United Nations Headquarters - Relocation Proposals

Relocation Proposals

Due to the significance of the organisation, proposals and offers to relocate the Headquarters buildings would surface now and then. Common complaints about its current location include diplomats who struggle to obtain U.S. visas and local residents complaining about inconveniences each time the roads are sealed due to visiting dignitaries. A telephone poll in 2001 found that 67% of callers were in favour of the UN moving out of the country. Countries critical of the United States, such as Iran, are especially vocal in questioning the current location of the buildings in U.S. territory.

In 2001, Dmitriy Rogozin proposed moving the headquarters to St. Petersburg due to America's failure to pay its dues to the UN, saying "If the position of the Americans does not change and if as a result the international civil servants working in New York feel ever more uncomfortable, I think we will raise the question of moving the central UN headquarters to the 'Venice of the North,' St. Petersburg," During the period where the UN was facing delays in its efforts to refurbish its existing buildings, alternative sites considered as temporary sites also included the World Trade Center site being proposed as a new permanent facility.

Some governments have offered potential sites should the UN decide to move. In 2007, La Presse reported that the Canadian government, along with provincial and municipal authorities, proposed Montreal as a site to move the headquarters; a former docklands site has been earmarked and preliminary drawings made, but the UN turned down the request in 2007 and opted to renovate its existing facilities instead. In 2010, The Dubai government offered Dubai as an ideal venue due to its proximity to international "trouble spots".