On December 14, 1955, Spain joined the United Nations. The country's entry into this multilateral organization was, and still is, a fundamental milestone in Spanish Foreign Policy. Spain is now part of the only global forum in which 193 States from all over the world are present and where the countries debate and negotiate general issues that affect us all, from climate change to human rights and migration; or where the countries try to find solutions to conflicts around the world.
These decades together have reinforced Spain's commitment to the Purposes and Principles of the Charter of the United Nations, as well as its values, in which we fully recognize ourselves today.
During this time, Spain and the United Nations have evolved and grown together, gradually consolidating an ever-increasing presence of our country in the Organization, which today has more than 1,700 Spanish professionals working in relevant positions.
Spain's role in the United Nations
Spain has a fundamental role in the United Nations, deriving from its specific significance at the global level and within the Organization. For example, Spain is the eleventh largest contributor to the United Nations regular budget and the tenth largest contributor to the Peacekeeping Operations budget.
On the other hand, Spain has served on 5 occasions as a non-permanent member of the Security Council (1969-1970, 1981-1982, 1993-1994, 2003-2004, and 2015-2016), that is, approximately once every ten years.
Scope of action
The fight against terrorism is a particularly important and sensitive issue for Spain. For this reason, Spain prompted the creation of the Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) and Resolution 2322 (2016) on international judicial cooperation on terrorism, which was unanimously adopted by the United Nations Security Council.
Furthermore, Spain has also contributed to strengthening disarmament and non-proliferation structures. In this respect, Spain chaired three committees linked to disarmament and non-proliferation issues while it was a non-permanent member of the Security Council in 2015.
Spain has been committed to mediation and preventive diplomacy. In this field, and intending to build bridges of cooperation between different communities, cultures, and civilizations, Spain launched in 2005, together with Turkey, the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), the main forum for intercultural and interreligious understanding. Spain has also been very active in mediation issues with the Initiative for Mediation in the Mediterranean, launched alongside Morocco, or with the creation of the International Dialogue Centre (KAIICID), based in Vienna and created in 2012 by Spain, Austria, Saudi Arabia, and the Holy See.
Spain is firmly committed to the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The experience accumulated over the past years has also allowed our country to stand out in several development sectors. One of them is access to water and sanitation, which is essential in the fight against poverty.
Spain also wanted to demonstrate its commitment to values such as solidarity by supporting humanitarian aid agencies and programs. For this reason, and by agreement with the World Food Program (WFP), Spain established the only logistics center in Europe for delivering humanitarian aid in Puerto de la Luz (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria) in 2012.
Since the transition to democracy, Spain's commitment to protecting and promoting human rights has been absolute. In particular, Spain's action in this area is presently focusing on the fight against the death penalty, non-discrimination on the grounds of gender or sexual orientation, the protection of human rights defenders, the rights of people with disabilities, and the promotion of the human rights to drinking water and sanitation.
The United Nations has always been at the forefront concerning human rights. Likewise, the 10th article of the Constitution of Spain expressly recognizes the value of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) as a reference for our rights system.
As proof of this commitment, Spain has ratified the most relevant human rights texts, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on April 13, 1977, and The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) on January 5, 1984.
Precisely in pursuit of gender equality, Spain has become a reference actor, with actions such as supporting the creation of UN Women, to which our country has been the main contributor. Within the framework of our mandate as a non-permanent member of the Security Council, we promoted the review process of Resolution 1325 (2000) on Women, Peace, and Security which led to the unanimous adoption of Resolution 2242 on October 13, 2015.