United Nations Information Service at Geneva
Encyclopedia
The United Nations Information Service at Geneva (UNIS Geneva) is part of a network of United Nations Information Centres across the world working to promote greater public understanding of the aims and activities of the United Nations.

UNIS Geneva operates from the United Nations Office at Geneva
United Nations Office at Geneva
The United Nations Office at Geneva is the second-largest of the four major office sites of the United Nations...

, the second-biggest of the four major office sites of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

 after the UN's main Headquarters in New York
United Nations headquarters
The headquarters of the United Nations is a complex in New York City. The complex has served as the official headquarters of the United Nations since its completion in 1952. It is located in the Turtle Bay neighborhood of Manhattan, on spacious grounds overlooking the East River...

 (the other two are the Offices in Vienna and Nairobi). It is also the United Nations Information Centre for Switzerland.

The Service provides information services focusing primarily on Geneva-based United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

 activities in the field of human rights, disarmament, development and economic and social issues. It bears a special responsibility for informing the press and the general public on the UN's human rights activities due to the location in Geneva of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and of the annual meetings of the Human Rights Council. UNIS Geneva also highlights disarmament efforts, reporting on the work of the Conference on Disarmament
Conference on Disarmament
Conference on Disarmament is a forum established by the international community to negotiate multilateral arms control and disarmament agreements...

 , which meets in Geneva and is the world's sole multilateral forum for disarmament negotiations. Relief assistance is also a focus of the Service's work, Geneva being the world capital of humanitarian activity.

Press services

UNIS Geneva also conveys the position of the United Nations on matters in the news through its briefings, official statements, interviews and background briefings. It provides both breaking news and in-depth material to international print and audiovisual media.

The Service produces a wide range of information products on the work of the United Nations and current international issues, including meeting summaries, press releases, backgrounders and statements. All publications are available on the UNIS webpage .

It produces radio, television and photo material on events in Geneva and related field activities
UNIS Geneva provides annual accreditation to representatives of the media who are covering UN system issues. Accredited journalists receive access to the United Nations Office at Geneva, information on UN events and activities in Geneva and in the world, and can participate in events and press briefings being organized at the Office.

Furthermore, UNIS Geneva provides services for press conferences and briefings held by organisations of the United Nations system based in Geneva, including the International Labour Organization
International Labour Organization
The International Labour Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that deals with labour issues pertaining to international labour standards. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. Its secretariat — the people who are employed by it throughout the world — is known as the...

 (ILO), the International Telecommunication Union
International Telecommunication Union
The International Telecommunication Union is the specialized agency of the United Nations which is responsible for information and communication technologies...

 (ITU), the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs , is a United Nations body formed in December 1991 by General Assembly Resolution 46/182...

 (OCHA), the [Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights] (OHCHR), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the World Health Organization
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...

 (WHO), the World Intellectual Property Organization
World Intellectual Property Organization
The World Intellectual Property Organization is one of the 17 specialized agencies of the United Nations. WIPO was created in 1967 "to encourage creative activity, to promote the protection of intellectual property throughout the world"....

 (WIPO), the World Meteorological Organization
World Meteorological Organization
The World Meteorological Organization is an intergovernmental organization with a membership of 189 Member States and Territories. It originated from the International Meteorological Organization , which was founded in 1873...

 (WMO), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development was established in 1964 as a permanent intergovernmental body. It is the principal organ of the United Nations General Assembly dealing with trade, investment, and development issues....

 (UNCTAD), and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe was established in 1947 to encourage economic cooperation among its member states. It is one of five regional commissions under the administrative direction of United Nations headquarters. It has 56 member states, and reports to the UN Economic and...

 (UNECE).

Guided Tours

UNIS Geneva is also responsible for guided tours
of the Palais des Nations
Palais des Nations
The Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, was built between 1929 and 1936 to serve as the headquarters of the League of Nations. It has served as the home of the United Nations Office at Geneva since 1946 when the Secretary General of the UN signed a Headquarters Agreement with the Swiss...

, which is the headquarters of the United Nations Office at Geneva
United Nations Office at Geneva
The United Nations Office at Geneva is the second-largest of the four major office sites of the United Nations...

, with over 100,000 visitors each year.

The tour of the Palais des Nations
Palais des Nations
The Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, was built between 1929 and 1936 to serve as the headquarters of the League of Nations. It has served as the home of the United Nations Office at Geneva since 1946 when the Secretary General of the UN signed a Headquarters Agreement with the Swiss...

 - built in the 1930s for the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...

 - includes meeting rooms such as the Assembly Hall, the Human Rights and Alliance of Civilizations Room, the Salle des Pas Perdus, the Council Chamber.

Information programmes

The UN Information Service at Geneva offers lectures by UN staff members on the UN in general and the work of the Geneva-based specialized agencies. The information programmes are prepared for groups coming from all parts of the world and composed of university students, diplomats, public servants and representatives of non-governmental organizations or other associations. The themes of the programmes range from human rights and humanitarian affairs to disarmament and peacekeeping operations.

The Information Service at Geneva also holds each year a Graduate Study Programme
during the first three weeks of July, providing an opportunity for postgraduate students from all over the world to deepen their understanding of the United Nations and its related agencies through first-hand observation and study at the United Nations Office at Geneva
United Nations Office at Geneva
The United Nations Office at Geneva is the second-largest of the four major office sites of the United Nations...

.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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