Sunday, 24 October 2025. A man is wandering
around the Place des Nations clutching
a small UN flag. From their observation
posts 82 guards armed with lethal laser guns
watch this international civil servant nominated
by the administration to celebrate the
80th anniversary of the United Nations with
due dignity.
Thirty years on, what remains of the pomp
of the 50th Anniversary Celebrations? Nothing,
since increased security means that we
can no longer open wide the doors of the
Palais, through which only the Secretary-General
has the right to enter once a year. There
is no maximum security yet, but if they could
prohibit the Secretary-General’s repeated visits,
they’d get there.
Science fiction, I hear you say! Alas, no.
For the 60th anniversary, the commemorative
ceremonies have been reduced to a minimum
for "security reasons": one door ajar and a
phantom march through the streets of Geneva.
For security reasons again, delegates from
the four corners of the earth hang about for
hours to get their badges, for security reasons
the number of parking places are going to be
reduced, for security reasons staff members’
cars are periodically searched, for security
reasons staff members are interrogated, for
security reasons …
On the up side, meeting venues all across
Geneva are mushrooming. From Palexpo to
the CICG, which is being enlarged, and some
hotels that offer conference rooms, delegates
will soon have many to choose from to
replace the Palais des Nations, which is
becoming the empty fortress described by
Bruno Bettelheim in his book of the same
title "fixed in a phantasmagorical space far
from the realities of the world".
