Page 22 - 100 Reflections that Crafted Geneva International_V-Petrovsky_private special edition

BRINGING THE CONCEPT TO LIFE

Through international cooperation in action, Geneva greatly improves the quality of
peoples' daily lives throughout the world in often unpublicized but concrete
ways. This is the major source of inspiration for all of us - international civil
servants - working in Geneva.

Geneva provides a perfect infrastructure for the cooperation between the classical,
traditional international organizations and the new actors in emotional activities
including: the parliamentarians, local authorities, business community, religious
bodies and civil society in all aspects.

It is clear that Geneva, a crossroads of multiculturalism and an international
center of global authority, in new post-Cold War political environment is fast
becoming a city which both reflects and connects global diversity.

Geneva involvement in security matters in conjunction with its tradition of
humanitarianism make it the international capital of human security, which
includes the security of individual human beings, not only from war and violence,
but also from hunger, disease and environmental degradation.

Contemplating the future role of Geneva International we need to take into
account, that for the first time in history, all humankind is inter-linked by
information highway, economic links and environmental concerns. Hence, no
State or group of States can claim security at the expense of another. Issues
are global by their nature and multilateral cooperation is no longer an option
but a necessity for a peaceful and prosperous global society.

As you are well aware in Geneva, dialogue is a basic function not just of international
diplomacy but of every society the world over. Dialogue among the Civilizations is
the new trademark of Geneva in the network age.

Sometimes when I talk to people outside Switzerland it is difficult to explain why
this country, the name of which is so closely associated with the history of
internationalism and which is so heavily involved with the UN, is not among its
members. We in the United Nations look forward to the day - hopefully sooner
rather than later - when the Swiss flag will take its rightful place alongside those of
the other 185 Member States.

Vladimir Petrovsky

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