Page 127 - 100 Reflections that Crafted Geneva International_V-Petrovsky_private special edition

Bringing the Concept to Life

crisis. the crisis of too much credibility. But with а lack of political will, and а
huge backlog in outstanding contributions amounting to а total of US$ 2.12
billion, it is difficult to fulfil the expectations of public opinion. So, one of the
tasks of paramount importance is to educate public opinion on the realities of
the United Nations.

In these times of global change, the United Nations, more than ever, can
play а positive role in world events, channeling change in an evolutionary, non­
violent direction. It is only five years since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the
romantic over-expectations of the "new world order." Since then, we have faced
numerous conflicts. We have seen current peace-keeping operations exceed
previous peace-keeping efforts and we have witnessed genocide, famine,
economic collapse and misery. Under these conditions the United Nations has
been able to provide an invaluable safety net and help to minimize the
destructive forces' deleterious effects.

Sir Winston Churchill once said, "The United Nations was set up not to
get us to heaven, but to save us from hell". This is exactly what the UN is doing
today. The UN conducts numerous and diverse activities. Among other en-
deavours, it launches peace-keeping operations, protects human and minority
rights, provides technical assistance to developing countries, delivers humani-
tarian aid, conducts environmental programmes, services numerous international
conferences. These activities impact on our daily lives: help to diminish vio-
lence and resolve conflicts; fight AIDS, drug abuse and child slavery; promote
equal rights for all people; and protect families and the poor.

Geneva - Capital of Diplomacy and Multilateralism

As the second largest centre in the United Nations system, the United
Nations Office at Geneva is becoming increasingly important as а venue for
conferences and negotiations, peace-promotion and peacemaking,
disarmament and economic and social development, humanitarian relief and
the protection of human rights. The City-State at the edge of Lake Leman, start
of one of the great European rivers, enjoys а special position in the world. As
one of the major capitals of multilateral diplomacy, Geneva is often mentioned
in the annals of diplomacy. As long ago as 1830, it was the home of the League
of Реасе to promote friendship amongst the European States. In 1863, the
intonational Red Cross movement was born here. These associations served as
an inspiration for the creation of the League of Nations in 1919. Since
becoming the centтe of United Nations activities on 18 April 1946, Geneva has
continued to grow in importance.

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