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6.

Geneva within the UN System

ADDRESS TO THE 31ST GRADUATE STUDY PROGRAM

5 July 1993

I
t is a pleasure for me to address the Graduate Study Program.
Your interest in the work of the UN is encouraging and I am glad
to have this chance to share with you some of my ideas on the
work of the United Nations Office at Geneva.

Geneva as a part of UN system

1. Geneva is part and parcel of the UN system. When we are speaking
about the UN, we mean not only New York, which is the central headquarters,
but also Geneva, the second largest UN location after New York, Vienna,
Nairobi as well as other places where UN is present.

Governments and people in general expect much more than ever from the
Organization. Whatever happens, be it a conflict, a natural disaster or violation
of human rights, the first appeal for help is addressed to the UN.

A. As a part of system, Geneva is a place for coordinated action of Member
States.

It is the major centre of conference diplomacy.

300 conferences and 7000 meetings annually take place here.

Each year UNOG translates more than 165,000 pages of documentation in
six official languages; reproduces 300 million pages and distributes 25 million

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