Page 14 - DIVA 3 2025_web

international international
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.
w w w. d i va i n t e r n at i o n a l . c h
Over the years, you worked closely with
several Directors-General, each with their own
leadership style, priorities, and vision. What
was the key to supporting them effectively over
such a long period? What made this sensitive
and demanding role sustainable for you?
I did indeed work with several Directors-General,
five to be exact, counting the interim ones. Each
a very different person. The key to working with
them was to always remember that they were
the Directors-General, not you. It was my job of International Geneva. What is your vision
to ensure the optimum conditions for them to for its evolution? Do you believe it needs to be
conduct their business by organizing their office reimagined, and if so, what concrete steps could
and support for their activities. The position of help restore its centrality in global diplomacy?
chef de cabinet, in my interpretation, was a mix Unfortunately, this growing concern about
of the functions of chief of staff and of political the relevance of International Geneva has not
adviser, providing the Director-General with the been there just since my recent retirement
best option from those available, but without from the Organization, but at least for the past
closing off the avenue for the direct reporting two decades, if not longer. Geneva is one of the
by line managers. An important aspect and my three Headquarters-type Offices Away from
particular favorite among my functions was Headquarters (OAH), together with Vienna
that of working the diplomatic ‘back channel’ and Nairobi. We must bear in mind, that OAH
and political ‘early warning radar’ before an are substantively and structurally complex,
issue would come to the Director-General and multifaceted, multidirectional, multisectoral
laying out options for the Director-General’s and multifunctional organisms. They are staffed
consideration. And, finally, I used to refer to with professional and above categories and
myself as the ‘Director-General’s liver’, in the general service personnel of the same types of
sense that everything that passed on to the desk of occupations as at UNHQ. As constituent parts
the Director-General went through me, at which of the Secretariat, together with UNHQ, they
moment I would take out all the ‘toxins’ and send perform on behalf of the Secretary-General,
in ‘clean’ stuff. Similarly, everything that returned a variety of political, developmental, legal,
also came to me through the personal assistant humanitarian, informational, regional and
for implementation. I must admit, though, that I other activities, as well as significant conference
have a problematic trait, that of speaking truth to management and administrative support
power. In the case of the senior officials I worked functions. To the Member States who maintain
for, I considered it my duty to provide them with full-fledged diplomatic outposts in these three
all sides of an issue, even those that I knew they locations, just as they do at UNHQ, OAH, are
would not necessarily appreciate. Some shot the the United Nations Secretariat in their regions
messenger, others did not. and areas of coverage. Together with the five
Regional Commissions the three OAH make
My UN career was unusual in the number of up the United Nations worldwide Secretariat.
under-secretary-general-level bosses that I Geneva stands out by far as physically the
worked for directly, seventeen in thirty some largest UN duty station, even edging New
years, counting the interim ones. Among them York somewhat, when the funds, programmes
were such prominent personalities as Joseph and specialized agencies of the UN system in
Verner Reed, Jan Eliasson, Yasushi Akashi, Sergio Geneva are added to the calculation. Factoring
Vieira de Mello, James A. Baker, III, President in the existence in Geneva of three distinct
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, and a number of Diplomatic Corps, one accredited to UNOG and
others. It was great schooling by all my bosses other international organizations, another to the
in diplomacy, politics and the fine art of dealing World Trade Organization (WTO) and the third
with people. to the Conference on Disarmament, the presence
of over forty funds, programmes and specialized
Since your recent retirement, there has been agencies (with over twenty headquartered here),
growing concern about the future relevance over 400 non-governmental organizations
w w w. d i va i n t e r n at i o n a l . c h