The staff from United Nations agencies in Geneva gather to protest against the drastic budget cuts and staff reductions affecting thousands of UN employees worldwide, in Geneva, Switzerland, 1 May 2025. (Keystone/Salvatore Di Nolfi)

As the financial crisis deepens, UN faces growing pressure to cut salaries. The US is pressing the UN to cut staff pay to ease its budget crisis. Unions in Geneva say compensation is being misrepresented, but other states are also warming to the idea.

✊WEEK TWO. The UN Human Rights Council continues discussions this week from the Palais des Nations’ Assembly Hall where the current session is taking place due to ongoing renovation work in its usual location.

Torture survivor rights. Later today, the UN special rapporteur on torture, Jill Edwards, will present a new charter aimed at defending the rights of torture survivors, which resulted from a collaboration among over 120 victims and survivor-led organisations.

The document, which calls for survivors’ access to justice, reparations and rehabilitation, comes a week after UN rights chief Volker Türk highlighted the use of torture in global human-trafficking networks. Rights groups recently condemned US authorities for torture and inhumane treatment in migrant detention centres.

South Sudan. Just days after the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan warned of a “return to full-scale war” in the world’s youngest country, the United Kingdom, Norway, Ireland and Albania will be calling the council to renew the investigative body’s mandate on Wednesday.

The commission said political and military leaders were exposing civilians to mass atrocity crimes and violations of international human rights laws, including unlawful killings and sexual violence, amid a deepening humanitarian crisis.

On Friday, the International Organization for Migration said that support for 1.9 million displaced people in the country was at further risk amid donor cuts.

🎥SCREENING RIGHTS. Alongside the council session, Geneva’s international human rights film festival (FIFDH) kicks off on Friday with a programme the organisers have framed as a response to rising authoritarianism and repression, and the breakdown of international law.

Screenings will include films on the rise of Christian nationalism and repression by ICE agents in the US, a documentary on the rise of Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni and a film about an Australian Indigenous community struggling with pollution from an abandoned asbestos mine. Other films will include stories from Gaza, Iran, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Panelists. Among the more than 30 experts invited to speak at the festival will be Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur on Palestine, who will talk about international paralysis on Gaza, Daniel Santucho Navajas, born in detention during Argentina’s dictatorship and stolen from his family, and Geneva insiders for a discussion on the future of the multilateral hub.

🗳️INTO THE RACE. This month marks the start of the race for the UN’s top job for Rebeca Grynspan, Unctad’s secretary general, while her deputy, the Spaniard Pedro Manuel Moreno, takes over while she campaigns.

In a briefing with reporters in Geneva on Friday, Grynspan said she was optimistic about her chances of winning the election, describing herself as experienced, inspirational and capable of steering crises.

When asked how she would deal with US president Donald Trump, she told Geneva Solutions that the UN will have to “engage with all countries” and “maintain our course and prove ourselves.”

Starting blocks. The election process will begin to heat up in late April as the General Assembly begins to probe candidates. So far, only two other contenders – former UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet and Rafael Grossi, International Atomic Energy Agency director general, have officially been nominated.

— By Paula Dupraz-Dobias