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100 Reflections that Crafted Geneva International
C. UNOG will also strengthen cooperation and dialogue with the agencies
and other parts of the UN family that operate in Geneva and in Europe:
particularly, ILO, WHO, FAO, UNESCO as well as UNHCR, UNICEF,
UNDP. It will strengthen also relations with the NGO community as well as
with such established institutions as the ICRC.

D. Finally, as a focal point for European activities of the UN in particular in
preventive diplomacy, peace-keeping, peacemaking, and peace-building, UNOG
will increasingly catalyze regional cooperation with institutions such as the
CSCE, the European Community, and the Council of Europe.

There has been much talk about a possible move of the Office of
Disarmament Affairs to Geneva lately. Let me use this opportunity to say that
as far as disarmament is concerned, the main issue, at this stage, is the question
of political responsibility and effective management of the limited resources
available in that sector and not whether the main part of the Office is located in
New York or in Geneva. As you know, the Office presently is made up of some
20 professional staff. There is no urgency, until the overall role of the UN in the
field of disarmament is clarified, to rush a comprehensive decision as to the
location of these staff. On the other hand, it is perfectly in line with the
objective of the Secretary-General to make full use of the "comparative
advantages" of Offices away from New York, in this case the expertise of
Geneva in the field of disarmament, and to consider the possibility of
consolidating in Geneva staff and know-how for the ultimate benefit of
Member States.

At the same time, it is imperative to redefine the mission of the Office of
Disarmament Affairs in keeping with the new priorities of the post cold­war
era, not least its emphasis on practical questions related to post­disarmament
agreement issues, such as transportation, storage and destruction of nuclear
weapons, de-mining, re-training of army officers, etc. In this connection, a
move to Geneva of some of the staff resources of the Office may actually
strengthen the disarmament action of the UN while at the same time resulting
in savings in the medium and long-term from the budgetary point of view thus
ensuring a most effective utilization of the limited resources available in this
field. I should perhaps recall that the revised budget appropriation for
Disarmament in 1992-1993, approved by the 5th Committee just a few days
ago, is US $ 3,964,000. The budget appropriation in 1990-1991 was US $
12,346,000. We have had an impressive reduction in budget appropriations of
about 66 per cent over the past year. The question however is: are we making

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