Opening remarks by the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva at the
Human Rights and Alliance of Civilizations Room Press Briefing

Thank you all for coming today. I am glad to have this opportunity, together with Ambassador Garrigues and Ambassador March, to brief you on the renovation and refurbishment of Room XX, donated by the Government of Spain.

I should like to start with a few words on the importance of the gift to the United Nations and the naming of the room, and then give the floor to Ambassadors Garrigues and March. They will provide you with more detail on the inauguration, the private-public partnership ONUART, which has made the renovation possible, and on the ceiling sculpture created by Spanish artist Miquel Barceló.

The room has been renovated at the personal initiative of His Majesty King Juan Carlos I of Spain, who during a visit to the Palais des Nations in March 2005 accepted the United Nations’ standing invitation to Member States to renovate and refurbish conference rooms, as a contribution to the work of the Organization. As you know, in the past, a number of Member States have generously donated renovations of conference rooms, which have been named in their honour.

The United Nations is deeply grateful to the Government and the people of Spain, and to ONUART, for this both practical and highly symbolic gift. There is no doubt that it will be both an artistic and an architectural landmark. As part of the Palais des Nations, this room will become part of the collective heritage of the international community.

The room is an illustration of Spain’s firm commitment to the values, principles and mission of the United Nations and the preservation of the unique heritage that the Palais des Nations represents. We greatly appreciate this dedication. Together, the renovation and the artwork are most likely the largest donation of its kind ever to the United Nations.

The renovation of the room takes place within the context of our ongoing efforts to ensure that the Palais remains fully functional. Indeed, the entire Palais urgently needs to be comprehensively renovated and refurbished through a Strategic Heritage Plan. This room makes an invaluable contribution to the work to ensure the best possible multilateral facilities. But an overall Strategic Heritage Plan is still necessary.

Room XX is one of the largest conference rooms at the Palais des Nations and it will seat up to 754 people in its new form. The design of the room is flexible and can be arranged in several different configurations to accommodate different types of United Nations meetings. Close attention has been paid to the requirements for civil society participation, as well as to special needs users. Around 10% of seats are wheelchair access enabled.

The room will be named the Human Rights and Alliance of Civilizations Room to highlight two central issues on the United Nations agenda. We have no doubt that this new state-of-the art room will make a valuable contribution to these, and to all other issues, before the international community. The way the room is designed, it will help to strengthen relations among nations by. We are sure that it will inspire those who work in it, and we hope that it may inspire other Member States to follow Spain’s example in this regard.

His Majesty King Juan Carlos I of Spain and the Secretary-General will officially inaugurate the room on Tuesday, 18 November. Around 750 people have been invited to the inauguration.

In conclusion, allow me to reiterate our grateful thanks to the Government and people of Spain for this functional, beautiful and precious gift to the United Nations and to the Palais des Nations.