French president Emmanuel Macron at a meeting with Engagement Groups involved in the G7 on social and economic issues at the Élysée Palace in Paris, 10 June 2026. (Keystone/Christophe Petit Tesson)

G7 summit: World’s top donors to mark shift from traditional development. Amid the sharp aid decline, the elite club of powerful western economies, and still the world’s top aid donors, wants to swap the traditional handout model for investment and partnerships.

What can G7 achieve amid Ukraine and Iran wars, economic crisis and aid cuts? With Donald Trump, mired in his war against Iran, set to attend the meeting of seven western powers in Evian, experts say the European Union has a card to play, offering a way out of the crisis.

🇨🇭🇫🇷A TALE OF TWO LAKESIDES. As the G7 meeting unfolds on one side of the Léman, the Human Rights Council will begin on the other after some uncertainty in the preceding weeks among member states as to whether it would go ahead due to traffic disruption and partial border closures caused by the meeting of world leaders.

Rights reminder. The parallels between the two events – with human rights concerns underpinning all the major global economic, security and environmental issues on the G7 agenda – were not lost on Volker Türk, the UN’s rights high commissioner, who called on leaders to make human rights a “core component” of their deliberations this week.

“We have too many conflicts,” Türk told reporters in Geneva on Wednesday, noting that the approximately 63 ongoing conflicts around the world represented “the highest number since the end of the Second World War”, also citing the worsening climate crisis and widening inequalities.

A la carte. Running from 15 June to 7 July, the Council’s 47 members will address a wide range of issues – from child, early and forced marriages; to human rights and extreme poverty; to several reports on violence and discrimination against women, girls, mothers, and people based on sexual orientation and gender identity – a key focus of the Council’s summer sessions.

Spectre of war. Conflicts in Ukraine, in Sudan and the Middle East will also loom large, with Türk expected to issue an update on the rights consequences of attacks by Iran against Gulf states during the opening session today. Meanwhile, a report released last week by a UN Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, detailing the involvement of Israeli forces in settler attacks on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, will be the focus of talks this afternoon.

‘Bullying’ behaviour. A rightward swing in the global political landscape, with the rise of nationalist governments, has spelt bad news for gender-based rights, with some countries warning of “bullying behaviour” taking place within the walls of the Palais itself from some civil society groups believed to have backing from certain countries attempting to push an “anti-rights” agenda at the Council.

📕See our previous coverage on this here

Milestone moment. This year marks two decades since the Human Rights Council was established, with countries officially marking the occasion at this week’s 62nd session. European diplomats briefing journalists last week said that while the period had been far from plain sailing – increasing politicisation of its work, uncompetitive member state elections and a looming budget crisis, to name but a few problems (see Phil Lynch’s opinion below) – it remains a vital global platform for advancing and protecting human rights.

Mexico will lead a resolution reaffirming the importance of upholding rights, in what was understood to have been a preemptive move after reports that Russia was interested in stepping in. Meanwhile, Indonesia, which holds the presidency, will hold a high-level discussion on 19 June on the Council and its future.

NYC status talks. Parallel discussions are currently underway at the UN’s headquarters in New York over whether the status of the Human Rights Council, a subsidiary body of the General Assembly, should be changed or increased, with a decision expected on 17 June. However, with the UN undergoing major reforms and budget cuts, it’s understood that there’s little appetite at this stage to change the status quo.

👥💬G7 DEETS. While attendance by world leaders, their delegations, security personnel and media would range between 2,000 and 5,000 at a typical G7 gathering, the deployment of a massive cross-border security force at this year’s event of nearly 20,000 is set to dwarf those numbers.

Guest list. Alongside the heads of state from France US, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, Canada and Italy, president Volodymyr Zelensky will also be there, seeking to rebuild a G7 consensus, supporting Ukraine in its war with Russia.

President Macron recently invited Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman and Qatari emir Tamin bin Hamad Al Thani, to discuss how to reopen the Straits of Hormuz, before the possible signing of a US-Iran deal in Geneva was announced last week. France and the UK have been spearheading efforts to set up a mission to protect the strait once the conflict ends.

Also on the guest list are India, South Korea and Kenya, which had received an invite after France decided not to invite South Africa, a regular at past event. Paris denied having been pressured by Washington, after reports claimed that Trump would boycott the event if president Cyril Ramaphosa attended.

Tech executives, including OpenAI’s Sam Altman and his rival Anthropic’s Dario Amodei are also slate to be in Evian amid rising interest among leaders in AI, its potential uses and the challenges it presents to society and the environment.

— Kasmira Jefford and Paula Dupraz-Dobias

❝After undermining UN Human Rights Council for 20 years, states must allow it to fulfil vital mandate. The Human Rights Council has made indispensable contributions to justice and accountability, yet at times it has fallen short of its mandate. States have the power and the moral obligation to ensure it heads in the right direction, notes lead rights advocate Phil Lynch.