United Nations Office at Geneva
Encyclopedia
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...
(second to the United Nations Headquarters
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...
in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
). It is located in 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...
building constructed 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...
between 1929 and 1938 at Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, and expanded in the early 1950s and late 1960s.
Besides United Nations administration, it also hosts the offices for a number of programmes and funds such as the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarion Affairs (OCHA) and the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE).
The United Nations and its specialized agencies, programmes and funds
United Nations System
The United Nations system consists of the United Nations, its subsidiary organs , the specialized agencies, and affiliated organizations...
may have other offices or functions hosted outside the Palais des Nations, normally in office spaces provided by the Swiss Government
Swiss Federal Council
The Federal Council is the seven-member executive council which constitutes the federal government of Switzerland and serves as the Swiss collective head of state....
.
Constituent agencies
Headquartered at Geneva:- ECEUnited Nations Economic Commission for EuropeThe 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...
– Economic Commission for Europe - IBEInternational Bureau of EducationThe International Bureau of Education is a UNESCO center specializing in education, whose goal is to facilitate the provision of quality education throughout the world.-History:...
– International Bureau of Education - ICC – International Computing Centre
- ILOInternational Labour OrganizationThe 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...
– International Labour Organization - ITCInternational Trade CentreThe International Trade Centre is the joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations.The following statement about the ITC is taken verbatim from its website, and reflects the ITC's official view of its own functions:...
– International Trade Centre - ITUInternational Telecommunication UnionThe International Telecommunication Union is the specialized agency of the United Nations which is responsible for information and communication technologies...
– International Telecommunication Union - JIUJoint Inspection UnitThe Joint Inspection Unit is a United Nations unit established by resolution 31/192 of December 22, 1976 of the General Assembly of the United Nations. Its objective is to enhance the efficiency of the administrative and financial functioning of the United Nations system and, to this end, it may...
– Joint Inspection Unit - OCHAOffice for the Coordination of Humanitarian AffairsThe United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs , is a United Nations body formed in December 1991 by General Assembly Resolution 46/182...
– Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs - UNAIDSJoint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDSThe Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS, or UNAIDS, is the main advocate for accelerated, comprehensive and coordinated global action on the HIV epidemic....
– Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS - UNHCHROffice of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human RightsThe Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is a United Nations agency that works to promote and protect the human rights that are guaranteed under international law and stipulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948...
– Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights - UNHCRUnited Nations High Commissioner for RefugeesThe Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees , also known as The UN Refugee Agency is a United Nations agency mandated to protect and support refugees at the request of a government or the UN itself and assists in their voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement to...
– Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees - UNCCUnited Nations Compensation CommissionThe United Nations Compensation Commission was created in 1991 as a subsidiary organ of the United Nations Security Council. Its mandate is to process claims and pay compensation for losses and damage suffered as a direct result of Iraq's 1990-1991 invasion and occupation of Kuwait...
– United Nations Compensation Commission - UNCTADUnited Nations Conference on Trade and DevelopmentThe 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....
– United Nations Conference on Trade and Development - UNIDIRUnited Nations Institute for Disarmament ResearchThe United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research was established in 1980 by the United Nations General Assembly to inform States and the global community on questions of international security, and to assist with disarmament efforts so as to facilitate progress toward greater security and...
– United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research - UNITARUnited Nations Institute for Training and ResearchThe United Nations Institute for Training and Research was established in 1965 following a "for the training of personnel, particularly from developing Member States, for administrative and operational assignments with the United Nations and the specialized agencies, both at Headquarters and in...
– United Nations Institute for Training and Research - NGLS – United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Service
- UNOPSUnited Nations Office for Project ServicesThe United Nations Office for Project Services , is dedicated to implementing projects for the United Nations System, international financial institutions, governments and other partners in the aid world...
– United Nations Office for Project Services - UNOSDPUnited Nations Office on Sport for Development and PeaceThe United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace or UNOSDP was introduced by Kofi Annan in 2001. Its mandate is to coordinate the efforts undertaken by the United Nations in promoting sport in a systematic and coherent way as a means to contribute to the achievement of development and...
– United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace - UNFPAUnited Nations Population FundThe United Nations Population Fund is a UN organization. The work of the UNFPA involves promotion of the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity. This is done through major national and demographic surveys and with population censuses...
– United Nations Population Fund - UNRWAUnited Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near EastUnited Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East is a relief and human development agency, providing education, health care, social services and emergency aid to 5 million Palestine refugees living in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, as well as in the West Bank and the Gaza...
– United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near-East - UNRISDUnited Nations Research Institute For Social DevelopmentThe United Nations Research Institute for Social Development is "an autonomous United Nations agency that carries out research on the social dimensions of contemporary problems affecting development"...
– United Nations Research Institute for Social Development - CEB – United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination
- UNVUnited Nations VolunteersThe United Nations Volunteers program is a United Nations organization that advocates the role and benefits of volunteerism for development, integrates volunteers into development programmes, and mobilises volunteers for development projects. It was created to be a development partner for UN...
– United Nations Volunteers Programme - WHOWorld Health OrganizationThe 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...
– World Health Organization - WIPOWorld Intellectual Property OrganizationThe 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"....
– World Intellectual Property Organization - WMOWorld Meteorological OrganizationThe 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...
– World Meteorological Organization
Presence at Geneva:
- IAEAInternational Atomic Energy AgencyThe International Atomic Energy Agency is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. The IAEA was established as an autonomous organization on 29 July 1957...
– International Atomic Energy Agency (Headquarters are in ViennaViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
) - UNEPUnited Nations Environment ProgrammeThe United Nations Environment Programme coordinates United Nations environmental activities, assisting developing countries in implementing environmentally sound policies and practices. It was founded as a result of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in June 1972 and has its...
– United Nations Environment Programme (Headquarters are in NairobiNairobiNairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
) - UNESCO – United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Headquarters are in ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
) - UNIDOUnited Nations Industrial Development OrganizationThe United Nations Industrial Development Organization , French/Spanish acronym ONUDI, is a specialized agency in the United Nations system, headquartered in Vienna, Austria...
– United Nations Industrial Development Organization (Headquarters are in ViennaViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
) - WFPWorld Food ProgrammeThe World Food Programme is the food aid branch of the United Nations, and the world's largest humanitarian organization addressing hunger worldwide. WFP provides food, on average, to 90 million people per year, 58 million of whom are children...
– World Food Programme (headquarters are in RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
)
Directors-General of UNOG
- Wladimir Moderow, Poland 1946–1951
- J. Franclin Ray, USA 1952
- Sir Arthur Rucker, UK 1953
- Adriannus Pelt, Netherlands 1954–1957
- Pier Pasquale Spinelli, Italy 1957–1968
- Vittorio Winspeare-Guicciardi, Italy 1968–1978
- Luigi Cottafavi, Italy 1978–1983
- Erik Suy, Belgium 1983–1987
- Jan MartensonJan MårtensonJan Mårtenson, born 14 February 1933 in Uppsala, is a Swedish diplomat who is also famous as the author of some fifty crime novels. The main character of most of his books is the fictional antique dealer Johan Kristian Homan....
, Sweden 1987–1992 - Antoine Blanca, France 1992–1993
- Vladimir Petrovsky, Russia 1993–2002
- Sergei OrdzhonikidzeSergei OrdzhonikidzeSergei Ordzhonikidze is a Russian diplomat. He was the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva from 2002 - 2011...
, Russia 2002–2011 - Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kazakhstan, 2011-present
Administrative History of the United Nations Office at Geneva
- United Nations Geneva Office, from beginning, Aug 1946 – Apr 1947, (IC/Geneva/1)
- European Office of the UN, 11.04.1947 – 10.08.1948, (IC/Geneva/49)
- United Nations Office at Geneva, 10.08.1948 – 09.08.1949, (IC/Geneva/152)
- European Office of the UN, 09.08.1949 – 08.12.1957, (SGB/82/Rev.1)
- United Nations Office at Geneva, 08.12.1957 – present, (SGB/82/Rev.2)
See also
- United Nations headquartersUnited Nations headquartersThe 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...
- United Nations Information Service at GenevaUnited Nations Information Service at GenevaThe United Nations Information Service at 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....
- United Nations Office at ViennaUnited Nations Office at ViennaThe United Nations Office in Vienna is one of the four major UN office sites where several different UN agencies have a joint presence. The office complex is located in Vienna, the capital of Austria, and is part of the Vienna International Centre, a cluster of several major international...
- United Nations Office at NairobiUnited Nations Office at NairobiThe United Nations Office at Nairobi is one of the four major UN office sites where several different UN agencies have a joint presence. The office complex is located in Nairobi, Kenya...