Liechtenstein joined the UN www.un.org on 18 September 1990 and was accredited at the Office of the United Nations in Geneva (UNOG) www.unog.ch on 1 October 1992. Geneva is the European headquarters of the United Nations and accommodates also several UN Special Organisations. Two thirds of all activities of the UN system take place in Geneva, especially in the areas of health; labour rights; intellectual property; human rights; humanitarian aid; economy, trade and development; disarmament; science and technology as well as research and education. Each year about 8’000 meetings are held in Geneva. Therefore, the Geneva UN-base is worldwide the most active intergovernmental conference centre. The following Special Organisations of the United Nations are based in Geneva:
One of the sub-organs of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC) www.un.org/ecosoc with its headquarters in Geneva is the Economic Commission on Europe (ECE) www.unece.org. Its activities in the areas of transport and environment are relevant for Liechtenstein.
The protection and promotion of human rights is the task of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) www.ohchr.org. The Human Rights Council deals with the international protection of human rights at the intergovernmental level. In addition, meetings of the expert committees which monitor compliance with internationa conventions on human rights by elaborating recommendations and comments regarding the national implementation of the agreements take place in Geneva. Currently, there are seven of these expert committees. Liechtenstein is party to six of these agreements.
The activities of the Permanent Mission in relation with the UN are focussed on the work of the Human Rights Council, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) www.unhcr.org. The Mission also follows the activities of the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) www.ocha.org. Another important stakeholder in Geneva is the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) www.icrc.org, which is the most important partner of the Liechtenstein humanitarian aid. Finally, the Mission deals with the participation in several meetings of the States Parties in the area of disarmament. In this context, it is worth mentioning the following disarmament conventions, of which Liechtenstein is a party:
- Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction (Ottawa, 18 September 1997); Link
- Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction (10 April 1972); Link
- Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons which may be deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to have Indiscriminate Effects (with Protocols I, II and III); (Geneva, 10 October 1980); Link amendments to Protocol II (Geneva, 3 May 1996); Link
- Additional Protocol to the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons which may be deemed to be excessively Injurious or to have Indiscriminate Effects (Protocol IV, entitled Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons); (Vienna, 13 October 1995) Link
- Protocol on Explosive Remnants of War to the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons which may be deemed to be Excesssively Injurious or to have Indiscrimate Effects (Protocol V); (Geneva, 28 November 2003). Link
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