Netherlands and the United Nations
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Kingdom of the Netherlands is one of the 51 founding members of the United Nations having signed the United Nations Conference on International Organization in 1945.[1] It primarily represents the northwestern European country of the Netherlands, although it also represents the smaller island countries of Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten under the Kingdom's control.[2]
  | |
| United Nations membership | |
|---|---|
| Membership | Full member |
| Since | 10 December 1945 |
| UNSC seat | Non-permanent |
| Permanent representative | Lise Gregoire-van Haaren |
The Netherlands has been a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for six terms (a total of 10 years), with the most recent being a 2018 one-year term.
The Netherlands is a charter member of the United Nations and participates in all of its specialised agencies. It is home to The Hague, which is the headquarters of the International Court of Justice and Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. The Netherlands has contributed 13 troops to United Nations peacekeeping efforts as of 2024[update].[3]
Classification
The Kingdom of Netherlands participates in the Western European and Others Group regional grouping. Its constituent countries are part of different geographical subregions: The Netherlands is part of Western Europe while Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten are part of the Caribbean subregion and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) intermediary region. In addition, the Caribbean Netherlands non-country islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba also belong to the Caribbean subregion and LAC intermediary region.[4]
Activities
Funding
The regular budget of the United Nations is financed through compulsory contributions from its member states. From 2022 to 2024, the Netherlands contributed 1.356% of the UN regular budget. This placed the Netherlands as the 15th nation by contribution amount.[5]
Security Council
The Netherlands has held a non-permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council six times since its entry in 1945.[6]
| Election | Votes (Pl.-Rd.) | Term |
|---|---|---|
| January 1946 | 37/50 (5th-R1) | 1946 |
| 1950 | 47/59 (2nd-R1) | 1951–52 |
| 1964 | Assembly motion | 1965–66 |
| 1983 | 103/155 (1st-R2) | 1983–84 |
| 1998 | 122/176 (2nd-R1) | 1999–00 |
| 2017 | 184/188 (1st-R1) | 2018 |
Peacekeeping
As of September 2025[update], the Netherlands participates in two peacekeeping missions led by the UN.[7]
| Region | Mission | Personnel |
|---|---|---|
 Lebanon | United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) | 1 |
 Middle East and North Africa | United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) | 11 |
Positions held
The Netherlands has had one President of the United Nations General Assembly in Eelco van Kleffens, who served in 1954. Eleven Dutch representatives have served as President of the United Nations Security Council and two Dutch representatives have headed the Economic and Social Council. The nation has served on the United Nations Credentials Committee six times.[8][9][10]
There has been one Dutch permanent judge of the International Court of Justice.[11] Two Dutch judges have also served on the court on an ad hoc basis.[12]
The Netherlands has never held the Secretary-General of the United Nations or Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations positions.[13]
| Position | Person | Term |
|---|---|---|
| President of the United Nations General Assembly | Eelco van Kleffens | 1954 |
| Presidency of the United Nations Security Council | 17 July–16 August 1946 | |
| D. J. von Balluseck | March 1951, April 1951, March 1952 | |
| J. G. de Beus | June 1965, May 1966 | |
| Max van der Stoel | December 1983 | |
| Peter van Walsum | September 1999, November 2000 | |
| Jozias van Aartsen | September 1999, November 2000 | |
| Eveline Herfkens | November 2000 | |
| Karel van Oosterom | March 2018 | |
| Sigrid Kaag | ||
| Stef Blok | ||
| Mark Rutte | ||
| President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council | C. W. A. Schurmann | 1960 |
| Hugo Scheltema | 1979 | |
| Permanent judges of the International Court of Justice | Pieter Kooijmans | 1997-2006 |
| Judges sitting ad hoc on the International Court of Justice | Johannes Offerhaus | 1957-1958 |
| Willem Riphagen | 1962-1970 | |
| United Nations Credentials Committee | N/a | 1956, 1976, 1981, 1986, 1996, 2016 |
Permanent representative
The Netherlands has a mission to the UN led by a permanent representative, also known as a UN Ambassador. The position is currently held by Lise Gregoire-van Haaren, who presented credentials in October 2024.[14]