Good morning, this is Pip. As the world commemorates twenty years since the 11 September attacks in New York this week, we’re hearing why we urgently need a new counterterrorism approach – as recent events in Afghanistan have tragically shown.

In other news, we’re getting the latest from the WTO, as states ready themselves for another round of fisheries talks after the summer break. And we’re checking in on a UN meeting on biological weapons that’s due to wrap up on Wednesday.

Also today, we’re returning to drought-hit Chile for the second part of our article looking at how women activists are leading the fight to reclaim the country’s water for local communities.

06.09.2021

On our radar this week

A view of the south reflecting pool at the National September 11 Memorial at ground zero in New York, August 2011. (EPA/Justin Lane)

🚧 Counterterrorism at a crossroads in Afghanistan. Twenty years on since the 11 September terrorist attacks, counterterrorism is still not succeeding even in its limited aims to stem terrorism, as the events in Afghanistan have shown, says Khalid Koser, executive director of the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF). He calls for a new approach – one where the underlying factors are properly understood.

Geneva Solutions (EN)

Here’s what else to look out for

🎣 WTO gears up for marathon fisheries talks. Member states will this week pick up where they left off before the summer break in trying to secure a long-awaited fisheries deal before year-end. Ambassador Santiago Wills, chair of the talks, wants a clean text to present at the 30 Nov- 3 Dec ministerial conference. The WTO is under pressure to show it can deliver, having failed to secure any meaningful multilateral agreements in several years.

Reuters (EN)

☠️ An expert meeting on biological weapons will conclude on Wednesday. The expert session has been looking at ways to improve cross-border cooperation and knowledge sharing to combat the risk of biological weapons and support the growth of peaceful biological sciences and technology. The talks are in preparation for the Biological Weapons Convention between member states in November.

UNODA (EN)

In other news

UN to convene Afghanistan fundraising conference in Geneva on 13 September to address "the looming humanitarian catastrophe", secretary general Guterres said.
Geneva Solutions (EN)
IUCN Red List: Four in ten of the world's sharks are threatened with extinction; some tuna stocks are improving.
Al Jazeera (EN)
Multilateralism matters. A new exhibition running throughout September in Geneva pays tribute to the work of the city’s multilateral institutions.
EEAS (EN)
Climate change is worsening air pollution, even as Covid lockdowns led to a sharp drop in emissions last year, WMO bulletin shows.
Geneva Solutions (EN)
Unprecedented displacement in Central America and Mexico calls for urgent regional responsibility sharing, warns UNHCR.
UNHCR (EN)
China’s interest in the Svalbard treaty heats up. Researcher Emmanuel Véron discusses China’s increasing strategic interest in the North and South Poles.
La Liberté (Paywall) (FR)

Next in our series, the water we share

(Credit: Rocio Egio for Geneva Solutions)

👩🏻‍🤝‍👩🏽 Women in charge. Rural communities worldwide are often the first to lack access to drinking water and sewage. In Chile, they’ve taken matters into their own hands and have set up community-run water management systems. Around 1,900 of these organisations provide water for two million rural inhabitants and nearly half of them are led by women.

Geneva Solutions (EN)

Also on the agenda

📌Don’t miss Geneva Solutions’ debate on water security. Join us and our partners, the Geneva Press Club and the Geneva Water Hub, to discuss the role of water in times of conflict and water as a driver of peace in the Sahel region. More information and registration here.

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