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Hello, this is Michelle. Conflict in the Middle East continued to hog the headlines this month. As Gaza plunged deeper into a humanitarian crisis, the UN agency tasked with providing aid for Palestinians, UNRWA, was grappling with the blowback from Israel’s serious allegations against several of its staffers. Its boss questions the motives behind the move. On their side, Israelis have been doing all they can to keep up the pressure for the release of the hostages still being held by Hamas.
They aren’t the only ones having to compete for scant attention amid what feels like a growing number of crises. War-torn Sudan and even Ukraine are also struggling to stay on the international radar. As the Human Rights Council gets underway, ensuring that geopolitical faultlines on these and other issues don’t paralyse work will be the task of its newest president, ambassador Omar Zniber.
In between all that commotion, diplomats were busy with preparations ahead of much-touted trade talks in Abu Dhabi that in the end failed to live up to the hype, even on fisheries – one of the more attainable goals. One who has been playing the long game is China. If it can serve as a consolation, the WTO isn’t the only organisation struggling to fulfil its ultimate mission. |
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An official dinner at the Hôtel des Bergues in the 1930s. (Archives of the United Nations in Geneva).An official dinner at the Hôtel des Bergues in the 1930s. (Archives of the United Nations in Geneva)
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Philippe Lazzarini in Geneva, 13 February 2024. (Mark Henley/Panos Pictures for Le Temps)Philippe Lazzarini in Geneva, 13 February 2024. (Mark Henley/Panos Pictures for Le Temps)
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Here’s what else happened this month
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Félix Maradiaga, Nicaraguan political activist and former political prisoner, at the offices of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, Geneva, 22 February 2024. (Geneva Solutions/Paula Dupraz-Dobias)
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Jawdat Khoudary's archaeological museum sometime after the start of Israel’s bombing campaign in Gaza following the Hamas 7 October attack. (Rights Reserved)
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🕌 Unearthing Gaza’s archaeological treasures in Geneva.
Jawdat Khoudary’s archaeological artefacts dazzled Geneva in 2007 and have remained dormant in the Geneva Freeport ever since. After losing everything in Gaza, they’re the Palestinian collector’s last wealth. Soon, the relics might emerge from their sealed boxes.
Luis Lema
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