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THE WTO: BUILDING

The WTO building: Centre William Rappard

Welcome to the Centre William Rappard, the home of the World Trade Organization. Testimony to over seventy years of international co-operation, the Centre William Rappard (CWR) was conceived as part of the effort after World War I to create a League of Nations and related institutions that would encourage multilateral exchanges and favour the peaceful resolution of human conflicts.

Welcome

History

Slideshow (Photos: © ILO historical photo archives)


The WTO building: Centre William Rappard slide show

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Works of art

The Park

Map

The WTO building: Centre William Rappard
> Brochure

 TIMELINE   

• 1785 — construction of the original Villa Rappard (now a school)
• 1919 — signature of the Treaty of Versailles and creation of the League of Nations
and the ILO.
• 1923 — Swiss architect George Epitaux selected to design new Headquarters for the International Labour Office.
• 1926 — inauguration of the new ILO building.
• 1947 — establishment of the GATT as a result of the Bretton Woods Agreements.
• 1975 — ILO moves to new HQ in Grand Saconnex.
• 1977 — GATT moves to the Centre William Rappard.
• 1995 — WTO becomes the successor to the GATT and main occupant of the CWR.
• 1998 — Construction of the conference center adjacent to the CWR.
 

contact us : World Trade Organization, rue de Lausanne 154, CH-1211 Geneva 21, Switzerland