United Nations and World Trade Organisation

United Nations

MFAT has a UN office in New York – the Permanent Mission to the United Nations. We also have a Permanent Mission to the United Nations in Geneva that focuses on human rights, disarmament and other UN specialised agencies (such as those that deal with health, labour, refugees and humanitarian issues) and another in Vienna that works mainly on non-proliferation of weapons and arms control.

World Trade Organization

The World Trade Organization deals with the global rules of trade. Its main function is to ensure that trade flows as smoothly, predictably and freely as possible between its members. New Zealand's Permanent Mission in Geneva works together with MFAT's Trade Negotiations and Legal Divisions and a range of New Zealand Government agencies to represent the New Zealand Government at the WTO. 

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is the lead agency for protecting refugees and the internally displaced (people forced from their homes but still living in their own country).

United Nations Information Centres

The United Nations Information Centres (UNICs), Services (UNIS) and Offices (UNOs) are located in 63 countries worldwide. They link the United Nations with people around the world and are responsible for promoting greater public understanding of and support for the aims and activities of the United Nations by sharing global UN messages to local audiences.