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| Abbreviation | WFUNA, FMANU |
|---|---|
| Named after | United Nations Organisation |
| Predecessor | International Federation of League of Nations Societies |
| Formation | 2 August 1946; 79 years ago (1946-08-02) |
| Founded at |  Luxembourg City,Luxembourg |
| Purpose | Promote and defend the values of the UN |
| Headquarters |  Geneva,Switzerland New York, United States |
Region served | World |
Official language | English,French |
President | Dr. Shawn Chen |
Secretary-General |  Aziel Philippos Goulandris |
Key people | Jan Masaryk,Eleanor Roosevelt (founding members) Hans Blix (former president) Arthur Ross (donnor) |
Main organ | Plenary Assembly, Executive Committee |
| Awards | Wateler Peace Prize (1965),Jan Masaryk Medal |
| Website | wfuna |
| Remarks | "WFUNA connects the United Nations to the people—and now, more than ever before, engaged global citizens shape history." Ban Ki Moon, Secretary-General, United Nations, April 2016 |
TheWorld Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA) (French:Fédération Mondiale des Associations pour les Nations Unies,FMANU) was founded in 1946 as a Federation of national associations. Its objectives are to promote the values of theUN Charter, defendmultilateralism, work towards a better United Nations Organisation and raise awareness on the main pillars of work of theUnited Nations—peace and security, sustainable development, and human rights.
WFUNA is an internationalnon-governmental organization with Consultative Status at theUnited Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and consultative or liaison links with many other UN organizations and agencies. As a Federation, its membership is made of 95United Nations Associations (UNAs) in as many member states of the UN.
WFUNA is the largest non-profit organization with the mission of supporting the principles and purposes of the UN.
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The basis for the existence of a people's movement in favor of a global intergovernmental organisation was set by theInternational Federation of League of Nations Societies (French:Union internationale des associations pour la Société des Nations) which ceased operations in 1939.[1]
WFUNA was founded inLuxembourg on 2 August 1946 by 22 nationalUnited Nations Associations (UNAs).[2] The Constitution they adopted proclaims:[3]
"We the representatives of the United Nations Associations in our respective countries,
Believing that since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed, andBelieving that the peace must be founded, if it is not to fail, upon the intellectual and moral solidarity of all peoples,
Have resolved to combine our efforts to form an association of the peoples to be known as the World Federation of United Nations Associations."
Eleanor Roosevelt was an active participant in WFUNA and one of the leading figures in its creation.[2]
Over the years, UNAs have been established in more UN member states, especially as new countries were formed and joined the UN.
In practical terms, WFUNA played a crucial role by helping people in those countries where human rights were violated, such as Franco's Spain, some of the former communist countries inEastern Europe and in theMiddle East. WFUNA brought together people of divided countries – such as East and West Germany andCyprus, and the opponents in conflicts, for example between Israel and Egypt in the late 1960s.
WFUNA helped promote "Security and Co-operation in Europe" (CSCE) by holding in 1967 the first conference on this topic. Other NGOs followed WFUNA's campaign which continued until 1975 when the Final Act was signed atHelsinki by 35 governments, including United States and Canada, establishing the CSCE process. Further campaigning led in 1994 to the CSCE process that consisted of a Biennial Review Conference being raised to a Permanent Organization (OSCE).
WFUNA, including its African UNA members, made significant contributions to the NGO campaign for the abolition ofApartheid. The 32nd General Assembly of the UN, in 1977, received a resolution from the 117th WFUNA Executive Committee meeting, which requested:
"TheSecurity Council of the UN to give urgent consideration to the taking of immediate steps to ensure that no State, multinational or other body or person be allowed to provideSouth Africa orRhodesia with any equipment, technology or production ofnuclear weapons of any kind".
WFUNA facilitated high-level informal consultations on disarmament issues between key experts of the US andUSSR during theCold War. It organized a number of NGO Seminars ondisarmament in cooperation with the UN,UNESCO and other NGOs.
During its history, WFUNA has served as a forum for global dialogues on development. Several suggestions, like the establishment of anEconomic Commission for Africa, were first adopted at the WFUNA Plenary Assemblies and then endorsed by governments.
WFUNA has actively supported reform of the UN and its capacity to meet new tasks and challenges. WFUNA has continually received recognition from the highest ranks of the UN. The sentiments in this statement byUN Secretary-General,Dag Hammarskjöld, to WFUNA's 12th Plenary Assembly were shared by his successors: "I wish... to express my appreciation of your most essential service. At the same time, I wish to urge you to fresh endeavors. Over the years you have accomplished much and have acted with an ever increasing sense of your great responsibilities."
For many years WFUNA conducted a fund raising program based on the sale of first day covers of UN stamps and lithographs produced by artists and celebrities, such asPicasso, Lou Zheng Jang,Miró,Salvador Dalí, Ruben Leyva,Al Hirschfeld andAndy Warhol to promote the ideals of the UN. This highly successful program ran for several decades during the 20th century.
TheUN General Assembly has adopted several resolutions expressing appreciation for WFUNA's efforts to support the values of the UN. In 1986 resolution 41/68 recognizes WFUNA as "the only non-profit that is entirely dedicated to mobilize popular support for the goals and principles of the United Nations" and asks for "all governments to help WFUNA" in its actions. In 2013, resolution 64/86 commends the World Federation of United Nations Associations and its United Nations associations for the valuable contributions they have made, and calls for continued collaboration between the World Federation and the Department of Public Information in support of their complementary objectives". In 2015, resolution 70/93 recalls resolution 41/68.
| Nr | President | Country | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jan Masaryk |  Czechoslovakia | 2 August 1946 – 10 March 1948 |
| – | K. B. Courtney |  United Kingdom | 1948 |
| – | J. Simonsen |  Denmark | 1949 – 1951 |
| 2 | Nasrollah Entezam |  Iran | 1951 – 1953 |
| 3 | Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit |  India | 1954 |
| 4 | La-lad Pibulsonggram |  Thailand | 1955 – 1956 |
| 5 | Roberto Ago |  Italy | 1957 – 1959 |
| 6 | Paul Guggenheim | Switzerland | 1960 – 1963 |
| 7 | Adriaan Pelt |  Netherlands | 1963 – 1966 |
| 8 | Aleš Bebler |  Yugoslavia | 1966 – 1969 |
| 9 | Justice Michael Triantafylides |  Cyprus | 1969 – 1973 |
| 10 | U Thant |  Burma | 1973 – 1974 |
| 11 | René Maheu |  France | 1975 – 1976 |
| 12 | Mihály Simai |  Hungary | 1976 – 1981 |
| 13 | Sidney Willer | United States | 1981 – 1983 |
| 14 | Davidson Nicol |  Sierra Leone | 1983 – 1987 |
| 15 | Maurice Strong |  Canada | 1987 – 1991 |
| 16 | Androulla Vassiliou | Greece | 1991 – 1995 |
| 17 | Hashim Abdul Halim | India | 1995 – 2003 |
| 18 | Rhyl Jansen |  New Zealand | 2003 – 2006 |
| 19 | Hans Blix |  Sweden | 2006 – 11 August 2009 |
| 20 | Park Soo-gil |  South Korea | 11 August 2009 – 20 November 2018 |
| 21 | Leonel Fernández |  Dominican Republic | 20 November 2018 – 11 November 2022 |
| 22 | Shawn Chen | United States | 11 November 2022 – present |
There are currently 92 UN Associations connecting hundreds of thousands of people to the United Nations. UNAs at the national level mainly play a role in:
.svg)  New York Geneva Brussels Seoul Bern Brussels Ottawa Washington, D.C. Havana Mexico City Santo Domingo Port-au-Prince Kingston Managua Caracas Port of Spain Paramaribo Bogotá Quito Brasília Santiago Buenos Aires Reykjavik Oslo Stockholm Helsinki Tallinn Moscow Vilnius Copenhagen London Berlin Amsterdam Paris Luxembourg City Vienna Bratislava Budapest Bucharest Ljubljana Belgrade Sofia Athens Ankara Tirana Rome Podgorica Madrid Tunis Rabat Tbilisi Yerevan Nicosia Beirut Damascus Amman Jerusalem Cairo Khartoum Mogadishu Juba Kampala Dodoma Kigali N'Djamena Abuja Ouagadougou Porto-Novo Lomé Accra Yamoussoukro Monrovia Yaoundé Malabo São Tomé Kinshasa Port Louis Harare Windhoek Gaborone Cape Town Tehran Islamabad New Delhi Kathmandu Dhaka Colombo Beijing Seoul Tokyo Manila Bangkok Kuala Lumpur Singapore Jakarta Sydney Wellington Each dot represents one national UNA Show map of EarthNew York Geneva Brussels Seoul Bern Brussels Ottawa Washington, D.C. Havana Mexico City Santo Domingo Port-au-Prince Kingston Managua Caracas Port of Spain Paramaribo Bogotá Quito Brasília Santiago Buenos Aires Reykjavik Oslo Stockholm Helsinki Tallinn Moscow Vilnius Copenhagen London Berlin Amsterdam Paris Luxembourg City Vienna Bratislava Budapest Bucharest Ljubljana Belgrade Sofia Athens Ankara Tirana Rome Podgorica Madrid Tunis Rabat Tbilisi Yerevan Nicosia Beirut Damascus Amman Jerusalem Cairo Khartoum Mogadishu Juba Kampala Dodoma Kigali N'Djamena Abuja Ouagadougou Porto-Novo Lomé Accra Yamoussoukro Monrovia Yaoundé Malabo São Tomé Kinshasa Port Louis Harare Windhoek Gaborone Cape Town Tehran Islamabad New Delhi Kathmandu Dhaka Colombo Beijing Seoul Tokyo Manila Bangkok Kuala Lumpur Singapore Jakarta Sydney Wellington Map of the current United Nations Associations in Europe Show map of EuropeNew York Geneva Brussels Seoul Bern Brussels Ottawa Washington, D.C. Havana Mexico City Santo Domingo Port-au-Prince Kingston Managua Caracas Port of Spain Paramaribo Bogotá Quito Brasília Santiago Buenos Aires Reykjavik Oslo Stockholm Helsinki Tallinn Moscow Vilnius Copenhagen London Berlin Amsterdam Paris Luxembourg City Vienna Bratislava Budapest Bucharest Ljubljana Belgrade Sofia Athens Ankara Tirana Rome Podgorica Madrid Tunis Rabat Tbilisi Yerevan Nicosia Beirut Damascus Amman Jerusalem Cairo Khartoum Mogadishu Juba Kampala Dodoma Kigali N'Djamena Abuja Ouagadougou Porto-Novo Lomé Accra Yamoussoukro Monrovia Yaoundé Malabo São Tomé Kinshasa Port Louis Harare Windhoek Gaborone Cape Town Tehran Islamabad New Delhi Kathmandu Dhaka Colombo Beijing Seoul Tokyo Manila Bangkok Kuala Lumpur Singapore Jakarta Sydney Wellington Map of the current United Nations Associations in North America Show map of North America New York Geneva Brussels Seoul Bern Brussels Ottawa Washington, D.C. Havana Mexico City Santo Domingo Port-au-Prince Kingston Managua Caracas Port of Spain Paramaribo Bogotá Quito Brasília Santiago Buenos Aires Reykjavik Oslo Stockholm Helsinki Tallinn Moscow Vilnius Copenhagen London Berlin Amsterdam Paris Luxembourg City Vienna Bratislava Budapest Bucharest Ljubljana Belgrade Sofia Athens Ankara Tirana Rome Podgorica Madrid Tunis Rabat Tbilisi Yerevan Nicosia Beirut Damascus Amman Jerusalem Cairo Khartoum Mogadishu Juba Kampala Dodoma Kigali N'Djamena Abuja Ouagadougou Porto-Novo Lomé Accra Yamoussoukro Monrovia Yaoundé Malabo São Tomé Kinshasa Port Louis Harare Windhoek Gaborone Cape Town Tehran Islamabad New Delhi Kathmandu Dhaka Colombo Beijing Seoul Tokyo Manila Bangkok Kuala Lumpur Singapore Jakarta Sydney Wellington Map of the current United Nations Associations in South America Show map of Asia New York Geneva Brussels Seoul Bern Brussels Ottawa Washington, D.C. Havana Mexico City Santo Domingo Port-au-Prince Kingston Managua Caracas Port of Spain Paramaribo Bogotá Quito Brasília Santiago Buenos Aires Reykjavik Oslo Stockholm Helsinki Tallinn Moscow Vilnius Copenhagen London Berlin Amsterdam Paris Luxembourg City Vienna Bratislava Budapest Bucharest Ljubljana Belgrade Sofia Athens Ankara Tirana Rome Podgorica Madrid Tunis Rabat Tbilisi Yerevan Nicosia Beirut Damascus Amman Jerusalem Cairo Khartoum Mogadishu Juba Kampala Dodoma Kigali N'Djamena Abuja Ouagadougou Porto-Novo Lomé Accra Yamoussoukro Monrovia Yaoundé Malabo São Tomé Kinshasa Port Louis Harare Windhoek Gaborone Cape Town Tehran Islamabad New Delhi Kathmandu Dhaka Colombo Beijing Seoul Tokyo Manila Bangkok Kuala Lumpur Singapore Jakarta Sydney Wellington Map of the current United Nations Associations in Asia Show map of Africa New York Geneva Brussels Seoul Bern Brussels Ottawa Washington, D.C. Havana Mexico City Santo Domingo Port-au-Prince Kingston Managua Caracas Port of Spain Paramaribo Bogotá Quito Brasília Santiago Buenos Aires Reykjavik Oslo Stockholm Helsinki Tallinn Moscow Vilnius Copenhagen London Berlin Amsterdam Paris Luxembourg City Vienna Bratislava Budapest Bucharest Ljubljana Belgrade Sofia Athens Ankara Tirana Rome Podgorica Madrid Tunis Rabat Tbilisi Yerevan Nicosia Beirut Damascus Amman Jerusalem Cairo Khartoum Mogadishu Juba Kampala Dodoma Kigali N'Djamena Abuja Ouagadougou Porto-Novo Lomé Accra Yamoussoukro Monrovia Yaoundé Malabo São Tomé Kinshasa Port Louis Harare Windhoek Gaborone Cape Town Tehran Islamabad New Delhi Kathmandu Dhaka Colombo Beijing Seoul Tokyo Manila Bangkok Kuala Lumpur Singapore Jakarta Sydney Wellington Map of the current United Nations Associations in Oceania Show map of Oceania |
A United Nations Association can only be recognized in a UN member-State and there can be only one in each UN member-State. All Associations are non-profit organizations, independent from one another. WFUNA is in charge of the coordination of the network and puts efforts in building the capacity of its existing members while trying to provide counseling to those groups willing to create new UNAs in member-State that don't have any.
The continent with the most UN associations is Europe immediately followed by Africa while South America has seen a rapid growth in numbers of UNAs in the last decade.
WFUNA is involved with the UN system since its inception and has been working with most Member States through its activities and through its member Associations.
Many renowned artists have dedicated works or art to WFUNA and to the values of the organisation.
WFUNA'slithograph program started in 1966[4] for the 30th anniversary of the Federation and included a set of works from renowned artists likeSalvador Dalí orFriedrich Hundertwasser. Many of these works were later reproduced to be part of the WFUNA philatelic program with the stamps being included by the United Nations among their offer for general circulation. More lithographs were added in 1976 like that ofVictor Vasarely, French representative of theOp Art school. In the 1980ssurrealistJuan Miro signed for WFUNA one of his last lithographs. The program marked a pause and resumed after the 42nd Plenary Assembly of the organisation. In 2020 French artistGreg Mathias of the neo cubist school, signed WFUNA's firstlinocut, "Bridges".
In 2020, WFUNA also resumed with the traditional creation of art posters to commemorate specific events starting with the 75th Anniversary of the United Nations[5] and with idea of "fragile multilateralism" as a leading message.
The World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA) was founded in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg on 2 August 1946 by 22 United Nations Associations (UNAs). This was one year after the UN Charter was proclaimed with the opening words "We the peoples of the United Nations".
