A brief overview of the work of some of the Geneva-based UN organisations and their achievements at the 80th anniversary of the United Nations on 22 September 2025
The new UNHCR report provides insights into global trends in 2024. With 123.3 mio. people, there were 6% more forcibly displaced than in 2023. Sudan is particularly hard-hit.
Despite ongoing geopolitical tensions, the 78th World Health Assembly was able to adopt key health policy projects with potential for future generations.
With the successful conclusion of negotiations on the WHO Pandemic Agreement, the international community has taken a decisive step toward a stronger global health architecture.
With only five official negotiation days left before the World Health Assembly (WHA) in May—where the agreement is set to be adopted—delegations are under immense time pressure.
Freedom, justice and solidarity are the basic principles underlying the work of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS). The KAS is a political foundation, closely associated with the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU).
Multipod: WHO macht Fortschritte bei internationalen Gesundheitsvorschriften
Die Covid-Pandemie hat auch auf internationaler Ebene Folgen. Erfahren Sie, wie die Weltgesundheitsorganisation (WHO) und ihre Mitgliedstaaten sich besser für die Zukunft wappnen.
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Statement
Norbert Lammert on the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
"Human rights are not laws of nature. [...], they must be protected & defended by people who take the claim to the inviolability of human dignity seriously".
Multipod: Review of Germany in the UPR
Multipod: Human rights protection starts at home. Germany in the UPR
On 9th November 2023, the United Nation's Human Rights Council discussed the human rights situation in Germany
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Genfreise
Geneva Security Debate zum Krieg in der Ukraine
Prof. Dr. Lammert, Botschafter Dr. Heusgen und Botschafter Greminger zu den Auswirkungen des Krieges in der Ukraine auf den Multilateralismus und die Weltordnung
Delegationsreise
Dialogprogramm des Arbeitskreises Globale Gesundheit der Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung in Genf
Erfahren Sie mehr über die Delegationsreise zu aktuellen Herausforderungen im Bereich Globale Gesundheit vom 7-9. Juni
High-Level Commemoration and Policy Dialogue Marks Ten Years of Nansen Initiative Protection Agenda
Sarah Ultes
December 10, 2025
Event reports
U.S. Mission / Eric Bridiers / flickr / CC BY-ND 2.0
Antworten und Klarstellungen zu den Desinformationen rund um das Pandemieabkommen
Genfer Depesche
Andrea Ellen Ostheimer
November 19, 2025
Geneva Telegram
ktsimage
Beyond Fragmentation: Policy Options for Digital Harmonization
Reflections from the second KAS-WISC Roundtable on Digital Trade
Keith Rockwell
October 6, 2025
Single title
The 80th Session of the UN General Assembly
Andrea Ellen Ostheimer, Cedric Amon
September 25, 2025
Single title
UNHCR, 2024, Nicolò Filippo Rosso
Key insights from UNHCR’s new global trends report 2025
The "Geneva Telegram" explores events in Geneva-based multilateral organizations on a current topic. This time, the focus is on the new global trends report of the UNHCR.
The new composition of the UN Human Rights Council as of 1 January 2021
Map of the Month 10/2020
On 13 October, the UN General Assembly elected 15 new member states for a period of 3 years (2021-23) into the UN Human Rights Council that consists of 47-member states. Candidates are nominated by 5 regional groups that often do not allow for selection ("clean slate"). Only the Asia Pacific group allowed for selection: China was elected, but with an all-time low of 139 votes; with only 90 votes Saudi Arabia did not make it at all. Russia and Cuba are among the newly elected members as well.
Dr. Olaf Wientzek, Sarah Ultes, Meike Lenzner
October 21, 2020
Map of the Month
Countries participating in the COVAX Facility
Map of the Month 09/2020
To ensure a fair and equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines to all countries, over 170 countries have joined forces since June 2020 to form the so-called “COVAX Facility”. The goal is to procure around two billion doses of vaccines by the end of 2021. COVAX is co-led by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI). COVAX is the first procurement programme for COVID-19 vaccines that is open to all countries. The initiative allows 92 low-income countries access to vaccines funded by development aid. Other participating countries are so-called self-financing countries of higher-income countries, which support the mechanism with additional funds. Germany joined the COVAX – initiative via the EU. The following map depicts the countries that joined the initiative so far (as of September 28).
Dr. Olaf Wientzek, Sarah Ultes, Meike Lenzner
September 30, 2020
Map of the Month
The Humanitarian Response to COVID-19
Map of the Month 08/2020
Even before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 was already being regarded as the year of the worst humanitarian crisis since World War II. Millions of people are now in danger of losing their livelihoods and of falling into poverty. The Global Humanitarian Response Plan COVID-19 (GHRP) provides an overview of the additional humanitarian requirements of all UN agencies in the context of the pandemic. Since the publication of its first edition at the end of March that asked for $2 billion for 54 countries, the requirements were strongly revised upwards within a couple of weeks. Currently, the total requirements for a total of 63 countries stand at $10.31 billion until the end of the year. So far (as of August 18) only $ 2.19 billion have been received. Experts warn that development gains of several decades are at stake if not more than the 20% that have been made available until now are provided soon. So far the US is the largest donor (with more than 100 times the amount provided by China), followed by Japan and Germany.
Dr. Olaf Wientzek, Sarah Ultes
August 20, 2020
Map of the Month
Criticism and support for China in the Human Rights Council
Map of the Month 07/2020
In the framework of the 44th Human Rights Council in Geneva, 27 countries supported a UK-led joint statement which heavily criticized China's actions in Xinjiang and the controversial national security law for Hongkong. However, a statement by 46 countries, led by Belarus, dismissed criticism towards China regarding Xinjiang. Another statement, presented by Cuba and backed by 53 countries defended the national security law for Hongkong. The following map illustrates which countries supported the respective statements.
A brief overview of the work of some of the Geneva-based UN organisations and their achievements at the 80th anniversary of the United Nations on 22 September 2025