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Sometimes, words and concepts seem to go out of fashion. Right now, gender equality, diversity, or inclusion are all terms \u2013 and the ideas that they express \u2013 that the US administration seems uncomfortable with.\n<\/p>\n
This content was published on <\/p>\n
August 18, 2026 – 17:07\n<\/p>\n
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\n Imogen Foulkes reports from Geneva for SWI swissinfo.ch as well as the BBC. <\/p>\n
So much so that its diplomats are working to remove them from various United Nations strategy papers, and from humanitarian programmes the United States still funds.<\/p>\n
In 2011, then US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton came to Geneva and declared that \u201cgay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights,\u201d committing the US to protect and promote LGBTQ rights worldwide. It was a historic speech that made headlines everywhere. Today, it seems like another age, even another planet.<\/p>\n
Other words, and deeds, that once had the power to shock, seem to have lost their impact: torture, sexual violence, war crimes, genocide. Journalists who work in Geneva know all too well the brutality with which human beings can treat one another, but there was a time when it was thought the UN\u2019s forensic investigations of atrocities, from Syria to Myanmar to Ukraine to Gaza, would bring, eventually, some justice and accountability.<\/p>\n
A year after that speech by Hillary Clinton, I stood in front of the cameras at the UN in Geneva and described the very first UN Commission of Inquiry report into violations in Syria. It was horrific to read, but I do remember suggesting that the very detailed report would likely lead to accountability for the perpetrators, and might even send a message to other potential war criminals that their acts could not be hidden, and would be judged.<\/p>\n
Today, while a few universal jurisdiction cases over Syria have led to convictions in Europe, President Bashar al Assad lives in a comfortable gated community in Moscow. Other government leaders \u2013 President Vladimir Putin in Russia, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel \u2013 have been indicted for war crimes, yet continue to prosecute their conflicts with complete impunity. Meanwhile, the US has promised to \u201cdismantle\u201d the very body designed to bring war criminals to justice, the International Criminal Court.<\/p>\n
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International Geneva\n <\/p>\n
Pushback on human rights: defenders speak out <\/p>\n
This content was published on <\/p>\n
Aug 18, 2026 <\/p>\n
UN investigations have documented war crimes in Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan. So why is no one being held accountable? <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Read more: Pushback on human rights: defenders speak out Big challenges ahead<\/p>\n So who will defend human rights today, and how do they measure the challenge? On this week\u2019s Inside Geneva podcast we profile the International Service for Human Rights, and its director and deputy, Phil Lynch and Pooja Patel.<\/p>\n ISHR may not be the human rights organisation people automatically think of \u2013 it doesn\u2019t make splashy headlines like the giants Amnesty International or Human Rights Watch. But I have had the pleasure of reporting on its work in Geneva for many years. It offers tireless support to courageous human rights defenders worldwide, people trying to protect and promote their rights under repressive regimes, or during brutal conflict.<\/p>\n Director Phil Lynch describes the organisation he leads as \u201ca bridge.\u201d \u201cWe provide solidarity and support to defenders to turn to the international system for justice and protection that\u2019s denied at the national level,\u201d he told Inside Geneva. \u201cWhether that\u2019s defenders working on democracy in China, whether that\u2019s defenders pushing for accountability for atrocity crimes in Sudan.\u201d<\/p>\n Lynch admits the current climate is challenging. \u201cCertainly we\u2019re seeing a challenge to universal human rights standards; widespread impunity for atrocity crimes such as we see in Israel Palestine, such as we see in Russia Ukraine, such as we see in Sudan.\u201d<\/p>\n Tellingly, in the same breath, Lynch cites a \u201cpushback against long recognised women\u2019s rights\u201d, in particular reproductive rights, as all part of the challenge.<\/p>\n \n More<\/p>\n More <\/p>\n International Geneva\n <\/p>\n Inside Geneva\u2019s Summer Profiles: Philippe Stoll <\/p>\n This content was published on <\/p>\n Aug 4, 2026 <\/p>\n Philippe Stoll, the Red Cross\u2019s \u2018techplomat\u2019, is Inside Geneva\u2019s Summer Profile this week. <\/p>\n
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