Page 85 - 100 Reflections that Crafted Geneva International_V-Petrovsky_private special edition

Bringing the Concept to Life

10. As regards the scope of its activities, Geneva International holds
second place after New York - the UN Headquarters - and in certain areas is
definitely the major international actor. The division of labour between New
York and Geneva is roughly as follows: central Headquarters is the place
where decisions are made; Geneva handles most of the operational work.
While New York is debating resolutions or plans for new peace-keeping
operations, Geneva is battling AIDS, defending victims of human rights
violations, providing aid to refugees, allocating broadcast frequencies,
standardizing road signs, and taking care of thousands of other problems.

11. UNOG itself, which I am currently supervising, has a number of
important functions and its mandate has recently been significantly expanded.
First and foremost, UNOG is the world's main centre for conference
diplomacy. In 1993, it serviced a total of 4,271 meetings, in comparison with
4,029 in 1992. It services the Geneva-based specialized agencies and UN
organs as well as those of "visiting conferences" held at UNOG - such as the
Conference on the Former Yugoslavia and the talks on Georgia and Nagorny
Karabakh - providing interpretation, translation, documentation, publishing
and library services.

12. This year has begun well for Geneva International. The UN
Secretary­General, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, during his prolonged visit here,
devoted considerable time to important political functions, including talks on
the former Yugoslavia and Georgia and participation in the work of the
Advisory Board on Disarmament which for the first time was convened in this
city. Recently, Russia suggested that a ministerial-level meeting of the Security
Council be held in Geneva to discuss the problem of Yugoslavia. Personally, I
have always advocated that at least one of the periodical ministerial meetings of
the Council should be convened in this city, if only for the reason that
most of the UN operations are conducted in the Eastern hemisphere. The
mandate of UNOG Director-General has also been broadened. Recently, in
addition to my current responsibilities I was appointed by the UN
Secretary-General as his personal representative to the Conference on
Disarmament and the Secretary-General of this body.

13. UNOG is actively developing cooperation and dialogue with the UN
Specialized Agencies located in Switzerland as well as in other European
countries. Of particular importance are our contacts with the Vienna-based
International Atomic Energy Agency and UNESCO in Paris, with which we
have many common interests.

63