The United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG, ) in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

, Switzerland, is one of the four major offices of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

where numerous different UN agencies have a joint presence. The main UNOG administrative offices are located inside the

Palais des Nations Palais () may refer to: * Dance hall, popularly a ''palais de danse'', in the 1950s and 1960s in the UK * ''Palais'', French for palace **Grand Palais, the Grand Palais des Champs-Elysées **Petit Palais, an art museum in Paris * Palais River in t ...

complex, which was originally constructed for the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

between 1929 and 1938. Besides United Nations administration, the Palais des Nations also hosts the offices for a number of programmes and funds such as the

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is an intergovernmental organization within the United Nations Secretariat that promotes the interests of developing countries in world trade. It was established in 1964 by the United Nations General Assembl ...

(UNCTAD), the

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is a United Nations (UN) body established in December 1991 by the General Assembly to strengthen the international response to complex emergencies and natural disaster ...

(OCHA) and the

United Nations Economic Commission for Europe The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE or UNECE) is an intergovernmental organization or a specialized body of the United Nations. The UNECE is one of five regional commissions under the jurisdiction of the United Nations Econom ...

(ECE). The United Nations and its specialized agencies, programmes and funds may have other offices or functions hosted outside the Palais des Nations, normally in office spaces provided by the

Swiss Government The Federal Council is the federal cabinet of the Swiss Confederation Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west ...

. UN specialised agencies and other UN entities with offices in Geneva hold bi-weekly briefings at the

, organized by the United Nations Information Service at Geneva. UNOG produces an annual report where it lists all major events and activities that happened through a year. The United Nations Library & Archives Geneva is part of the UNOG.

Constituent agencies

Headquartered in Geneva

Conference on Disarmament The Conference on Disarmament (CD) is a multilateral disarmament forum established by the international community to negotiate arms control and disarmament agreements based at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. The Conference meets annually in ...

International Bureau of Education The International Bureau of Education (IBE-UNESCO) is a UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations ...

* International Computing Centre *

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is one of the firs ...

International Organization for Migration The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is a United Nations related organization working in the field of migration. The organization implements operational assistance programmes for Human migration, migrants, including internally displa ...

International Trade Centre The International Trade Centre (ITC) () is a multilateral agency which has a joint mandate with the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations (UN) through the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The headqua ...

International Telecommunication Union The International Telecommunication Union (ITU)In the other common languages of the ITU: * * is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information ...

Joint Inspection Unit The Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) is a United Nations unit established by resolution 31/192 of 22 December 1976 of the General Assembly of the United Nations. Its objective is to enhance the efficiency of the administrative and financial functioning ...

Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS; , ONUSIDA) is the main advocate for accelerated, comprehensive and coordinated global action on the HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus t ...

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is a department of the United Nations Secretariat that works to promote and protect human rights that are guaranteed under international law and stipulated in the Univers ...

* United Nations Chief Executives Board for Coordination * United Nations Compensation Commission *

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, l ...

United Nations Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a United Nations Regional Gro ...

(see also

United Nations Commission on Human Rights The United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) was a functional commission within the United Nations System, overall framework of the United Nations from 1946 until it was replaced by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2006. It was a ...

) *

United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research The United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) is a research institute of the United Nations focused on disarmament and international security. It was established in 1980 by the United Nations General Assembly with the stated ...

United Nations Institute for Training and Research The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) is a dedicated training arm of the United Nations system. UNITAR provides training and capacity development activities to assist mainly developing countries with special attention ...

United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Service The United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Service (UN-NGLS or NGLS) is a programme of the United Nations mandated to promote and develop constructive relations between the United Nations and civil society organizations. UN-NGLS operates autonomou ...

* United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace * United Nations Research Institute For Social Development *

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

World Intellectual Property Organization The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO; (OMPI)) is one of the 15 specialized agencies of the United Nations (UN). Pursuant to the 1967 Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization, WIPO was created to pr ...

World Meteorological Organization The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for promoting international cooperation on atmospheric science, climatology, hydrology an ...

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland that regulates and facilitates international trade. Governments use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that g ...

Presence at Geneva

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security. Its Latin motto, , translates t ...

(headquarters in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

) *

International Atomic Energy Agency The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear technology, nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was ...

(headquarters are in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

) *

United Nations Environment Programme The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the Declaration of the United Nati ...

(headquarters are in

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

) *

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

(headquarters are in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

) *

United Nations Industrial Development Organization The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) (French: Organisation des Nations unies pour le développement industriel; French/Spanish acronym: ONUDI) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that assists countries in e ...

(headquarters are in

) *

World Food Programme The World Food Programme (WFP) is an international organization within the United Nations that provides food assistance worldwide. It is the world's largest humanitarian organization and the leading provider of school meals. Founded in 1961 ...

(headquarters are in

) *

United Nations World Tourism Organization The United Nations World Tourism Organization or UN Tourism (formerly UNWTO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations which promotes responsible, sustainable and universally-accessible tourism. Its headquarters are in Madrid, Spain. Othe ...

(headquarters in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

)

Directors-general

# Wladimir Moderow, Poland, 1946–1951 # Adriaan Pelt, Netherlands, 1952–1957 # Pier Pasquale Spinelli, Italy, 1957–1968 # Vittorio Winspeare-Guicciardi, Italy, 1968–1978 # Luigi Cottafavi, Italy, 1978–1983 # Eric Suy, Belgium, 1983–1987 #

Jan Mårtenson Jan Per Gösta Mårtenson (born 14 February 1933) is a Swedish diplomat who is also famous as the author of some fifty Swedish crime novels. Early life Mårtenson was born on 14 February 1933 in Uppsala, Sweden, the son of Colonel and his wife ...

, Sweden, 1987–1992 # , France, 1992–1993 #

Vladimir Petrovsky Vladimir Fyodorovich Petrovsky ( rus, Влади́мир Фёдорович Петро́вский, p=vlɐˈdʲimʲɪr ˈfʲɵdərəvʲɪtɕ pɪˈtrovskʲɪj; 29 April 1933 – 21 February 2014) was a Soviet and Russian diplomat, ambassador, pro ...

, Russia, 1993–2002 # Sergei Ordzhonikidze, Russia, 2002–2011 #

Kassym-Jomart Tokayev Kassym-Jomart Kemeluly Tokayev (born 17 May 1953) is a Kazakhstani politician and diplomat who has served as the second president of Kazakhstan since 2019. He previously served as Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, Prime Minister from 1999 to 2002 ...

, Kazakhstan, 2011–2013 #

Michael Møller Michael Møller (born 9 November 1952) is president of the Diplomatic Forum of the Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator Foundation, principal advisor at Macro Advisory Partners and member of the boards of several foundations, including the Kof ...

, Denmark, 2013–2019 # , Russia, 2019–present

Administrative history

# United Nations Geneva Office, from beginning, Aug 1946 – Apr 1947, (IC/Geneva/1) # European Office of the UN, 11 Apr 1947 – 10 Aug 1948, (IC/Geneva/49) # United Nations Office at Geneva, 10 Aug 1948 – 9 Aug 1949, (IC/Geneva/152) # European Office of the UN, 9 Aug 1949 – 8 Dec 1957, (SGB/82/Rev.1) # United Nations Office at Geneva, 8 December 1957 – present, (SGB/82/Rev.2)

Notes

References

Bibliography

* Joëlle Kuntz, ''Geneva and the Call of Internationalism: A History'', Éditions Zoé, 2011, 96 pages ().

External links

Official website

UN Geneva information

United Nations organisations in GenevaUN Geneva Annual Report
{{DEFAULTSORT:United Nations Office at Geneva Organisations based in Geneva Diplomatic buildings United Nations properties

Constituent agencies

Headquartered in Geneva

Presence at Geneva

Directors-general

Administrative history

See also

Notes

References

Bibliography

External links