Director-General's remarks at the GCSP "New Issues in Security" course

 GCSP “New Issues in Security” course

 Friday, 7 June 2024, at 2.00 p.m.

Visitors’ service Room, Building E, Door 39, Palais des Nations 

Delivered on behalf of the Director-General by Ms. Kira Kruglikova, Director, Division of Administration, United Nations Office at Geneva

Ladies and gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure to welcome you all to the Palais des Nations, at the heart of International Geneva. I wish to warmly thank the Geneva Centre for Security Policy for bringing you here today and for facilitating this exchange.

Today, I would like to tell you about the UN Office at Geneva, its role and its work as key hub of the international multilateral system. I will also touch upon the International Geneva ecosystem, its importance for multilateralism and everyone on the planet, including with regards to peace and security. Finally, I will share some thoughts about the current state of multilateralism and why we need to renew it in order to make it more networked, more inclusive and more efficient.  

UN Office at Geneva

 The UN Office at Geneva is housed at the Palais des Nations which was also home to the League of Nations back in 1919. The Office provides services to support multilateral diplomacy. It also plays a leading role in fostering and enabling collaboration with and among Member States and supporting intergovernmental processes. 

To give you some concrete examples: 

In 2023, UNOG hosted and serviced 8,478 meetings, 2,503 of which were in a hybrid format.

Meetings serviced last year included all sessions of the Human Rights Council, the Universal Periodic Review and other related mechanisms, and the Conference on Disarmament, as well as various UN-led peace initiatives (Syria, the Geneva International Discussions, and Yemen). 

UN Geneva also provided support to multilateral processes, beyond Geneva – such as the COP28 in Dubai. We also hosted a number of other high-level events (e.g. Human Rights 75, International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan, High-Level Pledging Event on the Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen, Global Refugee Forum).

Today, the Palais des Nations remains one of the busiest conference centres in the world. With its modern facilities and infrastructure, it also offers a place of choice for the UN family to share their work with the wider public. 

And despite the ongoing renovation works taking place at the Palais des Nations, our Office welcomed nearly 40,000 visitors who enjoyed guided tours and were able to learn more about the work taking place behind closed doors and the importance of multilateralism. 

The role of International Geneva

We are privileged to meet today in Geneva. The city is home to over 100 international organizations, including over 40 UN funds, programmes, and specialized agencies, a unique near universal representation of 184 Member States, and over 750 Non-Governmental Organizations.  

It also hosts a dynamic private sector and prominent academic institutions, and individuals, all with strong expertise, know-how and collaborative culture, working at the forefront of technological innovation, trade, development and humanitarian assistance, health, peace-building and environmental protection, and much more. All these stakeholders are working relentlessly in this unique ecosystem to create a better world for everyone, everywhere.

Over the past years, this unique network has continued to grow (e.g. opening of new Permanent Missions, cooperation platforms, increase of 30% of accredited NGOs), allowing the city to become a 'go to' place when it comes to multilateral discussions on a wide range of topics, including global health, disarmament, human rights, humanitarian affairs, etc. Such attractiveness fosters and strengthens exchanges, partnerships and cooperation among these various actors, renewing multilateral discussions by building synergies and making multilateralism more networked and inclusive. 

International Geneva is at the forefront of multilateral diplomacy. It gained this unique position over the past 100 years. Back in 1919, the creation of the League of Nations embodied both the ambitious vision of a new management of international relations and a concrete response to the political failings of the great powers. Its aim was nothing less than to safeguard universal peace.

The League of Nations laid the foundations for what the United Nations Organization undertakes today. From disarmament to the protection of minorities and refugees, from international justice to intellectual cooperation and the regulation of labor, the legacy of the League of Nations has paved the way for the advent of contemporary multilateralism based on the rules of international law. 

Geneva is also the center of the history of multilateralism, its memory and, more broadly, of knowledge. The historical archives of the League of Nations, over 15 million pages listed in UNESCO's Memory of the World Register, are kept at the Palais des Nations. They bear witness to the immense commitment of our predecessors to the cause of multilateralism. Similarly, the Total Digital Access to the League of Nations Archives (LONTAD) gives researchers a unique – and free – access to the League of Nations’ archives and a great opportunity for them to study the history of multilateralism. 

At the heart of International Geneva is the Palais des Nations where we meet today is a venue of choice for multilateral discussions, it also plays a prominent role in emerging areas that already dominate the global agenda, such as the 2030 Agenda, global health, sustainable finance, digital governance and artificial intelligence as well as digital diplomacy, and more. 

Geneva-based organizations address these emerging challenges through multi-sectoral - technical, legal, economic, security, human rights, and development - perspectives. As home to such actors as WHO, ILO, UNECE, IOM and the WTO, International Geneva is well-placed and well-equipped to lead the global community in navigating the challenges of our time. This is a unique advantage.

At a time where global challenges appear at a fast-evolving pace and continue to be more interrelated than ever, such a support system as the one formed in Geneva provides the best place to come together around a table, discuss, and find innovative and collaborative solutions.

All this would not be possible without our host country Switzerland's long-standing support which has been key to giving International Geneva, including UN Geneva, global visibility and a strengthened role in multilateralism over the past years. 

Speaking of our Host Country, thanks to the generous support of a Swiss loan, we are currently renovating and modernizing the Palais des Nations through the implementation of the Strategic Heritage Plan. Its aim is to ensure an inclusive, sustainable, and state-of-the-art centre of diplomacy for decades to come while preserving its cultural heritage. You will be able to go on a guided tour later on and I am sure you will get many more insights about our work. 

The state of multilateralism

Our world is at a critical juncture, currently confronted by complex and interrelated global challenges. As the UN Secretary-General António Guterres recently said, there is anxiety, uncertainty, and unpredictability across the world. Trust is on the decline, within and among nations. People are losing faith in political establishments. Key assumptions have been upended, key endeavors undermined, and key institutions undercut. 

In the face of these multiplying global challenges, one thing is clear: the current global order and the system of international cooperation, developed after the Second World War, is under severe strain. More importantly, this system is no longer effectively meeting today’s challenges. 

Peace and security today more than ever are under serious threat. Solidarity is slowly decreasing; social and economic inequalities are rising, creating tensions between and within states; we are witnessing increasing polarization across nations and societies. When we scan our geopolitical landscape, one thing is clear – peace, in all its dimension, is missing. 

This is very paradoxical. Because everywhere, people want peace and security. 

Global peace and security are facing a number of existential challenges: the age-old nuclear threat, climate emergency, the risks brought about by artificial intelligence. 

Our world is not sufficiently united and organized to effectively respond to these challenges. Our only path forward requires serious dialogue among nations, institutional reforms as well as a renewed multilateralism – one that is more networked, more effective and more inclusive. 

To do so, we need to stay true to our values and principles – the UN Charter and international law. Following those principles will lead us to the pathways to solutions. 

The way forward

In these fragile and turbulent times, we need a new international consensus on a concrete plan to better meet today’s needs and tackle tomorrow’s obstacles. We need a renewed multilateralism, one that is, I repeat, more networked, more inclusive and more effective. We need a multilateralism that reflects today’s realities. 

And to achieve this, we need all stakeholders on board. Governments are steering international cooperation, but there are many more actors shaping policy, civil society and academic institutions, private companies and philanthropists, city mayors and citizens. Everyone must be included and accountable for their commitments and have a meaningful role in deliberations and decision making.

We remain hopeful: 4 months from now the Summit of the Future will take place in New York. This is a once in a generation opportunity to shape multilateralism for years to come and to make it fit for the future. It will also allow us to reaffirm existing commitments, including to the Sustainable Development Goals and the United Nations Charter, and move towards a reinvented multilateral system better positioned to impact people’s lives positively. 

It will hopefully result in obtaining a unique Pact for the Future with declarations for future generations and declarations on the digitalization of our societies, which will allow us to go further in implementing the Sustainable Goals. 

But we must also acknowledge that not everything is gloomy. There are many inspiring examples of solidarity and international cooperation around the world. 

For example, Member States managed to collectively and unanimously agree on a roadmap – the 2030 Agenda, our blueprint to build a better world for all, everywhere. This roadmap represents the most ambitious development plan humanity has ever had. It outlines a world where no one is left behind, poverty is eradicated, decent jobs are available to all, education is accessible, nature and culture are protected, human rights are upheld, and more.

Other most globally adopted agreements include the Paris agreement to combat climate change, the Global Compact on Migration, and many more. 

Multilateralism is about much more than the avoidance of war among nations, and it really touches every aspect of the human experience. It is about countries coming together to fight hunger, to eradicate diseases, to boost literacy, to promote prosperity and trade across borders. In fact, it is even about seemingly little things like street signs or the dialing codes we use to call friends and family abroad. All of that is multilateralism in practice. Our world needs more of this. People needs more of this.

Concluding remarks

We are standing at a crossroads, a fragile moment in time where the state of multilateral cooperation is changing and is being put to the test. Now, more than ever though, we have a shared interest in looking after our planet, our future, and each other. As Secretary-General Guterres said, "the choices we make, or fail to make, today, could result in a breakdown or a breakthrough to a greener, better and safer future. The choice is ours to make". 

Despite the challenges to multilateralism, the United Nations remains the only truly global, truly neutral, truly legitimate table around which all stakeholders can come together to find solutions. We must accelerate our efforts towards the networked, inclusive and effective multilateralism that the Secretary-General has called for. 

Throughout your careers you will encounter the many difficulties of engaging in multilateral discussions, but you will also experience the immense power of dialogue, negotiation and cooperation. You can be influential in shaping policy and play a critical role how we, as a global community, work better together. 

Thank you.