Conferences
The meetings organized by the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) range from large international conferences to small workshops and expert group meetings. The purposes - or "mandates" - of such meetings are defined by the General Assembly or by the Economic and Social Council or are spelled out in international conventions. Those mandates include:
- Mobilizing Governments and non-governmental organizations to take action on major global problems
- Studying global problems and making recommendations on how to deal with them
- Preparing international conventions, standards and guidelines
- Serving as a forum where new proposals can be debated and consensus sought
- Monitoring compliance with international conventions or treaties
- Reviewing budgets and establishing policy
- Providing expert or technical advice and making recommendations on specific issues
- Training (seminars, workshops, training courses)
Conference Management Service of UNOV plans and coordinates conferences and meetings of United Nations bodies such as the following:
- Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice
- Commission on Narcotic Drugs
- Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space
- International Narcotics Control Board
- United Nations Commission on International Trade Law
- United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation
UNOV also provides conference and meeting support to the three other Vienna-based international organizations:
- International Atomic Energy Agency
- United Nations Industrial Development Organization
- Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization
Although attendance at most conferences and meetings is limited to elected or designated members or to invited States or organizations, some events and activities at the Vienna International Centre are open to the public. Also, guided tours of the Centre organized by the Visitors' Service feature a visit to a conference room where a meeting is usually in session.
Use of the Vienna International Centre (VIC) conference and meeting rooms by Member States and United Nations system entities
- The United Nations conference and meeting rooms in Vienna can be used for meetings, conferences, and special events that are consistent with the purposes and principles of the United Nations and justified by their relevance to the work of the Organization.
- Requests for meeting space can only be submitted by a sponsoring Member State or a United Nations system entity who will act as a guarantor of the requirements stipulated above (hereinafter referred to as “the sponsor”).
- The content of meetings, conferences or events shall be the sole responsibility of their sponsor, and any questions or concerns in this regard should be referred to the sponsor.
- Meetings and events must be strictly non-commercial in nature, and no fees should be charged for participation therein.
- Authorization to use conference and meeting rooms at the VIC will be granted on the understanding that calendar and other mandated meetings of the Vienna based Organizations take precedence over other meetings or events.
- The UNOV Conference Management Service (UNOV CMS) reserves the right to cancel previously authorized bookings at any time prior to the event in case of unforeseen changes in the schedules and/or programmes of calendar and mandated meetings of the Vienna based Organizations.
- No structural or technical changes are allowed in any conference and meeting room, and construction or set-up can only proceed with the express prior authorization of UNOV CMS. No food or drinks are allowed in meeting rooms.
- Any request to reserve a meeting room at the VIC should be submitted to cms.reservations@un.org.