Good morning, this is Gabriela. After following trade flows to figure out who was buying what under the Black Sea grain deal, food aid workers tell us about the agreement’s impact on their humanitarian operations. Even though it has captured global attention, the groups warned hunger was still flaring – and said the deal alone could not solve that.

In other news from Geneva, four candidates have thrown their hats in the ring as the election for the top job at the World Meteorological Organization draws nearer, and diplomats wonder whether the UN’s trade body will survive Washington’s plans to reform it.

Gabriela Galindo

10.05.2023

On our radar

Photo article

A Yemeni elderly man walks by graffiti showing "Stop Hunger" on a wall in Sanaa, Yemen, 21 February, 2019. A graffiti campaign by Yemeni artists was staged to call for the world's attention on the country’s humanitarian crisis. (Keystone/Xinhua/Mohammed Mohammed)

Where the grain deal can’t reach. The Black Sea grain deal between Russia and Ukraine aimed to relieve a global food crisis by keeping Ukraine, a major agricultural producer, plugged into the global food markets. Yet nearly a year since it was agreed, and as concern grows that Russia might let it expire next week, several humanitarian groups working in the most vulnerable hotspots said that focusing on food prices alone would not help the world’s hungriest make it through the crisis.

Geneva Solutions (EN)

Here's what else is happening

🩺Reform or die? If the US gets its way, the WTO might do both. The US has some ideas about how to bring back the trade body from the nearly fatal blow it dealt its highest court four years ago.
Politico (EN)
🇺🇳Exclusive: UN political caste system drains workforce morale. A scandal at a UN mission in Western Sahara reveals a wider issue of staff tired of impunity for managers abusing power.
Devex (EN)
🚨Sudan deepens crisis in Africa as UN sees five million more needing aid. The conflict adds pressure to the climate crisis-hit region while support from donors slides back.
Reuters (EN)
💰Six dos and six don’ts for tackling the climate emergency. A humanitarian policy expert explains why cash assistance works and how to get it right.
The New Humanitarian (EN)
🇮🇷UN rights office: Iran has executed more than 200 people this year. A spokesperson for the Geneva-based body called it an “abominable” record that made it one of the world’s highest executors.
Reuters (EN)

International Geneva moves

Photo article

Petteri Taalas, secretary general of World Meteorological Organization (WMO), arrives before calling for urgent action to counter threats on water and climate, during a press conference at WMO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, 8 March 2022. (Keystone/Salvatore Di Nolfi)

High stakes on who will lead the World Meteorological Organization. It is one of the rare UN organisations that has partly escaped sharp politicisation within its operations. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO), located just a stone's throw from Lake Geneva, is set to elect its next secretary general in June, when Petteri Taalas, the Finn who has held the role since 2016, will end his second term. Exceptionally, the battle will not be one directly confronting geopolitical blocs, but uncertainty looms large.

Geneva Solutions (EN)

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