Canada and the United Nations

Canada

Membership	Full member
Since	1945
UNSC seat	Non-permanent
Ambassador	John McNee

Canada has been a member of the United Nations Organization since the body's creation and has served for 12 years on the Security Council, one of the most of any non-permanent member. Canada has also contributed to more peacekeeping operations than any other member state.^{[citation needed]}

Canada has been an elected member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, since this was founded in 2006.^{[citation needed]}

History

The Canadian Delegation to the United Nations Conference on International Organization, San Francisco, May 1945.

In the initial set-up of the UN, McGill University law professor John Peters Humphrey established the Division for Human Rights in the UN Secretariat, and remained in charge of the division for twenty years. The initial work of the Division for Human Rights was the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of which Humphrey created the first draft and remained a champion of until its adoption by approval of the UN General Assembly in 1948. Canada has been part of every UN mission since 1957.

Secretary of State for External Affairs Lester Pearson, while he was President of the UN General Assembly in 1957, proposed the concept of UN peacekeeping forces as a means of dealing with the aftermath of the Suez Crisis. He was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts and the establishment of the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF). Canada has played a leading role in the UN-led peacekeeping operations ever since it was created in 1945.

Canada and the Security Council

Canada served in the UNSC for 12 years, one of the most of any non-permanent member. It currently shares the third place in the list of countries serving on the Council by length with Colombia, India, Italy, and Pakistan. Canada was elected for the following six terms: 1948-49, 1958–59, 1967–68, 1977–78, 1989–90, and 1999-2000 - once every decade. In 2010, it lost its bid for a seat in the 2010 Security Council elections, marking the country's first failure to win a seat in the UNSC.

See also

• List of Canadian ambassadors to the United Nations
• United Nations Association in Canada