart the course through a jam-packed six-week session?

Join our journalists and human rights experts on 26 February at 12:15 pm at Château de Penthes, on the opening day as they debrief on their expectations in our monthly talk at the Geneva Press Club.

Sign up here to attend in person or online.