Daily Brief logo

Good morning, this is Michelle. The release of thousands of Syrians swept up by Assad’s repressive regime and imprisoned in its secretive detention network laid bare a brutal yet common practice used by authoritarian states to quash dissent. The chair of the Committee of Enforced Disappearances talks to us about this persisting phenomenon and why it concerns all countries, including modern democracies.

Trump’s announcement that he would sever ties with the World Health Organization has everyone on edge in Geneva and urging him to reconsider. From Davos, Zelenskyy tells Europe to step up.

photo journaliste

Michelle Langrand

22.01.2025


On our radar


Photo article

Olivier de Frouville, chair of the Committee on Enforced Disappearances and law professor at Université Paris II, in Geneva, 15 January 2025. (Geneva Solutions/Michelle Langrand)

UN expert Olivier de Frouville: Enforced disappearances are a global issue. While often perceived as a relic of far-gone authoritarian regimes, enforced disappearances remain a widespread global practice, whether as a tactic to suppress dissent or deter migration, explains Olivier de Frouville, chair of the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearance.

Geneva Solutions (EN)

Straight from the Palais


Bringing you the latest from UN press briefings in Geneva.

🇺🇸📜 Expected but no less painful. US President Donald Trump’s decision on his first day in office to leave the World Health Organization and the Paris agreement (again) have been dreaded by UN agencies and other countries for months, as we reported on Monday. But it made the news no less easy to absorb, as UN spokespeople told journalists in Geneva yesterday.

What the WHO said. Spokesperson Tarik Jašarević said it was still too soon to comment on the impact of the decision, noting that he had seen the order “this morning like everyone else”. The US is WHO’s largest single donor, accounting for 15 per cent of the agency’s budget in 2024.

"We hope that the United States will reconsider, and we really hope that there will be constructive dialogue for the benefit of everyone,” Jašarević said.

Aid repercussions. UN humanitarian affairs office spokesperson Jens Laerke highlighted the UN health agency’s “indispensable” role in reaching people in need. “WHO is in places where others cannot go,” he said, mentioning Gaza, Yemen, Afghanistan and Sudan.

A chilling decision. Clare Nullis from the World Meteorological Organization also weighed in on the incoming US administration’s decision to withdraw from the 2015 climate pact, describing climate change as the “defining challenge of our time”.

The rise in global temperatures is making weather “more extreme”, she said, accounting for a rise in weather-related disasters, such as the recent wildfires in California.

- By Kasmira Jefford

Here's what else is happening


GS news is a new media project covering the world of international cooperation and development. Don’t hesitate to forward our newsletter!

Have a good day!

Avenue du Bouchet 2
1209 Genève
Suisse