It is 5 p.m., the plane connecting Casablanca to Geneva was flying over Lake Geneva as a prelude to a press trip to the Palais des Nations where the 57th session of the UN Human Rights Council had just opened.
The City, seen from above, gives the appearance of a pearl bathing on the great lake on the edge of the Alps. As if the geography as singular as it is multiple inspires it in its trajectory towards peace and diplomatic good offices, no more no less.
In this city located in the southwest corner of Switzerland, nature reveals all its splendor and diversity in a vibrant tableau of varied colors, captivating aromas and exquisite tastes.
Palais des Nations, symbol of peace and humanism
The general atmosphere clearly welcomes the most divergent political and economic interests with open arms, along with the tradition of neutrality that makes Switzerland unique.
If Geneva is constantly enjoying a resurgence in popularity, it is because it has the strength to question itself, believes an advisor to the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on the sidelines of the work of the Human Rights Council.
The people of Geneva have known, he confided to MAP, how to take advantage of their brand image as well as the diversity of their heritage. The watchmaking and chocolate industries, the Palais Wilson, the Palais des Nations, the Jet d’eau and the quays of Lake Geneva are all symbols that convey the very identity of Geneva.
However, the “capital of peace” would not have taken on the scale that it was recognised as having in 1918 without the flexible territorial continuity with neighbouring France, although Switzerland is not part of the EU.
It is this complementarity that paved the way for the creation of Greater Geneva, a cross-border agglomeration and living embodiment of a powerful potential for co-development.
Multilateral diplomacy put to the test by geopolitical changes
The Palais des Nations remains in fact the most legendary monument, being dedicated to the cooperation of nations freed from imperialist hierarchies. First headquarters of the League of Nations, then European center of the UN, this building built on the shores of Lake Geneva has resisted the political tensions and the fragilities of the UN system for decades.
Busy with 8,000 meetings each year, the Palais houses the Human Rights Council, the main intergovernmental body responsible for human rights issues. Its meetings take place in the famous “Human Rights and Alliance of Civilizations Room”, whose ceiling was designed and decorated by the Spanish artist Miquel Barcelo.
However, it is clear that the era of major meetings that forged Geneva’s reputation seems to be over, notes the former Swiss diplomat, Georges Martin, for whom multilateral diplomacy and the tradition of neutrality seem more than ever to be put to the test.
In the diplomat’s opinion, there are good reasons to say that the Swiss city is bearing the brunt of geopolitical changes, including a recalibration of the international order from West to East, and from North to South.
An analysis that the former director of the United Nations in Geneva, Michael Moller, dismisses out of hand, stating that we should move away from the traditional approach of thinking about peace to address it in a more global way with a view to sustainable development.
2024-09-20 12:42:25