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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.

 

Guided tours of Centre William Rappard

Renovation and extension of the WTO building

  
Existing building

Welcome

History

Slideshow (Photos: © ILO historical photo archives)


The WTO building: Centre William Rappard slide show

Start slide show  Stop slide show  Previous slide  Next slide

Works of art

The Park

Map

Virtual tour

> WTO Open Day — 19 September 2010

 

Publications

Centre William Rappard: Home of the World Trade Organization

The WTO Building 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.