Where Should The UN Be Located?

[ThomWV]

Were the UN to move where would be the best place for it? Hong Kong or Dubai might be interesting. London? Paris?

Infrastructure is important but so would be a friendly country, something the organization is lacking in its present headquarters.

[CatholicEdHead]

1. Geneva is always brought up

But it is fine where it is, even with all the fake domestic heat pushed upon it.

[LaurenG]

2. Iraq, put it in Iraq

It would be interesting to see how fast (or not) they get us out of there.

[TrogL]

3. Scandinavia

Note, some consider Canada to be a Scandinavian country.

[IntravenousDemilo]

4. There's room in Toronto, the world's most multicultural city.

Plus Canadians tend to like the UN.

[JeffR]

6. Right on

It should be in the portlands, right on the lakefront.

[KamaAina]

14. I heard it had a standing offer from Montreal

What ever became of Maple, the Cdn DUer who always brought that up?

There's some logic there: it's by far the world's largest city that is bilingual in the UN's two main languages, English and French. Plus it has a huge international airport with flights to most parts of the world.

[DRoseDARs]

5. Hong Kong and Dubai are attrocious suggestions.

Although it will be a cold day in Hell before they own up to it, China isn't having as light a touch in Hong Kong's affairs as they promised to when the handover occured and Dubai's rulers have a fairly ugly Human rights record. Switzerland or Japan would be better choices.

[Igel]

8. Precisely reasons to place them there.

The UN delegates live in a rarefied world in which they are spared actually dealing with any problems that aren't common to all New Yorkers with personal staff, and with making their own countries come off as good looking as possible.

Place them where it's less pleasant, and they have to face more reality. If nothing else, it's likely to make them get their work done more quickly so they can go vacationing in New York or Geneva.

Put them in the Congo. The civil war there would have gotten much more attention.

[The Straight Story]

7. Build several HQ's in different countries

Rotate like with the olympics.

In off years your building houses folks who do work for the UN - food agency workers, volunteers, etc and so on.

[hughee99]

9. How about Darfur, the west Bank, or Lebanon...

I think you'd see the UN move much quicker to fix the problems, if the delegates have to live in one of those situations.

[Totallybushed]

10. I think it

should be located in either the MidEast or sub-Saharan Africa.

Why not put it where the diplomats can see the results of their failures? Might motivate them to buy a clue.

[IChing]

11. Make Jerusalem an international independent city

Jon Stewart suggested that

[gula]

18. So glad I am not the only one to think so.

It is claimed as the birthplace of the 3 major religions. It also houses the headquarters of others such as the ba'hai. It is slowly but surely being destroyed by warfare and greed. I think the best thing would be to turn it into an international centre without specific citizenship nor any state religion.

On top of that it way more central than NY.

[Straight Shooter]

12. Ann Coulter's back yard

:evilgrin:

[William769]

13. The Moon.

[KamaAina]

15. New Orleans!

I know, still the unfriendly country problem, but talk about "a place where they can see their failures"! And it would be a much-needed source of investment for the city, since the said non-friendly country won't lift a finger. :grr:

French literacy, very important to the UN, is somewhat lacking at present but could more easily be beefed up than in most places; there is an International School with French and Spanish immersion (the city's other two historic languages). In the meanwhile, Cajun French speakers could fill in, though the French from France would make pukey faces :P

Failing that, I say we form an NGO to get observer status wherever the UN is, so as to attract investment from places that still give a damn (i.e. the entire rest of the world)!

[Solo_in_MD]

16. The diplomats and employees really like it in NYC

and NYC can keep it. Why ruin really nice places with all that nusiance.

[DoYouEverWonder]

17. The site of the WTC

Swap parcels with the site the UN is on now and build some fancy financial center there.

I know all the diplomats will bitch because they'll have to move to the West Village, but screw 'em.

[Rosco T.]

19. Switzerland should cede about 10 square miles...

and make it an absolutely, neutral country for the UN and it's support organizations. (ie. sorta like Vatican City). That wany NO country can EVER claim ANY dominion over the UN.

[Sir Jeffrey]

20. I think it should be in the "south"...

How about Rio or Sao Paulo?

[MADem]

21. AGGGH!! Hong Kong? Dubai?

The communist Chinese on the one hand, a gang of seven despots who are absolute rulers on the other?

Switzerland is reasonably neutral, but the weather sucks.

Pity they couldn't find some massive unoccupied island in the middle of the ocean, with space sufficient to build a small UN city and airport....of course, none of the ambassadors would like that much, they'd have to actually work and there would be no good locality perks, like strip clubs, art, culture, restaurants, adventure and so on--they covet that job not just for the diplomatic prestige, but because it's located in the City That Never Sleeps.