World Federation of United Nations Associations
| Abbreviation | WFUNA |
|---|---|
| Motto | We work to build a better world by strengthening and improving the United Nations through the engagement of people who share a global mindset and support international cooperation–global citizens. |
| Formation | 2 August 1946 |
| Headquarters | New York, USA |
| Website | wfuna |
The World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA) was created in 1946, inspired by the opening words of the United Nations Charter "We the Peoples". Today it is a global network of people linked together through United Nations Associations (UNAs) in over 100 member states of the United Nations. These networks enable people to connect with each other on critical global issues, from peace and human rights to the spread of democracy, equitable development, and international justice. WFUNA programmatic areas focus on raising support and awareness for the three pillars of the UN: peace and security, sustainable development, and human rights.
WFUNA is an independent, non-governmental organization with Category One Consultative Status at the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and consultative or liaison links with many other UN organizations and agencies.
WFUNA was founded in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg on 2 August 1946 by 22 UNAs. The Constitution they adopted proclaimed that:
"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 defences of peace must be constructed, and Believing 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."
This was one year after the UN Charter was proclaimed with the opening words "We the peoples of the United Nations". Since that declaration, WFUNA has been the only global organization with the primary mission of supporting the principles and purposes of the UN through their network of member organizations.
Over the years, UNAs have been established all over the world, as new nation states were formed and joined the UN. UNAs are national entities that enhance the relationship between the people of a member state and the United Nations by disseminating information about UN programs and activities, mobilizing public support for and popular participation in those programs, and lobbying their national government, political parties and interest groups in support of the UN.
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