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and important external partners in the robust unfavorable international conditions. This will
academic and private sectors, Geneva is the only perpetuate erroneous practices of the past
most significant operational hub of the UN and shortchange any meaningful reforms, in
Secretariat, indeed, of the entire UN system. the process hurting and mangling the lives of
hundreds of UN staff. The bottom line here is
The United Nations Office at Geneva, which is at that the member states of the Organization need
the epicenter of International Geneva, is much to empower the Secretary-General to do this,
more than just a Department of the Secretariat. instead of pressuring the Secretariat to keep
Once the European headquarters of the United cutting costs and passing this off as reform. I
Nations, UNOG has seen its role and functions have written many an aide-mémoire on this and
steadily erode over the past decades leaving it presented them to high management, but they
with no substantive mandate. Yet, after UNHQ, never received any traction.
UNOG is the most significant asset of the UN
Secretariat. It is hosted by a most generous You come from a distinguished diplomatic
and supportive host country, a welcoming city family—your father was Georgia’s Minister for
and canton with a history of multilateralism, Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister.
universally known as the capital of human rights How did this legacy influence your career? Did
and humanitarianism and of disarmament, it it create opportunities—or perhaps set high
occupies the iconic Palais des Nations, the physical expectations and additional pressure?
embodiment of multilateralism, is managed by a I think every child is influenced by the professions
Director-General at the under-secretary-general of their parents. If my parents had been doctors
level who is the representative of the Secretary- and I had grown up thumbing through anatomy
General in Switzerland and boasts a complement atlases, there is a high probability that I would
of highly qualified, experienced and committed have opted for that professional choice. My
professional and general service staff. However, father’s work, or what I saw of it as an eight-nine-
they are almost entirely engaged in either year-old kid in Bombay, India, and then at age ten
servicing other organizations’ meetings or to fourteen in London, certainly influenced my
providing administrative and logistical services. choice. Thinking back, I think what appealed to
As important as those functions are, UNOG is me most in my father’s work was his interaction
more than ‘equipped’ to manage political issues. with people. I liked that aspect, and professional
travel as a lifestyle. My parents gave me honest
In the last decade or so, UNHQ has increasingly advice, so I would make the choice consciously
tended to blur the difference between OAH and and I am forever grateful to them.
‘field’, treating OAH increasingly as just a field
office. This has led to an over-centralization I had never been intimidated by my father’s
of managerial prerogatives and functions at ‘shadow,’ on the contrary, I enjoyed basking in it.
UNHQ, likening the UN Secretariat to a tadpole. He left a legacy of kindness, and throughout my
It is this situation, that requires a comprehensive life when someone recognized my family name
substantive – not just budgetary – review of the and made the connection, people who had known
functions within the worldwide Secretariat. The him and my mother would invariably be kind and
objective should be to evaluate which of its parts considerate to me. Despite this, I was always ‘my
would be best placed to perform which function own man’ and felt no insecurities because of my
and to rearrange and streamline these accordingly, father’s career and standing, on the contrary, I
to contribute to the achievement of the common have always been and continue to be very proud
objectives of the Organization, as defined by the of him and my mother. My father was a wise, self-
member states. A review and recalibration of made man. He gave me very valuable professional
the substantive vs. administrative functions in and life advice. I miss it terribly.
the context of delegating – a policy prominently
promulgated but hollow due to opposite Diplomacy is often compared to chess. Do you
practices – of substantive political functions to agree with this analogy? Is diplomacy a strategic,
UNOG and other OAH, could yield the elusive predictable game—or does it still involve risk,
‘bang for the buck’ instead of going down the unpredictability, and even a degree of political
road of mechanically cutting posts, people and improvisation?
budgets in an effort to respond to increasingly Funny, you should mention chess and diplomacy.

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