Geneva is aglobal city, a financial centre, and a worldwide centre fordiplomacyand the most importantUNinternational co-operation centre withNew Yorkthanks to the presence of numerousinternational organizations, including the headquarters of many of the agencies of theUnited Nations[3]and theRed Cross.[4]It is also the place where theGeneva Conventionswere signed, which chiefly concern the treatment of wartime non-combatants andprisoners of war.

Geneva has been described as the third European financial centre after London and Zurich,[5]and the world's eighth most importantfinancial centreby theGlobal Financial Centres Index, ahead ofFrankfurt,[6]and a 2009 survey byMercerfound Geneva to have the third-highestquality of lifeof any city in the world (narrowly outranked byZürich).[7]The city has been referred to as the world's most compact metropolis and the "Peace Capital."[8]In 2009, Geneva was ranked as the fourthmost expensive cityin the world.