Le siège des Nations Unis © EQRoy - Shutterstock.Com.jpg
Place des Nations © trabantos - Shutterstock.Com.jpg

The spirit of international Geneva

The city's international vocation began with the establishment of the League of Nations in Geneva in 1920. However, as early as the 16th century, the notion of a city of welcome and integration took hold. In 1536, the city adopted the Protestant religion and for nearly two hundred years, it welcomed Huguenot Protestants expelled from other European countries. A hospitable city, it became a city of refuge and asylum (1572, St. Bartholomew's Day massacre, first refuge, 1685, revocation of the Edict of Nantes, second refuge). The spirit of Geneva is reported in the speeches and this is how the image of a city of welcome was born.

International place: the beginnings

Since the Middle Ages, the city has been strategically located where many foreigners converge to attend its renowned fairs. It was undoubtedly already shaping its role of tolerance and openness. But the trigger was Henri Dunant (bust of the statue located at the foot of the montée de la Treille, place Neuve). A citizen of Geneva, he went to the battlefield of Solferino in June 1859 to exchange with Napoleon III, with whom he wished to trade. Faced with the shock and horror of the war in Italy, with 6,000 dead and 40,000 wounded, he decided to help the families of the victims. As soon as he returned to Geneva, he wrote about this tragedy in his book Un souvenir de Solférino, which he published in 1862. From his humanitarian ideas and neutrality in times of war, a committee of sixteen governments was born. The first Geneva Convention was signed on August 22, 1864. The main foundations and the common values of commitment are: to care for the wounded without distinction of nationality, the neutrality (inviolability) of medical personnel and medical establishments and to display the distinctive sign of the red cross on a white background as a protective emblem. The GenevaCity Hall served as the setting for this historic signature which inscribed the city in its international destiny. In the following years, the idea of the Red Cross spread throughout the world. The International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (ICRC) has its own International Red Cross Museum. It is the only one to highlight the history and current role of the world's first international organization. Note that the flag (red cross on a white background) is the inverted colors of Switzerland.

Officially international!

Because of the excellent conditions it offers, Geneva was chosen in 1920 to host the headquarters of the League of Nations, considered to be the first international political institution. Housed in a magnificent 1875 palace facing the lake on the Quai Wilson (former 225-room National Hotel), the Secretariat of the League of Nations was established there. Four years later, the name was changed to Wilson Palace, in honour of Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States of America, who was the initiator of the League of Nations. To make matters worse, his country was never a member! Since 1988, the building has housed the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

A chair, a place, a neighborhood

A city within the city! The district of Nations extends from the Perle du Lac park to Grand-Saconnex, near the airport. A constantly evolving district that houses 34,000 international civil servants, diplomats and representatives of civil society. The Geneva International Welcome Center (CAGI) helps them with their relocation.

The urban reorganization is a long-term process and must take into account the arrival of visitors and the local population. No less than 4,400 visits per year by heads of state and government, ministers and other dignitaries and more than 3,200 conferences per year, with the participation of approximately 207,000 delegates from all over the world. The symbolic Place des Nations, which faces the 193 flags (member countries in 2020) of the Palais des Nations, embodies this international crossroads. The layout of the square, its sculptures such as the imposing Broken Chair resting on three legs, express peace. Daniel Berset's work measures 12 m and weighs 5,500 kg of wood. It symbolizes the international action for the prohibition and elimination of antipersonnel mines. The floor of the square is covered with strips of granite from many UN member countries. Hans Erni's 100-meter-long peace mural covers the entrance wall of the Palais des Nations.