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As of 2006, there are 192 United Nations (UN) member states. According to the Charter of the United Nations, Chapter 2, Article 4, the admission of any state to membership in the UN "will be effected by a decision of the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council." *

In principle, only sovereign states can become UN members, and today all UN members are fully sovereign states. However, four of the original members (India, the Philippines, Belarus, and the Ukraine) were not independent at the time of UN's creation. Moreover, because a state can only be admitted by the approval of the Security Council and the General Assembly, some entities which made be considered sovereign states are not members due to lack of international recognition or opposition from certain members.

Other intergovernmental or legal entities can only be General Assembly observers, allowing them to speak, but not vote in Assembly meetings.

Current members

The members are listed below by alphabetical order in their short-form English names, with the date of joining. There were 51 original members of the United Nations (shown in bold) which were admitted in 1945, of which 49 are either still in the organization or had their seat taken by a successor state (e.g. India for British India or Russia for the USSR). The other two original members were Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia . For the seat of China, the Republic of China was replaced by the People's Republic of China (as its successor state) on October 25, 1971, even though the governments of both have existed well before and after this date (see below.)

Seat of China

China, represented by the government of the Republic of China (ROC), was one of the five original founders of the UN in 1945. However, due to the Chinese Civil War, on October 10, 1949, the Kuomintang-controlled ROC government fled to Taiwan, with the Communist government of the newly-declared People's Republic of China (PRC) taking control of most of the territory of China. Representatives of the ROC government continued to represent China at the UN, in spite of the size of the ROC's jurisdiction of Taiwan (and other outlying islands) compared to the PRC's jurisdiction of mainland China. On October 25, 1971, Resolution 2758 was passed by the United Nations General Assembly, withdrawing recognition of the ROC as the legitimate government of China, and recognising the PRC as the sole legitimate government of China. This effectively expelled the ROC from all UN organs and replaced the seat of China in the United Nations (including the seat on the Security Council) with the PRC government. Since the 1990's, multiple attempts by the Republic of China to re-join the UN, no longer to represent "China" as a whole but the "twenty-three million people of Taiwan," have not made it past committee. Currently, 24 member states and the Holy See maintain diplomatic relations with the ROC.

Observer states and non-members

In addition to the member states discussed above, there is one non-member observer state, the Holy See (Vatican City State), which maintains a permanent observer mission at the UN headquarters. For several years, Switzerland was also an observer state, but it became a full member on September 10, 2002 after a national referendum.

The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic of Western Sahara maintains diplomatic ties with dozens of states and is a full member of the African Union. It administers a minority of the territory of Western Sahara, with a government-in-exile headquartered in the refugee camps of Tindouf, Algeria. The rest of the area is under military occupation by Morocco. The UN has attempted to administer a referendum for the Sahrawis right to self-determination.

The island nations of the Cook Islands and Niue, while self-governing in their domestic affairs, have their foreign affairs represented by New Zealand, and therefore do not have UN membership.

Some international organizations, non-governmental organizations, or entities whose statehood/sovereignty has not been precisely defined, such as the European Union, the Palestinian National Authority (called simply "Palestine" in UN literature), the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, have a similar observer status but not as "non-member states."

Former members

Czechoslovakia joined the UN as an original member on October 24, 1945. On December 10, 1992, Czechoslovakia informed the United Nations Secretary-General that it would cease to exist on December 31, 1992, and that both its successor states, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, would apply for UN membership. They both received recommendations from the Security Council on January 8, 1993, and were admitted on January 19, 1993.

Both the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) and the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) were admitted on September 18, 1973. The two countries were reunified on October 3, 1990, through the accession of the German Democratic Republic to the Federal Republic of Germany, and have since been represented as one member under the name Germany.

Tanganyika was admitted on December 14, 1961, and Zanzibar was admitted on December 16, 1963. The two countries were unified to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar on April 26, 1964, later changing its name to the United Republic of Tanzania on November 1, 1964, and have since been represented as one member.

Both Egypt and Syria joined the UN as original members on October 24, 1945. The two countries were unified to form the United Arab Republic on February 21, 1958, and had been represented as one member until October 13, 1961, when Syria resumed its status as an independent state and a separate UN member. Egypt continued as a UN member under the name United Arab Republic until September 2, 1971, when it changed its name to the Arab Republic of Egypt.

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) joined the UN as an original member on October 24, 1945. On December 24, 1991, Boris Yeltsin, the President of Russia, informed the United Nations Secretary-General that the membership of the USSR in the United Nations Security Council and all other UN organs was being continued by the Russian Federation following the dissolution of the USSR, with the support of the 11 members of the Commonwealth of Independent States. The remaining former Soviet Republics are currently all UN members:

Yemen (North Yemen) was admitted on September 30, 1947, first represented by the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen, then by the Yemen Arab Republic. Democratic Yemen (South Yemen) was admitted on December 14, 1967, represented by the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen. The two countries were unified to form the Republic of Yemen on May 22, 1990, and have since been represented as one member under the name Yemen.

Yugoslavia joined the UN as an original member on October 24, 1945, represented by the Democratic Federal Yugoslavia, which later changed its name to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY). After the dissolution of the SFRY in 1992, Yugoslavia was represented by the newly-formed Federal Republic of Yugoslavia until November 1, 2000. However, the UN only accepted the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia as constituting a new state, as the UN and the other former Yugoslav Republics refused to recognize it as the legitimate successor of the former Yugoslavia. The former Yugoslav Republics are currently all UN members:

  • Slovenia was admitted by General Assembly resolution A/RES/46/236 on May 22, 1992.
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina was admitted by General Assembly resolution A/RES/46/237 on May 22, 1992.
  • Croatia was admitted by General Assembly resolution A/RES/46/238 on May 22, 1992.
  • Macedonia was admitted by General Assembly resolution A/RES/47/225 on April 8, 1993, provisionally under the name "The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia", pending settlement over the difference that had arisen over its name.
  • The remaining two republics, Montenegro and Serbia, formed the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1992. It was re-admitted to the UN by General Assembly resolution A/RES/55/12 on November 1, 2000, replacing (but not succeeding) the former Yugoslavia. The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia changed its name to Serbia and Montenegro on February 4, 2003. On May 21, 2006, Montenegro held a national referendum on sovereignty and declared independence on June 3, 2006. Consequently, the membership of the state union of Serbia and Montenegro in the UN, including all organs and organizations of the UN system, has been continued by Serbia on the basis of Article 60 of the Constitutional Charter of Serbia and Montenegro. Montenegro was admitted by General Assembly resolution A/RES/60/264 on June 28, 2006.

Naming conventions and notes

Belarus was originally admitted as the "Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic" on October 24, 1945. It informed the UN of its name change from "Byelorussia" on September 19, 1991.
Brunei takes its seat under the name "Brunei Darussalam."
The Democratic Republic of the Congo changed its name from "Zaire" on May 17, 1997.
The Republic of the Congo takes its seat under the name "Congo."
Cyprus as an entire island is represented by the Republic of Cyprus, including the area administered by the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus but excluding the British Sovereign Base Areas.
Indonesia temporarily withdrew from the UN on January 20, 1965 due to the upheaval of Sukarno by Suharto's coup, and the annexation of western New Guinea. It announced its intention to "resume full cooperation with the United Nations and to resume participation in its activities" on September 19, 1966, and was invited to re-join the UN on September 28, 1966.
Iran takes its seat under the name the "Islamic Republic of Iran."
Laos takes its seat under the name the "Lao People's Democratic Republic."
Libya takes its seat under the name "Libyan Arab Jamahiriya."
Macedonia takes its seat under the name "The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia," due to objections from Greece.
Malaysia was originally admitted as the "Federation of Malaya" on September 17, 1957. On September 16, 1963, its name was changed to Malaysia, following the admission to the new federation of Singapore, Sabah (North Borneo) and Sarawak. Singapore became an independent state on August 9, 1965, and was admitted as a UN member on September 21, 1965.
Micronesia takes its seat under the name "Federated States of Micronesia."
Moldova takes its seat under the name the "Republic of Moldova."
Myanmar was originally admitted as "Burma" on April 19, 1948.
The Netherlands takes its seat as the "Kingdom of the Netherlands."
Russia takes its seat under the name "Russian Federation."
Syria takes its seat under the name "Syrian Arab Republic."
Tanzania takes its seat under the name the "United Republic of Tanzania."
Ukraine was originally admitted as the "Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic" on October 24 1945.
United Kingdom takes its seat under the name the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland."
United States takes its seat under the name the "United States of America."
Venezuela takes its seat under the name the "Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela."
Vietnam takes its seat under the name "Viet Nam."

See also

References

Lists of countries | United Nations

الدول الاعضاء في الامم المتحدة | Memba Kaontri blong Unaeted Neisen | Mitgliedstaaten der Vereinten Nationen (alphabetisch) | Estados miembros de las Naciones Unidas | ÜRO liikmesriigid | Yhdistyneiden kansakuntien jäsenvaltiot | Liste des États membres de l'ONU | Anggota PBB | Lista degli stati membri delle Nazioni Unite | 国際連合加盟国 | Az ENSZ tagállamainak listája | 국제 연합 가입국 | Membere vun de Vereenten Natiounen | Lidstaten van de Verenigde Naties | FNs medlemsland | Lista państw ONZ | Estados-membros das Nações Unidas | Страны-члены ООН | Členské štáty OSN | Lista e shteteve | Чланице Уједињених нација | ஐக்கிய நாடுகள் சபை உறுப்பு நாடுகள் | 联合国成员国列表

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "United Nations member states".

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