UNITED NATIONS: Geneva to Support Delegations from Poor Countries

By Gustavo Capdevila Reprint | | Print |

Gustavo Capdevila

GENEVA, Sep 17 1998 (IPS) - The United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG) promised to iron out some difficulties facing missions from the poorest countries accredited to the international entity, Thursday.

UNOG director-general, Russia’s Vladimir Petrovsky, announced rapid advances made in discussions with the Swiss authorities – the nation where the body is based – granting special facilities to diplomats from the least developed countries.

Representatives of these nations abroad generally face problems, and in Geneva these are especially acute due to the high cost of living, said the UNOG annual report presented by Petrovsky Thursday.

Diplomats from the developing world, especially subSaharan Africa, stressed the expensive nature of Geneva affected their ability to defend their nations’ interests.

Many States in the low income bracket handle the bilateral and multilateral affairs negotiated in Geneva from embassies in Brussels or London.

These matters include the often sensitive areas of human rights, health, trade, intellectual property, employment, telecommunications and disarmament, amongst others.

Other missions which have taken the risk of establishing a niche in this city have such scarce resources “they can barely make ends meet, seriously hampering their ability to perform their duties,” said the UNOG report.

When the World Trade Organisation (WTO) was created in 1995, the Swiss authorities announced they would help representatives from the least developed nations set themselves up here, but to date no help has been forthcoming.

Petrovsky raised the issue again in a meeting with Swiss members of parliament in August. “I’m very pleased to say that these remarks were taken into consideration by the Swiss authorities,” he said.

One of the ideas discussed by officials from Bern and the UN is the creation of a Universal House which would provide facilities for the less developed countries, explained Petrovsky.

Another alternative would be to help with the renting of accommodation for diplomats from these countries, he added.

The consultation process is underway and represents “a good demonstration of the understanding we have with the Swiss authorities,” he stated.

Switzerland and the UN office also analysed another delicate issue: the question of security inside and around the Palace of Nations, headquarters of the UN secretariat and some of its other agencies.

Petrovsky’s report stated the diplomatic community accredited to the UN are increasingly concerned over the question of security following various incidents in recent months.

On two occasions, in 1997 and 1998, groups of Kurd citizens resident in Switzerland have burst into the Palace of Nations to protest against repression by the Turkish security forces against other members of this minority group.

Other disturbing events occurred in May, during the WTO world assembly, when demonstrations took place against globalisation and the approval of a world investment agreement at various points around the city.

Demonstrations against the WTO flared into street violence with confrontations between police and demonstrators, forcing the Swiss authorities to carry out legal investigations with the arrest of more than ten people last week.

These incidents “could damage the image of Geneva as a safe place for international interactions,” predicted Petrovsky, calling for “the continued help and active involvement of the host country” in finding a solution to the problem.

Geneva is sometimes involved in very sensitive issues, like human rights and so on, said the UNOG director.

And we need to be sure “these manifestations are made observing the existing legal procedures.”

UNOG cut back its budget by some 10 million dollars, funds to be redirected into the development fund created by UN Secretary- General Kofi Annan.

This UN office employed 1,229 people – not including the specialised agencies – in Geneva in 1997, and this year’s restructure cut 152 jobs, making a new total of 1,077.