European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 14, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                A pair of Security guards stand watch at one of the entrances to the palais Des nations the United nations european  Geneva the United nations works toward Utopia by Ron Jensen staff writer the Security guard at the Gate outside the United nations european Headquarters in Geneva looked to he of Middle Eastern origin. He smiled As visitors left the building following a tour. Quot did you enjoy the tour Quot he asked. Yes he was told. Someone asked where he is from. He smiled again. Quot i am from Utopia. Have you been there very interesting Quot Utopia. Perhaps that was the desire when the league of nations opened its doors in Geneva on Jan. 10, 1920. It fell Short of that dream however As any perusal of a newspaper will prove. But a tour of this Center of International diplomacy offers a look at How the world goes about reaching for Utopia. Geneva was a logical Choice for such a building which became the . European Headquarters in 1946 with the dissolution of the league of nations and the creation of the United nations a year earlier. It is considered the organization s second Center after the Headquarters in new York. Quot it the league of nations chose the City of Geneva because it considered Switzerland the most peaceful of the european nations Quot said Helen Gan sky a tour guide at the palais Des nations As the building is known. That translates into the Palace of nations Switzerland has not been at War since the 16th Century she said. There Are 34 conference rooms and 1,600 offices in the Complex. Three thousand permanent employees work there while 20,000 More people come each year to attend the 7,000 . Conferences and meetings the Center holds annually. Gan sky explained that in Many conference rooms representatives of the nations sit alphabetically according to their nation Quot to avoid  such a Rule says much about Why Utopia has not been reached. The Public can attend meetings where the discussions can involve such diverse International issues As terrorism environmental pollution and the a amps Susan hams health of the world s children. Headphones allow visitors to listen to the debates which Are instantly translated into the six official languages of the United nations English French Spanish russian chinese and arabic. The tour which takes less than one hour is not an exciting one if there is not a conference in process. Empty conference Halls and an occasional piece of Art donated by a member nation Are about it. But the tour becomes interesting when one considers the importance of the work that takes place. The treaty halting the spread of nuclear weapons was hammered out at the Center. The second world conference on climate was held there in november 1990. The world health organization a part of the United nations held a conference this year to address the growing number of poor women in Rural areas of the world. Quot in the last few years the number of poor women has doubled Quot Gan sky said. The tour is also interesting for the bits of trivia about the United nations that visitors can pick up. Gan sky said for instance that the operating budget for the United nations is $1.18 billion which seems like a lot of Money. But she pointed out that amount is less than the Annua budget for the new York City police department. The police budget was $1.6 billion in 1991. Member nations contribute to the budget bed Tim 8 stripes Magazine May 14,