United Nations in Geneva

Our prominent partners among the United Nations Institutions in Geneva are the following organizations:

ILO – The International Labour Organization

The International Labour Organization is not only the oldest (since 1919) international organization but also the only one with a tripartite structure – meaning that not only governments, but also the “social partners”, employers and workers, form part of its constituency. The ILO engages in research and monitoring activities of their numerous Conventions and the promotion of a basic set of principles: the Core Labour Standards.
For FES Geneva, the ILO is an important partner in the areas of social policy and global labour and social standards. Besides direct working contacts with various departments of the ILO, an annual training seminar for journalists and an annual roundtable with the ILO Committee of Experts are the highlights of our collaboration with this organization.

OHCHR – The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

OHCHR – The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is the newest (since 1993) of the Geneva based UN Institutions and the UN focal point of human rights work. As part of the UN Secretariat it services the Human Rights Council and the treaty-established Committees, while at the same time spearheading research in the field of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the Right to Development. Having established human rights-related work as a major pillar of our work as a political foundation, FES Geneva has entered into close collaboration with OHCHR in various fields, with common activities in the area of economic and social rights. Regular consultations with the Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights and the support of their work on “General Comments” form part of our work as do jointly organized “Side Events” at the Human Rights Council.

UNCTAD – The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

UNCTAD – The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development was established in 1964 and promotes the development-friendly integration of developing countries into the world economy. It aims at facilitating and influencing current policy debates and thinking on development strategies; it serves as a forum for intergovernmental deliberations and undertakes research, policy analysis and data collection; and provides technical assistance.

FES Geneva has been organizing expert meetings on trade-related topics jointly with UNCTAD and involves UNCTAD’s experts in information seminars for journalists from developing countries and workshops on technical trade issues, such as rules of origin, which are targeted at Geneva based Missions of developing countries.