Arriving to Geneva  
 
Delegates travelling by air will arrive at Geneva International Airport (Cointrin), and those travelling by train at Geneva main station (Cornavin).  

A route planner for public transport is available at http://www.tpg.ch. (Taxis are also available directly outside the airport and station). 

Hotel reservations and other arrangements should be made well in advance. The secretariat is unable to recommend hotels. To identify hotels with available rooms, you might try this website: https://www.geneve.com/ 

How to get to the UN Building (Palais des Nations) 

The Palais des Nations (14 Avenue de la Paix) can be accessed from the Geneva central train station, Gare Cornavin, by:

·         Tram no. 15, direction "Nations", stop “Nations” (last stop) (7 minutes). Then walk towards the Peace Gate, in front of the Place de Nations square  (2 minutes). 

·         Bus no. 20, direction “Bellevue GE, Valavran”, stop “Nations” (6 minutes). Peace Gate is located in front of the Place des Nations square (2 minutes). 

·         Bus no. 8, direction "OMS", stop “Nations” (9 minutes). Peace Gate is located in front of the Place des Nations square (2 minutes). 

·         Bus 60, direction “Ferney, mairie” or "Gex, L'Aiglette" (7 minutes), stop “Nations”. Peace Gate is located in front of the Place des Nations square (2 minutes). 

·        Bus 61, direction "Gex, L'Aiglette" (7 minutes), stop “Nations”. Peace Gate is located in front of the Place des Nations square (2 minutes). 

Wireless internet is available in all meeting rooms. Note that electrical power plugs and sockets are unique to Switzerland within the UNECE region (type J, three-pin, 230 V, 50 Hz), and respectively require an adaptor, though slim two-pin plugs (type C) will fit.

Food and beverages (except water) are strictly forbidden in the Palais conference rooms.

You can drink tap water at the Palais. As no drinking water will be served in the meeting room, we encourage delegates to bring reusable bottles or containers for tap water. Please take extra care to avoid spilling water on desks and equipment.

Delegates are only allowed to enter the Palais with carry-on luggage, such as computer bags, rucksacks, and handbags. There is no luggage storage available at the Palais, and delegates remain responsible for the luggage they bring to the Palais throughout their stay.

Access to the Palais des Nations 

Access to the Palais des Nation and the meeting rooms will be restricted to persons wearing identification badges. 

You should have received a digital badge via email, featuring your photo, a QR code, and the meeting's name and date of the event when your registration was approved. We kindly request that you download this digital badge to your mobile phone or other mobile devices. When you arrive at the security gate, please inform our security colleagues that you already have the digital badge. This will expedite your access to the Palais des Nations.

If you are unable to find your digital badge, kindly log in to INDICO at  https://indico.un.org/event/1002271/  and click on "Get UN Event Pass" to obtain your digital badge.

!!! Allow sufficient time to obtain your badge. We strongly recommend arriving at the Palais des Nations (UN Security Offices at the Pregny  Gate entrance), at least one and a half hours before the opening of the meeting on 10 December 2024.

Suitcases cannot be brought into the Palais des Nations; there may be limited storage space available at the Peace Gate, but this cannot be guaranteed. 

Smoking is only permitted in authorised smoking shelters, as per UNOG’s campus-wide smoking policy. Smoking shelters are marked and signposted for that purpose. Locations of smoking shelters may be found on the campus map, here: https://iseek.un.org/article/reminder-about-unogs-smoking-policy 

Reminder: Prohibition of laser pointers in Switzerland

Laser pointers classified as 1M, 2, 2M, 3R, 3B, and 4 are banned on Swiss territory. Only class 1 laser pointers, which pose no health risk, are authorized. The term “laser pointer” refers to a small and light hand-held laser device that emits laser radiation to point out objects and locations. At UN Geneva, these devices are most commonly used for giving presentations. These laser pointers are considered dangerous and may be confiscated at customs and destroyed, regardless of their permissibility on aeroplanes. Swiss authorities emphasize that travellers found with these devices will be questioned by police and may face criminal charges. Please take care to avoid carrying such devices with you when travelling to Switzerland to avoid any travel disruptions.

For additional practical information, please consult: https://unece.org/practical-information-delegates and https://www.ungeneva.org/en/about/practical-information

Meeting room 

The meeting will take place in room XXIV, which is located in building E. See the map here for further details.

Meals, coffees and snacks

The cafeteria is located in Building E, please see the map below for further information (open from 8:15-16:45, meals served from 11:30).  

The “Bar Serpent” coffee lounge, close to Room XXVI (in building E, level 1), is open from 8:30 to 16:00 and also serves snacks.  

Vending machines with snacks and coffee are available within the E  building, which accepts coins and card payments. The Selecta machine accepts CHF and EUR. 

Bank

Please note that due to the foreseen SHP renovation works in building E at the Palais des Nations, the UBS Branch temporarily ceased all its activities (since June 2024). During this transitional period, all UBS traditional banking services (advising, multimat, ATMs and helpdesks) will be available in the UBS Vermont-Nations branch located in chemin Camille-Vidart 17b, 1202 Geneva. More information here.

REGISTRATION

We kindly request that all participants attending the meeting register online as soon as possible through the following link: https://indico.un.org/event/1007297/.

Once your registration has been approved, you should have received a digital badge via email. Your digital badge will feature your photo, a QR code, and the meeting name and date of approval. We advise that you download the digital badge to your mobile phone or other mobile devices. Upon arrival at the security gate, please inform our security colleagues that you already have the digital badge. Your cooperation in this matter is kindly requested, as it will facilitate your access to the Palais des Nations.

For the online meeting registration, we suggest using the Google Chrome browser. We kindly request that you provide us with your telephone, postal and email addresses, which can be made publicly available through the list of participants.

To ensure that all important correspondence about the meetings is received and that the secretariat can make all required practical and other arrangements in a timely manner, we request that participants register online as soon as possible, even if they hold a UNOG ground entry pass.

Should any changes occur to the details provided in the registration form after submission, delegates are kindly requested to modify their registration.

Participants requiring a personal invitation letter for visa purposes should register for the meeting as early as possible, allowing sufficient time for visa processing and indicating their request for visa support.

Electrical power plugs and sockets are unique to Switzerland within the UNECE region (type J, three-pin, 230 V, 50 Hz, as shown), though slim two-pin plugs (type C) will fit.  
 
The UNECE team does not supply spare charging devices. Please remember to bring your personal chargers for your respective devices (laptops, phones, etc.) to the meeting. 

Timing of UN Meetings

UN meetings run from 10:00-13:00 and 15:00-18:00 hours.

Language 

The meeting will be held in the three official languages of UNECE (English, French, and Russian) and will be simultaneously interpreted. 

Internet access 
Wifi access will be provided in the meeting room. During the breaks, delegates may use computers in the Library that provides also Internet access.  

European Union coordination  

The European Union coordination meetings - open only to European Union member States - are held during the following time-slots: 
-    9  Dec: 4:30 – 6:00 p.m.
-    10 Dec: 1:15 – 2: 45  p.m. (tbc)  

Please contact the EU presidency for the location of the EU coordination meetings.

ORGANIZATION OF WORK

The meeting will be held in an in-person format. Interpretation in English, French and Russian during the sessions will be provided.

As for all UN public meetings, any interested individual can follow the meeting through audio means: https://listen-live.unog.ch/en/index.html