Page 460 - 100 Reflections that Crafted Geneva International_V-Petrovsky_private special edition

100 Reflections that Crafted Geneva International

And it is important to remember that raising one or two flags on their own
would not turn the heads of the people moving through the busy Place des
Nations. It is only when they are raised together that their collective impact is
felt.

Flags symbolize the Member States, which remain the major unit
of international relations. However, in the emerging democratic global
society, states are widely understood to be the instruments at the service
of their people, and not vice versa.

At the same time “individual” sovereignty, by which I mean the fundamen-
tal freedom of each individuals enshrined in the UN Charter, has been
enhanced by renewed and spreading consciousness of individual rights.

This comes to mind while looking at the flags here, in Geneva, which has
established itself as a center of multilateralism, with a human face.

Thank you.

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