Geneva’s landmark Jet d’eau running again after 83-day shut down

Facing global challenges like COVID-19 can only be taken on through multilateral cooperation, stresses UN Geneva Director-General.

Tatiana Valovaya, the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, today said the world can only face global challenges through multilateral cooperation.  She spoke at a ceremony where Geneva’s landmark Jet d’eau was switched on again, 83 days after it was shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“From COVID-19 to climate change, the world is now, more than ever, facing truly global challenges which can only be taken on through bilateral cooperation,” said Ms. Valovaya.  “This is precisely what the United Nations has been doing and continues to do as it marks its seventy-fifth anniversary and as we celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of modern multilateralism in its birthplace, Geneva.” 

In this post-COVID world, the planet will need a much stronger response of unity and solidarity, continued Ms. Valovaya.  If the world wants to cross this pandemic together and build a safer and more stable future, a new era of multilateralism is needed.  "Multilateralism - which was already in transition before the crisis - will of course evolve to be more inclusive," she told local Swiss media on the sidelines of the ceremony, reminding that the priorities will also evolve.

With a pandemic that has shaken the whole world, the Head of the United Nations Office at Geneva recalled that the Covid-19 crisis has especially exposed profound injustices and inequalities based on income, sex, race and others, adding that it is out of the question to return to these systems which created fragility.  Noting that this was the most difficult crisis the world has faced since the Second World War, she said that “none of the crises we are going through recognizes borders and they must therefore be dealt with by international cooperation".

WHO’s Dr Tedros: “We all have a part to play in ensuring we do not see a resurgence of the virus”

Turned off since 20 March because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Jet d’eau, which is the symbol of International Geneva, was switched back on in a ceremony on the shores of the Léman Lake.  Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreysus, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, triggered the command which propelled a water column 140 metres above the lake level at 200 kilometers per hour, with Ms. Valovaya at his side.

“WHO is proud to call Geneva home and we have missed seeing the Jet d’Eau from our offices,” said Mr. Tedros.  “The Jet d’eau is the symbol of Geneva, and turning it back on is a symbol of Geneva’s success so far in suppressing transmission of COVID-19.  But the fight is not over and we all have a part to play in ensuring we do not see a resurgence of the virus.”

Dr. Tedros said he hoped that the Jet d’eau will continue to provide joy and hope for all of Geneva’s inhabitants and visitors.  He noted that while the spread of the virus was in decline in Europe, it was spreading in other parts of the world, especially in Latin America.

Ms. Valovaya made the same point.  “If the infection rate is decreasing in Switzerland, this is not the case in other countries,” she said, adding that the United Nations stood besides its host city and country in its fight against COVID-19. 

“After weeks of confinement or semi-confinement for many people, seeing the Jet d’eau soaring once again is an important step towards the return to a new normal,” she said.

The Jet d’eau, Geneva’s star attraction since 1891, is switched on daily, except when freezing winds halt it.  At night, it is often lit to show support for various charitable, humanitarian or diplomatic endeavours.  Tonight, it will be lit in blue in support of the work of the World Health Organization.

The COVID-19 pandemic has infected more than 7.25 million persons and killed 412,000 around the world, and has triggered the confinement of 4 billion people.

President of the State Council of Geneva: “Geneva is determined to remain the city of peace and the rule of law, as well as of human rights and of sustainable development”

As the Headquarters of the World Health Organization and with many Unities Nations bodies and agencies also represented, this crisis has underlined the key role of International Geneva.

Antonio Hodgers, President of the State Council of Geneva, also speaking at the ceremony, commended the World Health Organization’s engagement in the fight against the new coronavirus and pointed out that dozens of Geneva-based organizations were actively involved in the promotion of public health.  “They are amongst the most dynamic since the turn of the century,” he said.

“Despite the challenges faced by multilateralism and international cooperation, Geneva is determined to remain the city of peace and of the rule of law, as well as of human rights and of sustainable development goals,” said Mr. Hodgers, adding that “health and welfare for all are key parts of these goals”.

The Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva said “I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Swiss authorities – from the State to the Federal level – for their help and unwavering support towards diplomacy and multilateral discussions as the only solution to confront the challenges we face.”

“The United Nations stands besides its host city and country in its fight against COVID-19,” said Ms. Valovaya, adding that “this will not stop with the end of the pandemic, but will continue in the years to come”.  She said that the United Nations family was fully engaged in the combat against the new coronavirus and was determined to mobilise to save lives, avoid famine, ease pain and build a recovery plan.

To get back on track, the United Nations Office at Geneva intends to continue doing its work, in support of Member States, and consolidate its position as an attractive platform for building a global consensus in vital areas such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, disarmament and the protection of human rights. "Most importantly, the United Nations must continue its efforts to build networked multilateralism," concluded the United Nations Director-General in Geneva.