Sunday, September 23, 2007
UN Palais des Nations & Red Cross Headquarters
Peace is not a matter of justice; it’s a matter of political will.
After exploring the heart of Geneva with the USO tour group last month, two other individuals and I decided to decipher the train system and hop a ride to the northwestern outskirts of the city over to the Palais des Nations (the Palace of Nations), the United Nations European headquarters. Geneva was home to the UN’s predecessor organization, the League of Nations, and today more than 8,000 meetings a year are held at the Palais, making it the busiest conference center in the world.
This five-story sculpture stands in the fountain plaza in front of the Palais and symbolizes victims of landmines. If you look closely, you can see that the front left leg is broken, as if blown off by an explosion. Civilians are the sufferers of war, often with poor countries and peoples not involved in the conflict paying the highest price.
This is the front entrance to the Palais, with flags of UN member states lining the drive. We originally thought this was the main entrance, but we couldn’t find a way in. So, we started to walk around the outside of the grounds, hoping to find an entrance.
During our walk, we passed the Parc de l’Ariana -- the Ariana Museum on the Ariana Park grounds, which is a museum devoted to ceramics. We didn’t go inside, but the grounds were rather stunning. The estate formerly belonged to the Varembert family. Gustave Revilliod, a traveler and collector, chose the name in memory of his mother, Ariane de la Rive. Revilliod was the Swiss Confederation representative to the inauguration of the Suez Canal in 1869, and had this Renaissance-style museum built to house and display the collection of objects he amassed during his travels. When he died in 1890, he bequeathed the property to the city of Geneva, along with funds for its upkeep. In 1928, a section of the grounds was given by the city to the League of Nations in exchange for two lakeside properties. This exchange allowed the League of Nations to construct a building, which now houses the UN.
Our short walk proved successful, and we found the entrance to the Palais. It is actually in Ariana Park, and when the land was bequeathed to the city of Geneva, it had the condition that peacocks should roam freely on its grounds, which they do to this day. We saw several, but this was the closest we got to one.
This is the northern area conference room. The member states sit in alphabetical order during assemblies. The balcony at the back of the room (not visible here) is reserved for the public, although space is rather limited. I thought it was interesting how smoking was “discouraged” per this sign. I suppose that’s one way of being diplomatic, yet not out-right prohibiting smoking.
The Salle des Assembles -- the Assembly Hall -- is the largest conference room in the Palais. It is usually used for opening ceremonies, holds 2,000 people and was the first room in the Palais equipped with a simultaneous interpretation system. The UN has six official languages: English, French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic and Chinese, with English and French the working languages. Rooms that are equipped with translation capability, translate primarily into these languages. Occasionally, in some of the larger rooms, they will also translate into another one or two languages, based on need.
The UN has 192 member states, with the Vatican being the only recognized state that could be, yet isn’t, a UN member. Northern Cyprus, Palestine and Taiwan are not recognized states, therefore are not eligible for membership.
There’s quite an extensive collection of art on display in the hallways, with all works of art donated by member states. The pathway in the photo above seemed to lead directly from the viewer to the Chinese palace…no matter where you stood.
The vase on display in this room is actually a map of the world. It doesn’t look it from this high up, but it’s a rather large globe! The upstairs hallway on the right leads to the Council Hall, also known as the Spanish Room, which is used for peace conferences. Some notable conferences that took place here include peace talks between North and South Korea, Iran and Iraq, and Afghanistan and the Soviet Union. When we were there, it was being set up for a nuclear disarmament conference.
The art in the Spanish Room includes inter-war period paintings by Spanish artist Jose Maria Sert, illustrating victory over war and concepts of peace. The wall on the left of the windows represents technical progression and social progress, such as the abolition of slavery.
The wall to the right of the windows represents scientific progress, including medical advances such as the discovery and use of vaccinations.
The back wall illustrates Sert’s interpretation that war is a lose-lose situation. This panel shows the defeated of war.
Between the illustrations of war’s victors and defeated are five giants, representing the five continents, holding their hands together to create a world without war. The ceiling shows an ideal world, without war.
This is the back of the assembly building facing Ariana Park and Lake Geneva.
This view of the globe in Ariana Park, with Lake Geneva in the background, is from the back of the assembly building. The globe was a gift from President Roosevelt (FDR). It used to appear gold and turn at the same speed as the earth rotates, but after 70 years outside it is no longer as shiny as it once was, and it no longer turns. It has the 12 signs of the zodiac on it since the stars are fixed in the sky.
After our tour through the Palais concluded, we walked back past the Parc de l’Ariana and to the Headquarters building of the International Committee of the Red Cross. We couldn’t take photos inside the museum, but the visuals were quite moving, showcasing the history of the Red Cross and Red Crescent movements beginning with Henri Durant’s involvement in caring for injured soldiers in the Battle of Solferino in June 1859 through the world wars to present day. The museum even has an index of seven million file cards, created by the International Prisoner of War Agency, documenting some two million POWs from World War I. It was very humbling to walk among the 21 large (9- to 10-foot high) shelving systems (think of 19th century library shelves) holding all those index cards representing prisoners.
The red cross on a white field, the reverse of the Swiss flag, was adopted by the first Geneva Convention in 1964 as the protective emblem for serving the wounded. Today, National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies exist in nearly every country in the world, with 185 national societies recognized by the International Committee of the Red Cross and admitted as full members of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
This group of sculptures, titled “The Petrified,” is just outside the entrance to the museum, and denounces the violation of human rights while appealing for tolerance.
After exploring the heart of Geneva with the USO tour group last month, two other individuals and I decided to decipher the train system and hop a ride to the northwestern outskirts of the city over to the Palais des Nations (the Palace of Nations), the United Nations European headquarters. Geneva was home to the UN’s predecessor organization, the League of Nations, and today more than 8,000 meetings a year are held at the Palais, making it the busiest conference center in the world.
This five-story sculpture stands in the fountain plaza in front of the Palais and symbolizes victims of landmines. If you look closely, you can see that the front left leg is broken, as if blown off by an explosion. Civilians are the sufferers of war, often with poor countries and peoples not involved in the conflict paying the highest price.
This is the front entrance to the Palais, with flags of UN member states lining the drive. We originally thought this was the main entrance, but we couldn’t find a way in. So, we started to walk around the outside of the grounds, hoping to find an entrance.
During our walk, we passed the Parc de l’Ariana -- the Ariana Museum on the Ariana Park grounds, which is a museum devoted to ceramics. We didn’t go inside, but the grounds were rather stunning. The estate formerly belonged to the Varembert family. Gustave Revilliod, a traveler and collector, chose the name in memory of his mother, Ariane de la Rive. Revilliod was the Swiss Confederation representative to the inauguration of the Suez Canal in 1869, and had this Renaissance-style museum built to house and display the collection of objects he amassed during his travels. When he died in 1890, he bequeathed the property to the city of Geneva, along with funds for its upkeep. In 1928, a section of the grounds was given by the city to the League of Nations in exchange for two lakeside properties. This exchange allowed the League of Nations to construct a building, which now houses the UN.
Our short walk proved successful, and we found the entrance to the Palais. It is actually in Ariana Park, and when the land was bequeathed to the city of Geneva, it had the condition that peacocks should roam freely on its grounds, which they do to this day. We saw several, but this was the closest we got to one.
This is the northern area conference room. The member states sit in alphabetical order during assemblies. The balcony at the back of the room (not visible here) is reserved for the public, although space is rather limited. I thought it was interesting how smoking was “discouraged” per this sign. I suppose that’s one way of being diplomatic, yet not out-right prohibiting smoking.
The Salle des Assembles -- the Assembly Hall -- is the largest conference room in the Palais. It is usually used for opening ceremonies, holds 2,000 people and was the first room in the Palais equipped with a simultaneous interpretation system. The UN has six official languages: English, French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic and Chinese, with English and French the working languages. Rooms that are equipped with translation capability, translate primarily into these languages. Occasionally, in some of the larger rooms, they will also translate into another one or two languages, based on need.
The UN has 192 member states, with the Vatican being the only recognized state that could be, yet isn’t, a UN member. Northern Cyprus, Palestine and Taiwan are not recognized states, therefore are not eligible for membership.
There’s quite an extensive collection of art on display in the hallways, with all works of art donated by member states. The pathway in the photo above seemed to lead directly from the viewer to the Chinese palace…no matter where you stood.
The vase on display in this room is actually a map of the world. It doesn’t look it from this high up, but it’s a rather large globe! The upstairs hallway on the right leads to the Council Hall, also known as the Spanish Room, which is used for peace conferences. Some notable conferences that took place here include peace talks between North and South Korea, Iran and Iraq, and Afghanistan and the Soviet Union. When we were there, it was being set up for a nuclear disarmament conference.
The art in the Spanish Room includes inter-war period paintings by Spanish artist Jose Maria Sert, illustrating victory over war and concepts of peace. The wall on the left of the windows represents technical progression and social progress, such as the abolition of slavery.
The wall to the right of the windows represents scientific progress, including medical advances such as the discovery and use of vaccinations.
The back wall illustrates Sert’s interpretation that war is a lose-lose situation. This panel shows the defeated of war.
Between the illustrations of war’s victors and defeated are five giants, representing the five continents, holding their hands together to create a world without war. The ceiling shows an ideal world, without war.
This is the back of the assembly building facing Ariana Park and Lake Geneva.
This view of the globe in Ariana Park, with Lake Geneva in the background, is from the back of the assembly building. The globe was a gift from President Roosevelt (FDR). It used to appear gold and turn at the same speed as the earth rotates, but after 70 years outside it is no longer as shiny as it once was, and it no longer turns. It has the 12 signs of the zodiac on it since the stars are fixed in the sky.
After our tour through the Palais concluded, we walked back past the Parc de l’Ariana and to the Headquarters building of the International Committee of the Red Cross. We couldn’t take photos inside the museum, but the visuals were quite moving, showcasing the history of the Red Cross and Red Crescent movements beginning with Henri Durant’s involvement in caring for injured soldiers in the Battle of Solferino in June 1859 through the world wars to present day. The museum even has an index of seven million file cards, created by the International Prisoner of War Agency, documenting some two million POWs from World War I. It was very humbling to walk among the 21 large (9- to 10-foot high) shelving systems (think of 19th century library shelves) holding all those index cards representing prisoners.
The red cross on a white field, the reverse of the Swiss flag, was adopted by the first Geneva Convention in 1964 as the protective emblem for serving the wounded. Today, National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies exist in nearly every country in the world, with 185 national societies recognized by the International Committee of the Red Cross and admitted as full members of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.This group of sculptures, titled “The Petrified,” is just outside the entrance to the museum, and denounces the violation of human rights while appealing for tolerance.
Labels: Switzerland, Travel
