The Czech Republic and the UN
Former Czechoslovakia was one of the 51 constituent member states. Its representatives signed the UN Charter in San Francisco on June 26, 1945. As one of the two successor states of Czechoslovakia, the Czech Republic was unanimously admitted as a fully-fledged member of the UN at the resumed 47th session of the UN General Assembly on January 19, 1993.
Former Czechoslovakia - one of the 51 original constituent members of the UN
The name "United Nations", coined by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt was first used in the Declaration by United Nations of 1 January 1942, during the Second World War, when representatives of 26 nations pledged their Governments to continue fighting together against the Axis Powers. Between the days 25 and 26 June 1945, representatives of 50 countries met in San Francisco at the United Nations Conference on International Organization to draw up the United Nations Charter. The Charter was signed on 26 June 1945 by the representatives of 50 countries. Poland, which was not represented at the Conference, signed it later and became one of the original 51 Member States.
Czechoslovak Foreign Minister, Jan Masaryk, signs the UN Charter (San Francisco, June 26, 1945)
Jan Papánek, the first Czechoslovak Ambassador to the UN
Jan Papánek was also one of the 14 authors of the UN Charter and he is captured here at the 272nd session of the UN Security Council (1948), just after the unexplained death of Jan Masaryk, proves the initiation of a coup in Czechoslovakia and the earlier secession of Transcarpathian Ukraine from the Czechoslovak Republic by the Soviet Union.
Jiří Hájek, Minister of Foreign Affairs, in the UN Security Council on August 24, 1968, speaks about the Warsaw Pact invasion to Czechoslovakia.
Current participation of the Czech Republic at the UN
Despite being ones of the constituent member states, both the Czech and the Slovak Republic had to seek admission as new member states succeeding the former Federative Republic of Czechoslovakia. The admission process came successfully to an end when both countries were unanimously admitted as a fully-fledged member of the UN at the resumed 47th session of the UN General Assembly on January 19, 1993.
Jan Kavan, President of the 57th General Assembly in 2002-2003.
The Czech Republic´s presence in the relevant UN bodies in the last few years (in the alphabetical order):
Bureau of the Ad Hoc Committee of the UNGA on a Comprehensive and Integral International Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities (2002 – 2005, 2005 – 2006)
Bureau of the Executive Board of the UNICEF – vice-presidency 2019
General Conference UNESCO – presidency (1999 – 2001, J. Moserová)
Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) (1998-2000, presidency 2000, 2006 – 2008, 2016 – 2018, vice-presidency 2016 – 2017, presidency M. Chatardová 2017 – 2018)
Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) – vice-presidency 2010, member of the Organizational Committee (2011), PBC Guinea Configuration (2012 – 2014)
The United Nations Commission on Human Rights (1997-1999, presidency 1997-1998, 2000-2002)
The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) (2004-2010, 2010-2013,2015-2022)
The International Law Commission – prof. Pavel Šturma (2011–2016, 2016-2021)
The Commission on Narcotic Drugs (1996-199, 2000-2003, 2013-2017, 2018-2021)
The Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (2001-2003, 2004-2006, 2012-2015)
Commission for Social Development (2001-2005, 2005-2009)
Commission on Sustainable Development (1998-2001, 2006-2009)
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) – judge ad litem JUDr. Ivana Janů (2001-2004)
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) – judge ad litem JUDr. Robert Fremr (2002-2004, 2006-2008, 2010-2012)
Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts on International Standards of Accounting and Reporting (2004-2006)
Program Coordinating Board of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (2004-2006)
UN Security Council (1994-1995)
Boards of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (1996-1998, 2002–2004, 2010-2012)
The International Civil Aviation Organization Council (1993-1995, 2001-2003)
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN Council (2001-2003)
The International Telecommunication Union Council (1998-2002, 2002-2006, 2019-2022)
The International Seabed Authority Council (2001-2004, 2005-2008, 2009–2012, 2013-2016, 2017-2020)
Human Rights Council (2006-7, 2011-14, 2019-2021)
The United Nations Environment Programme Governing Council (1996-1999, 2002-2005, 2006-2009)
The United Nations Human Settlements Programme Governing Council (1996-1999, 2000-2003, 2005-2008, 2009-2012, 2017-2020)
United Nations Statistical Commission (1997-2000, 2001-2004)
United Nations General Assembly (presidency 57. UNGA, September 2002 – September 2003, J. Kavan)
Committee on Information (open membership)
The United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (permanent membership)
United Nations Children’s Fund Executive Board (1997-1999, 2017-2019)
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons Executive Board (1998-2000, 2003-2005, 2007-2009, 2018-2020, presidency J. Reinišová May 2018 – May 2019)
The United Nations Development Programme and Population Fund Executive Board (1998-2000, 2002-2004, 2010-2012, presidency 2011)
The World Health Organization Executive Board (2003-2006)
UNESCO Executive Board (Autumn 2003 - Autumn 2007, 2011-2015)
UNFPA Executive Board (presidency E. Hrdá 2013-14)
Priorities of the Czech Republic
Since joining the European Union in 2004, the Czech Republic is introducing its priorities for the UN General Assembly through joint EU positions and statements. The EU is committed to the concept of effective multilateralism and therefore puts an emphasis on cooperation within the UN and strengthening its role as the key universal multilateral organization. Issues considered highly important by the EU and therefore being discussed in great detail, covered by initiatives and submitting resolutions are: reforms of the UN system including the General Assembly, the protection and promotion of human rights, global counter-terrorism and fight against organized crime efforts, support of disarmament and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, climate protection and sustainable development, humanitarian and development activities as well as operations of the UN.
The Czech Republic has long championed reform efforts to make the way the UN operates more efficiently. This includes the reform of Security Council membership. Compliance with international law is another inherent basis of Czech foreign policy.
Václav Havel, President of the Czech Republic, addressed the UN Security Council on 16 November 2006 about the issue of human rights.
Participation of the Czech Republic at the UN Peacekeeping Operations
Since its creation in January 1993, the Czech Republic continued with the good practice from former Czechoslovakia and contributed to the UN peacekeeping efforts by sending members of its armed forces to missions and specialized committees. For the first time, Czechoslovakia contributed its troops to the so-called blue helmets, that seek to resolve international security issues, at the beginning of 1989 in a form of presence at the observer missions in Angola (UNAVEM I) and Namibia (UNTAG).
Until now, approximately 3760 members of the Army of the Czech Republic were involved in more than 30 UN missions. The Ministry of Interior also gradually established the practice of sending members of the police corps to the UN Peacekeeping Operations. Currently, the Czech Army does not participate in the UN Operations. The focus of the commitments of the Czech Army abroad shifted from the UN operations to the ones under the command of the NATO (IFOR, SFOR, KFOR, Afghanistan, Iraq, Mali, Latvia a Lithuania) and the EU (Bosna and Hercegovina, Mali, EU NAVFOR SOMALIA, EUNAVFOR MED).
The Czech Republic participated in following UN Peacekeeping Operations and UN Observer Mission:
UNCRO (UN Confidence Restoration Operation in Croatia)
UNTAES (UN Transitional Authority in Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium)
UNMIBH (UN Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina)
UNMOP (UN Mission of Observers in Prevlaka)
UNMOT (UN Mission of Observers in Tajikistan)
UNOSOM I (UN Operation in Somalia I)
UNOMSIL (UN Observer Mission in Sierra Leone)
UNTAG (UN Transition Assistance Group in Namibia)
UNUMOZ (UN Operation in Mozambique)
UNOMIL (UN Observer Mission in Liberia)
UNAVEM I (UN Angola Verification Mission I)
UNAVEM II (UN Angola Verification Mission II)
UNGCI (UN Guards Contingent in Iraq)
MINURSO (UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara)
MINUSMA (UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali)
UNOMIG (UN Observer Mission in Georgia)
MONUSCO (UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo)
UNMIL (UN Mission in Liberia)
UNMEE (UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea)
UNMIK (UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo)
UNAMA (UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan)
UNDOF (UN Disengagement Observer Force)
MINUSCA (UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic)
Other representations of the Czech Republic to the UN
Besides the Permanent Mission of the Czech Republic to the UN in New York, the country represents itself also through the Permanent Mission of the Czech Republic to the United Nations Office and other International Organization at Geneva and Permanent Mission of the Czech Republic to the United Nations, OSCE and other International Organizations in Vienna. The Czech Republic has also an office with one of the major UN agencies, called Permanent Delegation of the Czech Republic to UNESCO in Paris.
The UN information center in the Czech Republic
The United Nations has its information center in Prague, where are based also the offices of UNICEF, UNHCR, WHO, IOM and UN Volunteers.
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