On 26 June 1945, Luxembourg signed the UN Charter in San Francisco and became the smallest founding Member State of the United Nations. Ever since, Luxembourg has been an outspoken proponent of multilateralism and universal values.
In 1975, H.E. Mr. Gaston Thorn, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Luxembourg, presided over the 30th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
In 1988, Luxembourg gifted the "Non-Violence" sculpture, also known as the “Knotted Gun”, to the United Nations. The sculpture, which sits at the entrance of the UN Secretariat building and was created by Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd, has become a key symbol of the United Nations’ role in disarmament and the maintenance of international peace and security around the world.
Luxembourg has participated and continues to participate in peace operations of the UN or mandated by the UN.
Since 2000, Luxembourg has consistently exceeded the United Nations target to allocate at least 0.7% of its gross national income (GNI) to official development assistance (ODA) every year. In 2019, Luxembourg ranked first globally by dedicating 1.05% of its GNI to ODA. Additionally, Luxembourg contributes, on a voluntary basis, to numerous activities of the UN as well as its funds and programs. To this end, Luxembourg is a regular donor to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and to various other United Nations human rights funds and programs.
From September 2003 to September 2004, Luxembourg was Vice-President of the 58th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
During the 61st session of the General Assembly, the Permanent Representative of Luxembourg served as Co-chair of the intergovernmental consultations on System-Wide Coherence (SWC).
The Permanent Representative of Luxembourg served as the 65th President of the Economic and Social Council from January 2009 until January 2010.
From 2013 to 2014, Luxembourg served, for the first time ever, on the United Nations Security Council. As an elected, non-permanent member of the Security Council, Luxembourg chaired the Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict and was the driving force behind the unanimous adoption of Security Council Resolution 2143 on children and armed conflict. Luxembourg is a candidate for the Security Council for the 2031-2032 term.
The Permanent Representative of Luxembourg served as Chair and Co-Chair of the Intergovernmental Negotiations to reform the United Nations Security Council during the 70th and 73rd sessions of the General Assembly, respectively.
In 2015, Luxembourg, together with Bulgaria and Jamaica, created the Group of Friends of Children and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a group of Member States and Permanent Observers committed to advocating for child rights and meaningful child participation in UN intergovernmental processes and beyond. To mark the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 2019, the Group of Friends spearheaded the adoption of the global pledge “For every child, every right”, which has garnered the support of 110 Member States to date. In April 2020, the Group of Friends partnered with the European Union and the Group of Latin American and Caribbean countries to issue a joint statement to “Protect our children” amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The statement received overwhelming support, with endorsement from 172 Member States and Permanent Observers.
Luxembourg is a committed and engaged member of the United Nations. As such, we are part of several Groups of Friends, among others the LGBTI core group, the Group of Friends of Women, Peace and Security, the Group of Friends of Protection of Civilians, the Group of Friends of Children and Armed Conflict, the Group of Friends for the Elimination of Violence against Women and Girls, the Group of Friends of the Responsibility to Protect, the Group of Friends for Climate and Security, the Group of Friends of the International Criminal Court and the Accountability, Coherence and Transparency Group (ACT).
From September 2019 to September 2020, the Permanent Representative of Luxembourg served as Chair of the Third Committee during the 74th session of the UN General Assembly. In this role, Luxembourg convened the first-ever informal consultation with civil society in February 2020.
The Permanent Representative of Luxembourg also served as Chair of the 53rd session of the Commission on Population and Development. Luxembourg represented the Western European and Other States Group (WEOG) in the Bureau of the 51st and 52nd sessions of the Commission on Population and Development.
Luxembourg represented WEOG in the Bureau of the 59th session of the Commission on Social Development.
For the first time in its history, Luxembourg is presenting its candidacy to the Human Rights Council for the 2022-2024 term. The brochure presenting Luxembourg’s candidacy and priorities is available in English, French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Spanish, and Portuguese. New members will be elected by the United Nations General Assembly in October 2021.
Luxembourg is committed to protecting and promoting the rights of all human beings through effective rules-based multilateralism and the sovereign equality of all States, bearing in mind the purpose enshrined in article 1 of the United Nations Charter: “to achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion”.
