Page 163 - 100 Reflections that Crafted Geneva International_V-Petrovsky_private special edition

Bringing the Concept to Life

des Nations and several additional properties and nearby buildings, serve as the
headquarters for many UN bodies, including:

• Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights;
• Centre for Human Rights;
• United Nations Conference on Trade and Development;
• Economic Commission for Europe;
• United Nations Compensation Commission;
• United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research;
• United Nations Research Institute for Social Development;
• United Nations Institute for Training and Research;
• Joint Inspection Unit.

Furthermore, numerous other UN bodies and units have established
branches or liaison offices at UNOG, the largest and most active of which
include:

• Department of Humanitarian Affairs;
• Department of Public Information;
• United Nations Environment Programme;
• United Nations Children's Fund;
• Centre for Disarmament Affairs;
• Disarmament Fellowship Programme

The independent parts of the United Nations system may be thought of as
tiles that, when intelligently arranged form a mosaic. During the Cold War,
some tiles were chipped and some pieces of the mosaic were missing. Much
repair work has been done in recent years and the renovation is continuing.
Still, the work is a priceless and beautiful piece of art.

The United Nations Office at Geneva is perhaps best known as the most
active centre for conference diplomacy in the world. It is the sight of many
historic negotiations and continues to be a centre of both multilateral and
bilateral diplomacy. More than 7,000 technical meetings on disarmament,
trade, human rights issues, and high-level political meetings are held at the
Palais des Nations throughout the year. Over 600 half-day meetings are held
each month at the Palais as well as many major annual conferences such as
ILO's International Labour Conference. WHO’s World Health Assembly, the

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