{"id":70909,"date":"2025-08-16T09:22:15","date_gmt":"2025-08-16T09:22:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/70909\/"},"modified":"2025-08-16T09:22:15","modified_gmt":"2025-08-16T09:22:15","slug":"where-do-we-go-from-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/70909\/","title":{"rendered":"Where do we go from here?"},"content":{"rendered":"

A report by Swiss broadcaster RTS looks at the impact large budget cuts at the United Nations are having on the canton of Geneva, home to the UN in Europe. RTS describes the resulting lay-offs as one of the most significant in Geneva\u2019s history, reaching as many as 7,000 direct job losses. These jobs support others in the broader economy, so total job losses are likely to be far higher. Aid cuts, started by the US, have spurred other nations to follow suit. Many UN staff have been forced to leave the region. Non-EU\/Swiss citizens cannot remain. After 2 months they lose their residence permit. These people will leave, find new work elsewhere, and may never return. See RTS video report here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The following article is by Edward Girardet<\/p>\n

UNESCO is just the latest of the UN family to lose its US support. The pillars of international cooperation are crumbling, and nowhere is this more starkly visible than in Switzerland\u2019s Lake Geneva region whose key city has long branded itself not only as the humanitarian capital of the world, but one of the planet\u2019s leading knowledge hubs.<\/p>\n

PART I<\/p>\n

Once a vibrant nerve centre for multilateral diplomacy, humanitarian response, environmental action and credible information, Geneva is facing an existential crisis which urgently needs to be resolved with significant out-of-the-box thinking. U.S. funding cuts, donor fatigue, and internal inefficiencies are steadily dismantling Switzerland\u2019s hub of UN agencies, NGOs, and research bodies that constitute \u201cInternational Geneva.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"manPhoto by Daniel Nouri on Pexels.com<\/p>\n

This unique \u2018ecosystem\u2019 network includes multinational corporations and businesses, among them some of the world\u2019s leading watch companies (See Global Geneva article<\/a>). Major American firms such as Proctor & Gamble<\/a>, a consumer goods company, Dupont<\/a> which produces chemicals, and Caterpillar<\/a>, engineering, all have their European operations based out of Geneva precisely because of the presence of the city\u2019s several hundred international organizations and NGOs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis creates a snowball effect that benefits the entire region. But the reverse could happen if some start leaving,\u201d maintains Fabrice Eggly, director of the Fondation de Geneve.<\/a><\/p>\n

Both Swiss and internationals must now decide what to do if this critical hub is to retain if not further cultivate its global importance because time is running out. Those concerned must focus on issues that matter. This involves responding more effectively to humanitarian response, human rights abuses and the need for conflict resolution in war zones such as Sudan, Gaza, Ukraine, and Burma (Myanmar).<\/p>\n

It also means combatting climate change worldwide. The landmark decision on 23 July 2025 by the UN\u2019s top court in the Hague allowing countries to sue over historic emissions of planet-warming gases will prove pointless unless this translates into concrete action. While non-binding and more than likely to be ignored by Trump administration in Washington, the ruling by the International Court of Justice could nevertheless have wide-ranging consequences with international Geneva playing a key role. (See Global Geneva article<\/a> on the need to reclaim relevance)<\/p>\n

Massive job slashing irrespective of quality<\/p>\n

According to a recent Geneva Solutions<\/a> report, over 30,000 jobs, both UN and NGO, of the International Geneva community are expected to go. More than 20,000 jobs, both full time and consultancies, are being eliminated across the UN system alone. This contraction, driven to a major degree by the UN80 initiative launched in March 2025, is the largest workforce reduction in the UN\u2019s modern history.<\/p>\n

What initially began as a gradual world-wide efficiency drive, UN80 has now turned into a sledge-hammer approach for reducing budgets with, in many cases, devastating consequences. It is leading to tens of thousands of humanitarian and development professionals losing their jobs at a time when conflicts, such as Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan, are growing steadily worse, and climate change action has become a global concern.<\/p>\n

Aid workers scrambling for jobs<\/p>\n

These losses mean that thousands are now scrambling for new, highly competitive jobs, whether in Switzerland or abroad. For many, however, it is not a normal situation. Many organizations simply do not know their budgets and are unable to plan properly leaving both employees and consultants in limbo.<\/p>\n

Career counselling firms such as Transition and Performance<\/a> are advising international workers not to wait until they know whether they have lost their jobs or not, but to begin planning their next career moves. \u201cPeople right now are not really taking action or looking for something else because they first wish to make sure that they will be impacted,\u201d maintained the firm\u2019s career coach Guillaume Stollsteiner. \u201cThe uncertainty is what is most painful to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

It also means a change in mindset. Social media sites such as LinkedIn are replete with urgent job-hunting initiatives although many employment opportunities never even make it online but spread word of mouth. For many consultants wishing to remain in country, it also suddenly means losing their legal right to remain living in Switzerland where they have houses or send their children to school.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had three possible contracts lined up and they literally disappeared overnight,\u201d said one health specialist, who was obliged to leave the country as an unemployed person. Local businesses and institutions ranging from international schools to apartment rentals are worried that both the Lake Geneva and Swiss economy could be badly hit within a matter of months.<\/p>\n

\"towerPhoto by Louis on Pexels.com<\/p>\n

International Switzerland: A leading knowledge, science and cultural hub \u2013 but for how long?<\/p>\n

Bern \u2013 but also other parts of the country, notably the German-speaking north \u2013 often fail to understand the importance of Switzerland and International Geneva as a global \u201cknowledge and cultural hub\u201d whether for the arts, sciences and health. Geneva is often better known abroad than Switzerland itself, yet, many of these invaluable assets are spread across the country. (See Global Geneva article on Switzerland as a Knowledge Hub)<\/a> Journalistically, too, International Geneva remains crucial as a global source for reliable information and Artificial Intelligence (AI).<\/p>\n

Originally billed as a reform for efficiency, UN80 has evolved into a generalised downsizing not necessarily responding to the actions needed to ensure a better and more responsive international Geneva.<\/p>\n

\"\"\/WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at the BRICS Leaders\u2019 Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Photo: Karina Zambrana, WHO<\/p>\n

The UN system: The need to focus on what works while getting rid of the bad<\/p>\n

According to some analysts, the UN could probably function far more effectively as a smaller and more fine-tuned world-wide operation. Yet much of the current or proposed downsizing has little to do with quality efficiency. Rather than focus on programmes and personnel worth keeping, far too many proposed UN \u2018reforms\u2019 reward incompetence or inside preferences rather than embrace cuts designed to eliminate inefficiencies and duplication. It would also make sense to merge certain operations as a means of reducing overall administrative costs.<\/p>\n

The UN system notoriously suffers from a lot of wastage. Some humanitarian initiatives, too, have significantly expanded over the past decade but are no longer needed. Yet they have continued to remain funded with some directors unwilling to see them disappear.<\/p>\n

Up to 25 percent of UN employees considered useless<\/p>\n

Some sectors funded by Swiss and international donors consist of significant amounts of \u2018dead wood,\u2019 notably employees and consultants who contribute little or who milk the system for themselves but make little difference in overall performance.<\/p>\n

As some policymakers have long suggested, the UN would do well to get rid of them. This includes certain politically appointed old guard directors. The international community would be far better served if the UN sought to retain skilled professionals, who bear the bulk of the operative and research burden. Once highly experienced operatives leave the system they will be difficult to replace.<\/p>\n

As one UN agency director candidly pointed out: \u201cWe can safely say that a good 25 percent of our employees make little or no difference at all, yet they have continued to work in Geneva enjoying high salaries and other benefits.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

For good or for bad, agencies like UNAIDS<\/a> are slashing headquarters staff from 127 to just 19 employees although as some observers have long pointed it, it would make far more sense to roll all remaining UNAIDS programmes into the World Health Organization (WHO) and other institutions. With current cuts, HIV\/AIDS is already growing worse with slowdowns of life-saving HIV medicines and prevention services to millions of people who depend on them. Nevertheless, UNAIDS could arguably be integrated into WHO to reduce costs, say some health experts.<\/p>\n

Another Swiss-based agency, Gavi<\/a>, a world-wide vaccine alliance, recently laid off 155 full-time Geneva staffers despite concerns that amongst key global issues, the need to retain if not expand vaccination programmes worldwide remains crucial.<\/p>\n

Other reductions are expected to inflict dire consequences on the ability of refugees and other victims of war to survive, such as the slashing of food programmes in Sudan. The World Food Programme<\/a>, which is based in Rome, faces a 40 per cent drop in funding, much of it the result of the United States pullout of its $300 million commitment. The UN\u2019s Office for Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA)<\/a>, a crucial operation for aiding victims of war and other related crises, expects to witness a 20 per cent loss by January 2026 at a time when international relief is more vital than ever to the survival of millions of crisis-affected civilians.<\/p>\n

\"cityPhoto by Wolfgang Wendefeuer on Pexels.com<\/p>\n

Grappling for solutions in response to U.S. withdrawal and donor apathy<\/p>\n

The Canton of Geneva has intervened in an unprecedented way, establishing a CHF 50 million foundation to support transformation in international organizations with an additional CHF 10 million emergency grant to help NGOs retain staff. Yet even this may not be enough to offset the fallout. Nor does the channelling of replacement funding necessarily mean a solution to the overall problem. There needs to be a genuine thinking out of the box as to the real purpose \u2013 and need \u2013 for an effective International Geneva.<\/p>\n

The unravelling of International Geneva, or International Switzerland as some prefer to call it given that various international NGOs, such as the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)<\/a>, MercyShips<\/a> and MedAir<\/a>, are based outside of Geneva and even neighbouring France, such as Interpol, cannot be separated from geopolitical realities.<\/p>\n

The Trump administration, now in its second term, has withdrawn from the Human Rights Council, World Health Organization (WHO)<\/a> \u2013 some US government representatives would like to see WHO completely shut down \u2013 and now, as of 22 July 2025, UNESCO<\/a>. According to US State Department spokesperson, Tammy Bruce, a former Fox Television commentator, \u201ccontinued involvement in UNESCO is not in the national interest of the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n

Similarly, US officials at the Geneva-based World Meteorological Organization (WMO)<\/a>, some clearly embarrassed by Washington\u2019s new position, have been instructed to disallow any references to climate change. \u201cIt has become a complete travesty,\u201d noted one western scientist at a recent high-level WMO meeting.<\/p>\n

\"\"Trump \u00a9 Gints Ivuskans | Dreamstime.com<\/p>\n

Trump: A nine-billion-dollar foreign aid clawback<\/p>\n

In mid-July 2025, the U.S. Senate passed a $9 billion foreign aid clawback, eliminating $8 billion contributions to key UN agencies including UNICEF<\/a> and the UN Development Programme (UNDP)<\/a>, plus an additional $1.1 billion destined for the Corporation of Public Broadcasting<\/a>, which describes itself as a \u201cprivate foundation funded by the American people.\u201d<\/p>\n

For years, Trump has been calling for the closure of public broadcasting because of its alleged \u201cleft-wing\u201d tendencies. This now eliminated funding has traditionally helped finance both National Public Radio (NPR) and Public Television (PBS), often the only source of credible information and early warning in the case of disasters such as floods and wildfires in many parts of the United States. With so much disinformation and misinformation, credible journalism is more important than ever not only for people\u2019s well-being but the survival of democracy.<\/p>\n

All this comes on top of $1.5 billion in unpaid U.S. dues to the UN for both past dues and the current fiscal year.<\/p>\n

But Washington is not the only one to not meet its obligations. Last year, 41 out of the UN\u2019s 193 member nations failed to contribute on time. China, the world\u2019s second-largest global economy, has traditionally paid late leading to significant operational difficulties, and yet Beijing has managed to place its operatives in key positions throughout the UN system. Voluntary donations to relief organizations are also dropping.<\/p>\n

A highly parochial view of the world<\/p>\n

The American Enterprise Institute<\/a>, a conservative think tank influential in U.S. foreign policy, acknowledges the UN\u2019s strategic value but believes that Americans should ensure greater efficiency for their own U.S.-centric priorities. This parochial perspective is echoed by Jeffrey Bartos, now representing the U.S. in UN budget talks: \u201cAmerican taxpayer dollars going to the UN should advance our national interest and make our country safer.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a NPR commentator noted in early July, 2025: \u201cThe fact that US security cannot necessarily be divorced from situations elsewhere on the planet is ignored.\u201d So is the fact, as others maintain, that philanthropic giving has long been a time-honoured American tradition which the Trump administration has now firmly undermined.<\/p>\n

Geneva\u2019s reliance on U.S. funding, which has accounted for roughly 22 per cent of the UN\u2019s core budget \u2013 has left it exposed virtually overnight. European donors, meanwhile, are shifting development budgets toward military spending in response to the war in Ukraine, leaving gaps that no other nations are stepping in to fill.<\/p>\n

Institutional drift, inefficiency, and political paralysis<\/p>\n

Beyond funding, structural problems plague the UN system and its partners. Political appointments still dominate leadership positions, undermining meritocracy. Efforts at reform by Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres are widely seen as ineffective or half-hearted.<\/p>\n

The once-promising \u201cOne UN\u201d model, introduced by Kofi Annan to streamline operations, has been largely abandoned. Agencies continue to operate in silos, and often with duplication, and many with bloated administrative costs. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of talk about reform, but little action,\u201d one panellist said at a recent conference organized by Global Geneva Group, a Swiss non-profit media and education association. \u201cUnless there\u2019s decisive leadership, International Geneva will drift into mediocrity.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Fraying Ecosystem<\/p>\n

The impact of this crisis extends beyond the confines of UN agencies. Geneva\u2019s local economy \u2013 its restaurants, hotels, taxi services, and real estate \u2013 depends heavily on the international sector, which supports over 220,000 jobs directly or indirectly, according to the Fondation pour Gen\u00e8ve.<\/p>\n

And yet, Bern\u2019s support has been tepid, with the Federal Council only recently approving a CHF 269 million stabilization package, after pressure from Geneva-based stakeholders.<\/p>\n

Geneva\u2019s identity is tied to its unique mix of multilateral institutions, scientific research bodies, and policy think tanks \u2013 a configuration that risks unravelling. Without strong intervention, its influence could erode irreversibly.<\/p>\n

Relevance at Risk<\/p>\n

With the 80th UN General Assembly in New York approaching (9-23 September 2025), observers warn that Geneva\u2019s moral and operational authority in global affairs will continue to unwind unless more prompt action is taken. The International Red Cross, both the International Committee<\/a> and Federation of Red Cross Societies<\/a>, MSF, and other Geneva-based institutions still carry weight, but younger institutions are struggling to assert relevance.<\/p>\n

\u201cInternational Geneva needs to de-westernize,\u201d said Tarak Bach Baouab of M\u00e9decins Sans Fronti\u00e8res International<\/a> at its headquarters in Geneva. \u201cIt must adopt more inclusive, flexible, and locally-driven models to meet today\u2019s complex challenges.\u201d As the world\u2019s largest medical NGO, MSF is not reliant on government donors for its funding given that overwhelming bulk comes from individual contributors.<\/p>\n

Sophie Tholstrup of Ground Truth Solutions<\/a>, a Vienna-based NGO, adds: \u201cAid agencies must shift from institutional survival to demand-driven operations rooted in local context. Cookie-cutter solutions don\u2019t work anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"modernUnited Nations in New York \u2013 Photo by Charles Parker on Pexels.com<\/p>\n

Existential Questions<\/p>\n

With some U.S. lawmakers are even calling for withdrawal from the UN Charter and an end to diplomatic immunities for UN Headquarters in New York, a dramatic relocation of global institutions is not unthinkable. Could Geneva, the second-largest UN hub, rise to take the lead? Or will it become a nostalgic footnote of 20th-century multilateralism?<\/p>\n

\u201cNature abhors a vacuum,\u201d added Fondation de Geneve\u2019s Eggly. \u201cIf the U.S. steps back, other nations \u2013 China, India, Brazil \u2013 will step in.\u201d Yet, without visionary leadership, Geneva may simply become a casualty of geopolitical entropy.<\/p>\n

Edward Girardet is a Geneva-based foreign correspondent and author. He has reported conflict, humanitarian and environmental issues worldwide for more than 40 years. A specialist on international Switzerland and UN-related issues, he is a founder of HelpSaveTheMed<\/a>, a multimedia and educational initiative designed to highlight threats \u2013 and solutions \u2013 facing the Greater Mediterranean, both on land and at sea, and the world\u2019s oceans.<\/p>\n

This article was first published on Global Geneva<\/a><\/p>\n

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