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in October 2006 for the post of chef de cabinet
of the Director-General. In March of 2011, the
outgoing Director-General moved me to the
vacant position of Chief Librarian of UNOG, a
most interesting, challenging at first, but very
rewarding job. The UNOG Library is the largest
and most versatile library in the UN Secretariat.
Unlike the Dag Hammarskjold Library in New
York, which due to budget cuts, unfortunately,
no longer buys new books, the UNOG Library
and Archives is a living institution which serves
the UN presence in Geneva, the Diplomatic
Corps, various students and researchers and
is accessible remotely by anyone from every
corner of the world, for free. In learning the
substance of the profession, I enjoyed the
support and excellent collaboration of over fifty
top-notch staff members, librarians, archivists
and colleagues of other unique professions such
as bookbinder, the last of which was eliminated
due to budget cuts, thus depriving the UNOG
Library and UN and League of Nations Archives
of a key skill to maintain its collections. The
next Director-General asked me to return two
years later to the chef de cabinet position where
I served the Organization until my retirement in
2023.

United Nations Headquarters and the United
Nations Office at Geneva, two of the largest
parts of the world-wide Secretariat are very
different, but in many ways very similar. Having
spent over ten years at UNHQ in a variety
with me throughout my over thirty years in the of offices, humanitarian affairs, children and
Organization and remains with me to this day. armed conflict, UN50 protocol, and others,
I felt strange in the one office-one building
You arrived in Geneva nearly 25 years ago, just as environment of the High Commissioner’s
Switzerland was joining the United Nations, and office when I came to Geneva in 2003, whereas
were immediately appointed Chef de Cabinet to UNOG had a similar structure, function and
the Director-General of UNOG. How did the vibe as UN HQ, but ‘horizontally’, of course, as
pace and nature of work in Geneva compare to opposed to the skyscraper configuration in New
the more politically charged environment of New York. But beyond geometry, New York is the
York? center for peace and security issues, which, by
No, it wasn’t quite such a ‘fairy tale!’ The late Sergio definition, are ‘politically charged’, as you put it.
Vieira de Mello, the brilliant UN ‘troubleshooter’ But anyone who has worked in Geneva, whether
who was murdered together with twenty-one on the Secretariat side, or as part of a delegation,
other colleagues in Baghdad twenty-two years will attest to the fact that there is frequently
ago this August asked me to join him in his new ‘high drama’ in meetings of intergovernmental
position of High Commissioner for Human bodies in Geneva, whether in the Human Rights
Rights, as his chief of communications. Following Council, the Conference on Disarmament, even
a tumultuous three-year transition after his in such seemingly technical organizations as the
death, I moved to UNOG as senior political Economic Commission for Europe. Everything
adviser to the Director-General and inside of in the United Nations is political and politicized.
a year in that temporary position, was selected Geneva is no exception.

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