GENEVA :
A PLACE FOR CONTACTS, CONVERGENCE,
CREATIVITY, DIALOGUE,
A PLACE FOR CONTACTS, CONVERGENCE,
CREATIVITY, DIALOGUE,
HUMANITY AND PEACE
by Michel VEUTHEY[1]
1. A
privileged place for convergence
Geneva's geology with its mountains and waters predisposes it to
be a place of convergence of peoples and civilizations : Celts, Romans,
Alemanic and Burgundian tribes, "Refuge" of Protestant fleeing
prosecution in France, Germany and Italy. This convergence took on a universal
dimension during the 20th century.
Geneva extends on two banks of the Geneva Lake and Rhone river:
- the right bank with its international organizations (the United
Nations (UN),[2]
the World Trade Organization (WTO),[3]
the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO),[4]
the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),[5]
the UN High Commisioner for Human Rights (OHCHR),[6]
the International Telecommunication Union (ITU),[7]
the International Committte of the Red Cross (ICRC),[8]
the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC),[9]
the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU),[10]
the World Council of Churches (WCC),[11]
etc.) and communication infrastructures (airport, train station, highway), like
the right brain hemisphere, provides space for dialogue and exchange along;
-The left bank with the Geneva University[12]
founded by Calvin in 1559, the private banks,[13]
the St. Peter's Cathedral,[14]
now a Calvinist temple since the Reformation,[15]
like the left brain hemisphere, is marked by rigor, sobriety and discretion,
even exclusivity.
2. A meeting
point of civilizations
Geneva has been "discovered" by Julius Caesar in 41 BC
during the Gallic Wars.[16]
Geneva still bears in its coat of arms both the eagle of the Holy
Roman Empire[17]
and the key of the Bishop, who was usually a Member of the House of Savoy.
3. A platform for religious renewal and dialogue :
from Calvin to the World Council of Churches
With the Reformation in 1536, Geneva became the "Protestant Rome"[18] spreading the message of Calvin around Europe and the world.
With the Reformation in 1536, Geneva became the "Protestant Rome"[18] spreading the message of Calvin around Europe and the world.
Today, Geneva is the headquarters of the World Council of Churches
(WCC).
The first meeting ever of all leaders of Christian communities in
Syria took place in Geneva on 8 May 2014.
4. Where the religious connection contributes to the
political dialogue : from Calvin to Woodrow Wilson and the choice of
Geneva as headquarters of the League of Nations
Geneva was chosen over Bruxelles and Paris as the headquarters of the League of Nations because the American President Woodrow Wilson was a Presbyterian and preferred the city of his spiritual father to more prestigious European Capital cities.
Geneva was chosen over Bruxelles and Paris as the headquarters of the League of Nations because the American President Woodrow Wilson was a Presbyterian and preferred the city of his spiritual father to more prestigious European Capital cities.
5. A breeding
ground for humanitarian action, law and diplomacy
Geneva was the birth place of the ICRC in 1863 and of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, as well as of modern international humanitarian law with Henry Dunant and the First 1864 Geneva Convention.
Geneva was the birth place of the ICRC in 1863 and of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, as well as of modern international humanitarian law with Henry Dunant and the First 1864 Geneva Convention.
The 1906, 1929 and 1949 Geneva Conventions and their Additional
Protocols form the core of international humanitarian law.
Geneva is the headquarters of the ICRC, the International Federation
of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR), the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the International Organization for Migration
(IOM), as well as numerous humanitarian and Human Rights NGOs like Doctors
Without Borders (MSF), the International Commission of Jurists,[19]
CARE, etc.
6. A unique
trilateral negotiating process for labor relations
Shortly after the Soviet Revolution and after labor riots in Europe and Switzerland, the International Labor Office (ILO) was established in Geneva, with a unique tripartite membership: representatives of Governments, employers and workers.[20]
Shortly after the Soviet Revolution and after labor riots in Europe and Switzerland, the International Labor Office (ILO) was established in Geneva, with a unique tripartite membership: representatives of Governments, employers and workers.[20]
This pioneer setting could inspire today's struggling
intergovernmental organizations and civil society in their search for a new
global governance![21]
It succeeded in building the most sophisticated body of treaties regulations and mechanisms on labor
relations.[22]
Ideally, the ILO could be the ethical counterpart to the World
Trade Organization...
7. Where trade is
regulated : From the Geneva Fairs ("Foires de Genève") to GATT
and WTO]
During the Middle Ages, the Geneva Fairs ("Foires de Genève") were one of the busiest in Europe until the King of France undercut them in order to promote his own fairs in Lyons.
During the Middle Ages, the Geneva Fairs ("Foires de Genève") were one of the busiest in Europe until the King of France undercut them in order to promote his own fairs in Lyons.
Today, the World Trade Organization succeeded the GATT.
One of Geneva's leading sector is trading
commodities. With hundreds of companies that now handle the majority of global
transactions, Geneva is a world leader in oil, sugar, coffee, grains, rice and
oilseeds trade.[23]
And Geneva is a lively place for private arbitration of trade
contracts.[24]
8. A special place for peace negotiations
Geneva has become a favorite place for peace negotiations with the agreements on Indochina in 1954, the Evian Accords in 1962 on the independence of Algeria, and the on-going Syria as well as Israeli-Palestinian talks. Equally, informal negotiations between parties to the conflict in Colombia were hosted in Geneva.
Geneva has become a favorite place for peace negotiations with the agreements on Indochina in 1954, the Evian Accords in 1962 on the independence of Algeria, and the on-going Syria as well as Israeli-Palestinian talks. Equally, informal negotiations between parties to the conflict in Colombia were hosted in Geneva.
9. Monitoring threats and adjusting trends
Geneva is also a place to monitor threats and adjust policies, with the World Economic Forum (WEF),[25] discretely and beautifully headquartered in Cologny, and with Swiss-International think tanks like the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP),[26] the DCAF[27] and the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD)[28]...
Geneva is also a place to monitor threats and adjust policies, with the World Economic Forum (WEF),[25] discretely and beautifully headquartered in Cologny, and with Swiss-International think tanks like the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP),[26] the DCAF[27] and the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD)[28]...
10. A long
tradition of education. From Rousseau to Vassali and Burrin.
Geneva has a long tradition of education. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, proud Geneva citizen ("Citoyen de Genève"), is well known for his theories on education in "L'Emile"[29] as well the 20th century child psychologist Jean Piaget.[30]
Geneva has a long tradition of education. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, proud Geneva citizen ("Citoyen de Genève"), is well known for his theories on education in "L'Emile"[29] as well the 20th century child psychologist Jean Piaget.[30]
Today's emulation between both sides of the lake creates a
diversity of training and research in international
studies, with the Graduate Institute[31]
dating back to the League of Nations, on the right bank, and the Global Studies Institute[32]
of the Geneva University on the left bank, as well as Webster University,[33]
the Geneva School of Diplomacy and International
Relations[34]
and the Collège Universitaire Henry-Dunant.[35]
11. A tradition for scientific innovation: from
Augustin Pyramus de Candolle to CERN and Michel Mayor[36]
discovering the first exoplanet
Geneva has a tradition for scientific innovation which continues with the CERN[37] - where the Web was invented by Tim Bernes-Lee[38] and Robert Caillau[39] - and in a near future with the new research center on life sciences which will be created by The Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne and the University of Geneva following a donation from the Wyss Foundation.[40]
Geneva has a tradition for scientific innovation which continues with the CERN[37] - where the Web was invented by Tim Bernes-Lee[38] and Robert Caillau[39] - and in a near future with the new research center on life sciences which will be created by The Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne and the University of Geneva following a donation from the Wyss Foundation.[40]
12. A tension
between provincialism and universalism :
both the regional and the global visions complement each other
both the regional and the global visions complement each other
Geneva incorporates a tension between two dimensions at more than
one level:
- Between the Bishop of Geneva and the Protestant Rome;
- Between the "Chef
Lieu du Département du Léman", French préfecture during the Napoleonic times, and the Headquarters of the
League of Nations;
- Between private banks and humanitarian organizations.
Even if the next World Humanitarian Summit takes place in Istanbul
in 2016,[41]
Geneva will remain the necessary permanent meeting ground for humanitarian
dialogue, diplomacy and action, including the mobilization of public conscience
on a human rights and religious level, as a complement to the political and
security decision-making platforms in New York, beginning with the Security
Council.
WEBSITES
ON INTERNATIONAL GENEVA
INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
IN GENEVA MAP
http://www.fipoi.ch/content/files/000_PLAN-OI-NEW.pdf
INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS IN GENEVA : LIST OF PROTOCOL
http://www.ge.ch/protocole/repertoire_protocole/doc/OI.pdf
http://www.fipoi.ch/content/files/000_PLAN-OI-NEW.pdf
INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS IN GENEVA : LIST OF PROTOCOL
http://www.ge.ch/protocole/repertoire_protocole/doc/OI.pdf
INTERNATIONAL GENEVA :
THE GRADUATE INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS AND DEVELOPMENT (IHEID)
http://graduateinstitute.ch/home/about-us/la-geneve-internationale.html
http://graduateinstitute.ch/home/about-us/la-geneve-internationale.html
PERMANENT MISSIONS TO INTERNATIONAL
ORGANIZATIONS IN GENEVA
http://www.eda.admin.ch/etc/medialib/downloads/edazen/topics/intorg/un/gemiss.Par.0210.File.tmp/Liste%20MP%20OMCRP%20CD%20Del%20OI%20310309.pdf
http://www.eda.admin.ch/etc/medialib/downloads/edazen/topics/intorg/un/gemiss.Par.0210.File.tmp/Liste%20MP%20OMCRP%20CD%20Del%20OI%20310309.pdf
HANDBOOK ON PRIVILEGES AND
IMMUNITIES
www.eda.admin.ch/eda/fr/home/topics/intorg/un/unge/gepri.html
INTERATIONAL GENEVA WELCOME CENTER
http://www.cagi.ch/en.php
NGOs IN GENEVA
http://www.cagi.ch/en/service-ong.php
NGOs IN GENEVA (In French)
https://www.ge.ch/protocole/repertoire_protocole/organisations_non-gouvernementales.asp
www.eda.admin.ch/eda/fr/home/topics/intorg/un/unge/gepri.html
INTERATIONAL GENEVA WELCOME CENTER
http://www.cagi.ch/en.php
NGOs IN GENEVA
http://www.cagi.ch/en/service-ong.php
NGOs IN GENEVA (In French)
https://www.ge.ch/protocole/repertoire_protocole/organisations_non-gouvernementales.asp
NGOs IN GENEVA
http://www.cooperationinternationalegeneve.ch/categories/non-governmental-organizations
http://www.cooperationinternationalegeneve.ch/categories/non-governmental-organizations
ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS
http://www.cooperationinternationalegeneve.ch/fr/categories/academic-institutions
http://www.cooperationinternationalegeneve.ch/fr/categories/academic-institutions
[1]
Associate Professor of International Law at Webster University in Geneva,
Deputy Permanent Observer of the Order of Malta at the United Nations in
Geneva, Vice-President of the International Institute of Humanitarian Law
(www.iihl.org).The author would like to thank Eveline Höpli for her editorial
comments.
[16]
"De Bello
Gallico" and Other
Commentaries by Julius Caesar. English translation by Thomas de Quincey,
orginally published in 1915, available online at : http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/bl/bl_text_caesar_bellogallico_1.htm
[18]
See an English translation of « Brève histoire de Genève » by Louis
Binz online at :
http://www.memo.fr/en/article.aspx?ID=REG_GEN_MOD_008
Full original text in French available online (3rd ed., 2000) at : https://egeneve.ch/GENEVE.pdf
See this bibliography on Medieval Geneva : http://www.unige.ch/lettres/istge/hma/ressources/bibliogeneve.pdf
http://www.memo.fr/en/article.aspx?ID=REG_GEN_MOD_008
Full original text in French available online (3rd ed., 2000) at : https://egeneve.ch/GENEVE.pdf
See this bibliography on Medieval Geneva : http://www.unige.ch/lettres/istge/hma/ressources/bibliogeneve.pdf
[21]
See the excellent short address by Michael Møller, Director-General of the
United Nations Office in Geneva, on 20
January 2014 « Quel rôle pour les Nations
Unies dans la gouvernance mondiale ? » online at: http://bit.ly/1kabM6f
