SoroptiVoiceBLOG

This week's SoroptiVoice blog spot comes from Sina Stiffler, one of our dedicated UN Representatives in Geneva. As the January Monthly Focus is on SI and the United Nations, Sina decided to write about why Geneva was selected to be a leading UN centre when Switzerland did not become a UN member state until 2002.

Soroptimist International is active at all the major UN centres around the world, usually in big capitals like New York, Vienna, and Paris. However, the second biggest UN centre is located in a comparably small city in Switzerland. When, after World War 2, Geneva became a UN centre for the first 40 years of its existence, Switzerland was not even a member of UN! The Swiss only accepted to become an UN member in a referendum in 2002. So you might wonder why Geneva became an important UN centre….

It all started when a Geneva businessman, Henry Dunant, travelled in Northern Italy in 1859. By coincidence he became a witness to the Battle of Solferino with its horrible injuries. The subsequent suffering of 40,000 wounded soldiers left on the field due to lack of facilities, or personnel to give them medical aid moved Dunant into action. He published his famous book “Memories of Solferino”, which led to the foundation of the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross), to ensure protection and assistance for victims of armed conflicts and strife.

In 1864 several European states congregated in Geneva and signed the first Geneva Convention. The second Geneva Convention, for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded and Sick is one of the four treaties of the Geneva Conventions. It was first adopted in 1906 after the Russo-Japanese war. In a nutshell it can be said after big wars, new conventions were decided. The fourth Geneva Convention was adopted in 1949 and defines humanitarian protections for civilians in a war zone.

After First World War, the League of Nations (LON) was founded. This was the first international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It had only 58 members and had to close down before World War 2. Its primary goals, as stated in its Covenant, included preventing war through collective security and disarmament, and settling international disputes through negotiation and arbitration. The League had its seat in the Palais of the Nations in the 45-hectare Ariana Park among majestic trees many of which are over 100 years old. The City of Geneva has made the park available to the League and later to UN for its offices for as long as the UN exists.

Each year thousands of Politicians and Representatives of various NGOs take part in about 800 different conferences. In their breaks they enjoy the beautiful park surrounding the UN buildings - with a wonderful view to the highest mountain of Europe, Mont Blanc. And some take naps in the park to recover from the conferences...

 For more information about the UN centre in Geneva, click here.

For more information about SI at the UN, visit the January Monthly Focus. 

To find out more about SI's team of UN Representatives, click here.