  | |
| United Nationsmembership | |
|---|---|
| Represented by |
|
| Membership | Full member |
| Since | 14 December 1955 (1955-12-14) |
| UNSC seat | Non-permanent |
| Ambassador | Héctor Gómez Hernández |
Spain–United Nations relations are the international relations between theUnited Nations (UN) andSpain.
The forerunner of the United Nations was theLeague of Nations, an organization that was established in 1919, after the signing of theTreaty of Versailles, "to promote international cooperation and achieve peace and security", and to which Spain adhered as a founding country included in Annex I of the Treaty of Versailles (1920).[1] The outbreak ofWorld War II revealed the failure of the League of Nations.[2]
In the aftermath of the Second World War, the newly formed United Nations was initially reluctant to admitFrancoist Spain because:
Thus, on 12 December 1946, theGeneral Assembly adopted Resolution 39(I),[5] which excluded the Spanish government from international organizations and conferences established by the United Nations. Resolution 39 further recommended that theSecurity Council take the necessary measures if, within a "reasonable time", no new government was established in Spain whose authority emanated from theconsent of the governed and, in addition, recommended the immediate withdrawal of ambassadors accredited to the Government of Spain. The resolution was adopted with 34 votes in favour, 6 votes against, 13 abstentions and one absence.[6][7]
The outbreak of theCold War, however, caused the US government to change its attitude towards Francoist Spain since its geographical situation and anticommunist government was seen as a valuable asset to the plans of the "free world". At the same time, Spain was gaining sympathy among several member countries of the UN.[8][7][9][10] In January 1950,The New York Times published a letter by theU.S. Secretary of StateDean Acheson that admitted that Resolution 39 had been a failure.[9]
Accordingly, on 4 November 1950, the General Assembly adopted Resolution 386, which revoked the recommendation for the withdrawal of ambassadors accredited to the Spanish government and repealed the recommendation that prevented Spain from being a member of the international agencies established by or linked to the United Nations. The resolution was adopted with 38 votes in favour, 10 against, 12 abstentions and no absences.[7]
Spain presented its application for membership on 23 September 1955[11] and joined the UN the following 14 December.[12][a] It has been an elected member of theSecurity Council on five occasions: approximately once every ten years, most recently in 2015–2016. Throughout this period, and especially since thereturn of democracy following Franco's death in November 1975, Spain has been actively involved in the organization, reiterating the need for the international community to be based on the pillars of security, development and respect for human rights.[2]
Spain ranks eleventh on the scale of financial contributions to the United Nations Regular Budget and is a member of theGeneva Group, made up of the largest contributors, which carries out exhaustive monitoring of administrative and budgetary issues in the United Nations system, including the specialized agencies andinternational technical organizations.[2]
UN organizations with their headquarters in Spanish cities include theWorld Tourism Organization inMadrid and in the past theUnited Nations University – Institute for Globalization, Culture and Mobility inBarcelona.
