ThePalais Wilson (Wilson Palace) inGeneva,Switzerland, is the current headquarters of theOffice of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. It was also the headquarters of theLeague of Nations from 1 November 1920 until that body moved its premises to thePalais des Nations on 17 February 1936, which was constructed between 1929 and 1938, also in Geneva.[1] In 1924, the building was named afterU.S. PresidentWoodrow Wilson, who was instrumental to the foundation of the League of Nations. Thetreaty bodies also hold their sessions in the Palais Wilson. In 1932, a glass annex was built to host the 1932Conference on Disarmament. The Secretariat of theInternational Bureau of Education occupied the building from 1937 to 1984.[2] The annex was destroyed in a fire in 1987.[3]
The building, located on the western side ofLake Geneva, is one of the most prominent on the waterfront. The five-story and 225-room building by Lake Geneva was originally constructed between 1873 and 1875 for use by the Hôtel National. When Switzerland joined the then newly created League of Nations in 1920, the premises became the world body's headquarters.[4]
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- ^United Nations Office in Geneva, D.D.G. (2002).International Geneva Yearbook: Organization and Activities of International Institutions in Geneva. United Nations Publications. p. 125.ISBN 9789210001458. Retrieved2015-04-13.[permanent dead link]
- ^Avanzini, Guy; Darcy de Oliviera, Rosiska; Egger, Eugen; Roller, Samuel; Stock, Rodney; Suchodolski, Bogdan (1979).The International Bureau of Education in the service of educational development. UNESCO. pp. 65–78.ISBN 92-3-101733-0.
- ^"Pavillon du Désarmement".Notre Histoire. 5 May 2011.
- ^Headquarters Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
46°12′54″N6°09′04″E / 46.2149°N 6.1510°E /46.2149; 6.1510