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The Embassy of Austria in Geneva |
Contact
Address
Permanent Mission of Austria to the United Nations Office and specialized institutions in Geneva
Avenue Giuseppe Motta 35-37
1202 Geneva
or
P.O. Box 68
1211 Geneva 20
Phone Number
+41 22 748 20 48
Website
http://www.mfa.at/geneva
Email
genf-ov@bmeia.gv.at
The Ambassador
H.E. Mr. Alexander Kmentt
Ambassador Alexander Kmentt assumed his position as Permanent Representative of Austria to the United Nations Office and to the Specialized Institutions in Geneva on 1 December 2025.
In his diplomatic career, Ambassador Kmentt has worked extensively on security, disarmament, arms control, and non-proliferation issues - including as Deputy Permanent Representative of Austria to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, as Special Assistant to the Executive Secretary in the Preparatory Commission of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Organization and, from 2011-2016 as well as 2021-2025, as Director of the Department for Disarmament, Arms Control and Non-Proliferation at the Austrian Ministry for Foreign Affairs. From 2016-2019, Ambassador Kmentt served as Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the Political and Security Committee of the European Union.
Ambassador Kmentt is one of the architects of the initiative on the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). He was responsible for the 2014 Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons for which he conceived the Humanitarian Pledge that garnered the support of 135 States and paved the way for the 2017 TPNW. As Senior Research Fellow at King’s College London during a sabbatical from the Austrian Foreign Ministry in 2019-2020, he authored the book “The Treaty Prohibiting Nuclear Weapons: How it was achieved and why it matters”. He served as President of the First Meeting of States Parties of the TPNW in June 2022.
He was elected “Arms Control Person of the Year 2014” by the US-based Arms Control Association. He was also awarded the Simons Foundation Award for Distinguished Global Leadership in the Service of Peace and Disarmament in 2021, the Sean MacBride Peace Prize in 2022 by the International Peace Bureau, and the 2025 Heinrich-Treichl Foundation Humanitarian Prize by the Austrian Red Cross.
Ambassador Kmentt holds an Austrian Law Degree and a MPhil in International Relations from Cambridge University (UK).
History
Austria became a member of the United Nations on 14 December 1955, following the restoration of its independence and the signing of the Austrian State Treaty earlier that year. Since joining the UN, Austria has maintained an active role in multilateral diplomacy, with a particular focus on international law, human rights, humanitarian affairs, disarmament, sustainable development, and peaceful conflict resolution. Austria’s engagement with the UN is also closely linked to its role as a host country for international organizations, with Vienna serving as one of the UN’s four headquarters locations alongside New York, Geneva, and Nairobi.
The Permanent Mission of Austria to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations in Geneva is responsible for representing Austrian interests and maintaining relations with the numerous international organizations based in Geneva. Its primary role is to serve as a liaison between Austria and Geneva-based institutions, participating in decision-making processes, promoting Austrian priorities, and reporting on developments within these organizations to the Austrian Federal Government. The Mission is composed of the Permanent Representative (Ambassador), a Deputy Permanent Representative, diplomats, specialists from Austrian government ministries, and administrative staff.
The work of the Austrian Mission reflects the broad range of issues addressed by Geneva-based organizations, including human rights, humanitarian affairs, disarmament, trade, development, economic and labour affairs, health, and environmental matters. Austrian diplomats participate in negotiations and activities across institutions such as the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), World Health Organization (WHO), International Labour Organization (ILO), World Trade Organization (WTO), World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), International Telecommunication Union (ITU), UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), and the UN Office at Geneva, among others.
Geneva is one of the world’s principal centres of international cooperation, hosting a wide range of UN bodies and international organizations, including the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), UNAIDS, and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Through its Mission, Austria engages with these institutions to support multilateral cooperation and advance its foreign policy objectives.
