Page 497 - 100 Reflections that Crafted Geneva International_V-Petrovsky_private special edition

Challenging Agenda:

The Role of Geneva in the Years to Come

Article by Vladimir Petrovsky

17
December 2000

G
eneva has enjoyed over eighty years on the diplomatic stage. The
UN's predecessor, the League of Nations, a product of the tragic
“Great War,” found its home here. The conclusion of the Treaty of
Versailles led to the creation of the League in 1919. US President Woodrow
Wilson, the League's guiding figure, was among the leaders who considered
Geneva eminently suitable due to Switzerland's involvement in international
relations, which dates back to the 19th century. This was the world's first
“Great Experiment” in multilateral diplomacy and collective security. The
creation of the United Nations in 1945 is considered as the second Great
Experiment. Both the successes and failures of the League provided the
principal direction and basis for the new Organization, which also came out of
the ashes of war.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) long ago put
Geneva on the map as the world capital of humanitarian activity. As the
custodian of the Geneva Conventions, the ICRC monitors with States-Parties
the humane treatment of civilians in conflict and prisoners-of-war.

Present-day Geneva is a thriving hub of action in the service of humanity.
Consider the following. About 3,800 people work for the United Nations
Office at Geneva (UNOG). Add to that number 4,200 staff members from five
specialized agencies and 3,450 staff and diplomats working for 151 of the UN's
189 Member States. UNOG is the second United Nations office after
Headquarters in New York and the world's busiest conference center. More
than 600 meetings a month bring 25,000 delegates to the city. Three types of
Ambassadors discharge their functions in Geneva: those assigned to UNOG,

17 The article was initially written by Mr. Petrovsky for UN Chronicle, and was
published in the magazine Diva International Diplomat No. 1 for 2020, in the series
“Vladimir Petrovsky, a pioneer of Geneva International”.

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