Officially called “The Permanent Mission of the Republic of Maldives to the United Nations Office at Geneva”, the Mission was established in July 2006 to represent the Maldives in Geneva. The Mission is located at 45-47 rue de Lausanne, in the heart of Geneva’s international quarter. Since the 3rd December 2009, the Mission has been headed by Permanent Representative, H.E. Ambassador Iruthisham Adam. Her predecessors as Permanent Representative were H.E. Ambassador Hassan Sobir (2006-2008) and H.E. Ambassador Abdul Ghafoor Mohamed (2008-2009).
The Maldives Mission helps coordinate all dealings and communications with the United Nations Office at Geneva, with other international agencies present in the city, with prominent non-governmental organisations, and with the 160-plus other countries that maintain permanent missions in Geneva. The Mission aims to promote Maldives policy, represent Maldives interests, help establish dialogues with the Maldives’ international partners and finally to create strong mutually beneficial relationships with key stakeholders in Geneva.
Geneva is home to a startling array of international organizations and agencies, active in fields as diverse as humanitarian aid, trade, human rights, the environment and sustainable development, training and education, peace-keeping and security, meteorology, intellectual property, nuclear research, health, telecommunications and labour. In total, 22 international organisations have their headquarters in Geneva including, for example, the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG), the European rganization for Nuclear Research (CERN), and the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Geneva is particularly important as one of the two main seats (along with New York) of the United Nations system. Two thirds of the activities of the United Nations system take place in Geneva, making it a key centre of international co-operation and multilateral negotiation. Key aspects of the UN’s work which take place in Geneva include the protection of human rights (through the Human Rights Council and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Human Rights Council), the protection of the environment (through the United Nations Environment Programme) and the use of trade as a tool to promote development (through the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development). Five of the UN’s specialised agencies including the World Health Organisation and the International Labour Organisation are also based in Geneva.
In addition to international organisations, 170 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have their seat in Geneva. These include the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Commission of Jurists, the International Organization for Standardisation (ISO) and many others.
Last but not least, over 160 foreign States are represented in Geneva by a permanent mission or representation (to the United Nations Office at Geneva and to other international organizations, to the World Trade Organization and/or to the Conference on Disarmament).