The headquarters of the United Nations (UN) is on of grounds in the Turtle Bay neighborhood of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States. It borders First Avenue to the west, 42nd Street to the south, 48th Street to the north, and the East River to the east. Completed in 1952, the complex consists of several structures, including the Secretariat, Conference, and General Assembly buildings, and the Dag Hammarskjöld Library. The complex was designed by a board of architects led by Wallace Harrison and built by the architectural firm Harrison & Abramovitz, with final projects developed by Oscar Niemeyer and Le Corbusier. The term Turtle Bay is occasionally used as a metonym for the UN headquarters or United Nations as a whole.
The headquarters holds the seats of the principal organs of the UN, including the General Assembly and the Security Council, but excluding the International Court of Justice, which is seated in The Hague. The United Nations has three additional subsidiary regional headquarters or headquarters districts. These were opened in Geneva (Switzerland) in 1946, Vienna (Austria) in 1980, and Nairobi (Kenya) in 1996. These adjunct offices help represent UN interests, facilitate diplomatic activities, and enjoy certain extraterritorial privileges, but do not contain the seats of major organs.
Although the structure is physically situated in the United States, the land occupied by the United Nations headquarters and spaces of buildings it rents are under the sole administration of the United Nations. They are technically extraterritorial through a treaty agreement with the U.S. government. However, in exchange for local police, fire protection, and other services, the United Nations agrees to acknowledge most local, state, and federal laws. They do not adhere to all city regulations, however: the building uses water from the East River to cool the building, which is illegal in the city.
None of the United Nations' 15 specialized agencies, such as UNESCO, are located at the headquarters. However, some autonomous subsidiary organs, such as UNICEF, are based at the UN's headquarters in New York City.
History
Planning
Site
The headquarters of the United Nations occupies a site beside the East River between 42nd and 48th Streets, on between