Flags outside the UN's Palace of Nations in Geneva, Switzerland
© Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu Agency/Getty Image
League of Nations, 100 years later
For the anniversary of the League of Nations, we're in Geneva, Switzerland, at the Palace of Nations. The LN was founded on January 10, 1920, after World War I. It served as an international diplomatic organization until World War II, when it gradually lost support and was eventually replaced by the United Nations. The Palace, built to be the LN's headquarters, has served as UN headquarters in Geneva and hosts diplomats for thousands of meetings every year.
At the end of the Palace's rows of flags is 'Broken Chair,' a sculpture by Swiss artist Daniel Berset. With one leg broken off, the piece conveys opposition to land mines and cluster bombs, and was originally placed there in 1997 ahead of a vote on the Ottawa Treaty on land mines. It was later dedicated and given to Handicap International (now known as Humanity & Inclusion), which aims to help people with disabilities and vulnerable people in situations of poverty, exclusion, conflict, and disaster.
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