Hundreds of United Nations staff members protested outside the UN’s European headquarters in Geneva on Thursday, decrying job losses resulting from significant aid reductions by the United States under former President Donald Trump, as well as other donor nations.
Geneva, Switzerland, a major humanitarian and diplomatic center known as the “City of Peace,” hosts over 30,000 employees in the international sector, according to local authorities.
Protesters from the UN and its specialized agencies carried banners with slogans such as “STOP FIRING UN STAFF NOW!” and chanted “UN staff are not a commodity.” Similar, smaller protests were reported by UN staff in Thailand and Myanmar on May 1.
While short-term contractors and employees at some agencies, including the International Organization for Migration (IOM), have already been notified of redundancies, concerns are growing that thousands more jobs are at risk.
The most severe cuts are anticipated at agencies that heavily rely on voluntary contributions, particularly from the United States, which was formerly a leading donor. These agencies include the World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
“They tried to keep me, but it was impossible,” said An Cuypers, a human rights lawyer whose temporary contract at the UN Human Rights Office was not renewed. “So we are here now: hiring freeze, no budget.”
Séverine Deboos, Chairperson of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Staff Union, stated that approximately 250 ILO employees have been made redundant since January. “We feel lost. We don’t know how to face this,” she said.
Deboos also highlighted the lack of a robust safety net for affected staff, noting that some employees are ineligible for Swiss unemployment benefits and face the expiration of their visas. An ILO spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.
Grace, a UN employee who preferred not to disclose her full name, emphasized the importance of supporting aid workers who have often risked their lives to assist people in conflict zones.
“The UN stands for everybody else, but nobody stands up for the people behind the UN,” she said.
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