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The Embassy of Denmark in Geneva |
Contact
Address
Permanent Mission of Denmark to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva
Rue de Moillebeau, 56 (7th Floor)
or
P.O. Box 110
CH-1218 Grand-Saconnex
Phone Number
+41 22 918 00 40
Website
http://fngeneve.um.dk
Email
gvamis@um.dk
The Ambassador
H.E. Mr. Ib Petersen
Immediately prior to Geneva, Mr. Petersen served as Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director (Management) of UNFPA from September 2020. A career diplomat, he was Permanent Representative of Denmark to the UN in New York from August 2013 to December 2018. His long record at the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs includes Director of the Department for Migration, Stabilisation and Fragility (Jan–Aug 2020); Special Envoy on Stabilization and Fragility (Aug–Dec 2019); Undersecretary for Communications and Consular Affairs (Jan–Aug 2019); State Secretary for Development Policy (2009–2013); and State Secretary for the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Latin America and the United Nations (2007–2009). Earlier still, he was Deputy Head of Mission at the Danish Embassy in Harare (1995–1998) and worked at the World Bank in Washington, D.C. (Nordic Office, 1988–1991). He was born 18 May 1960, is married, and has two sons.
History
Denmark is a founding member of the United Nations: it was one of the 51 countries that signed the UN Charter at the San Francisco conference on 26 June 1945, with the Charter — and Denmark's membership — entering into force on 24 October 1945. Denmark's post-war decision to join the UN reflected a mix of security calculation and idealism, marking a definitive break from the policy of neutrality Denmark had maintained (unsuccessfully, given the 1940–1945 German occupation) before and during the Second World War; Danish accession to the UN preceded, and in the government's view helped pave the way for, its subsequent membership of NATO (1949) and what later became the European Union (from 1973). Denmark has contributed to UN peacekeeping since the organization's first mission in 1948, with Danish troops serving in more than 38 UN-led operations over the decades, and Denmark has more recently been a top contributor to the UN Peacebuilding Fund. Alongside Norway, Denmark was among the first two Nordic countries admitted to the UN in 1945; Iceland and Sweden followed in 1946 and Finland in 1955.
Denmark is currently serving as an elected, non-permanent member of the UN Security Council (2025–2026), where it has emphasized the Women, Peace and Security agenda and the meaningful engagement of non-member states and civil society in Council business. At the Geneva-based Human Rights Council, Denmark maintains long-standing thematic priorities including women's and girls' rights (including sexual and reproductive health and rights), the prevention of torture — Denmark co-leads the cross-regional "Convention against Torture Initiative," launched in 2014 with Chile, Fiji, Ghana, Indonesia and Morocco, promoting universal ratification and implementation of the UN Convention against Torture — as well as Indigenous Peoples' rights, freedom of religion or belief, and the protection of civil society and human rights defenders. Denmark served as an elected member of the Human Rights Council itself in 2019–2021. Denmark's Organisation Strategy for OHCHR (2025–2030) commits roughly DKK 60 million annually (DKK 360 million over the full period) to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, a substantial share of it unearmarked funding. Denmark itself underwent its own Universal Periodic Review at the Human Rights Council's 52nd UPR session (4–15 May 2026, reviewed on 7 May), where reviewing states — including the UK — commended Denmark's record on media freedom, civic participation, and its adoption of consent-based rape legislation and national action plans against human trafficking and racism.
