The

People's Socialist Republic of Albania The People's Socialist Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika Popullore Socialiste e Shqipërisë, links=no) was the Marxist–Leninist one party state that existed in Albania from 1946 to 1992 (the official name of the country was the People's R ...

joined the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

on 14 December 1955, and has participated in several UN peacekeeping operations. The current Representative of Albania in the UN is Mr. Ferit Hoxha. Albania is a non-permanent member of the 15-country

UN Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...

for the two-year term (2022–2023).

History

1955–99

After joining in 1955, Albania started to apply for membership in other organisations of the

. On 16 October 1958 Albania became a permanent member of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

. From the 1960s onwards, the People's Republic of Albania under Enver Hoxha moved an annual resolution in the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presb ...

to expel the "representatives of Chiang Kai-shek" (an implicit reference to the ROC) and permit the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

(PRC) to represent China at the UN. Albania played an important role in the process of recognizing the PRC as "the only legitimate representative of China to the United Nations" through

United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758 The United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758 (also known as the Resolution on Admitting Peking) was passed in response to the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1668 that required any change in China's representation in the UN be ...

, which was adopted on 25 October 1971. In November 1973 Albania joined the

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

. During 12–13 May 1990 the

UN Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary- ...

Javier Pérez de Cuéllar Javier Felipe Ricardo Pérez de Cuéllar de la Guerra (; ; 19 January 1920 – 4 March 2020) was a Peruvian diplomat and politician who served as the fifth Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1982 to 1991. He later served as Prime Mini ...

visited Albania. In 1992 the

Convention on the Rights of the Child The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (commonly abbreviated as the CRC or UNCRC) is an international human rights treaty which sets out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children. The Co ...

was ratified by Albania, marking important progress on the

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

record of the newly democratic country. Operation Silver Wake

In 1994 another resolution was prepared and introduced by the Albanian delegation to the UN, this time about the "Situation of Human Rights in Kosovo". Albania served as the main sponsor of the resolution, which was adopted with a clear majority of the UN membership. In 1995 the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Albania to the UN was elected Vice President of the 50th session of the UN General Assembly. After the

1997 rebellion in Albania The Albanian Civil War in 1997 was sparked by pyramid scheme failures in Albania soon after its transition to a market economy. The government was toppled and more than 2,000 people were killed. Various other sources also describe the violenc ...

, the UN adopted

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1101 United Nations Security Council resolution 1101, adopted on 28 March 1997, after reiterating its concern over the situation in Albania, the council established a multinational protection force in the country to create conditions to facilitate hu ...

on 28 March 1997, after reiterating its concern over the situation in Albania. The Security Council established a multinational protection force in the country to create conditions to facilitate humanitarian assistance. On 19 June 1997 after recalling Resolution 1101 on the situation in Albania, the Council authorized an extension to the multinational force in the country for a further 45 days, beginning on 28 June 1997 through

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1114 United Nations Security Council resolution 1114, adopted on 19 June 1997, after recalling Resolution 1101 (1997) on the situation in Albania, the Council authorised an extension to the multinational force in the country for a further 45 days, be ...

2000–present

In 2005 Albania was elected for the first time a member of the

United Nations Economic and Social Council The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC; french: links=no, Conseil économique et social des Nations unies, ) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations, responsible for coordinating the economic and social fields ...

, for a two-year term until 2007, and in 2012 reelected for the second time. In 2013 it also served as Vice President of the

ECOSOC The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC; french: links=no, Conseil économique et social des Nations unies, ) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations, responsible for coordinating the economic and social fields ...

. During 2007–09 it was member of the Governing Board of the International Atomic Energy Agency. On October 21, 2014, Albania joined the

United Nations Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), CDH is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. ...

for the term 2015–17, and was elected vice-president of its Bureau for 2015. Ambassador Besiana Kadare presented her credentials to

Ban Ki-moon in 2016, and since then has been the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary

Permanent Representative A permanent representative is a diplomat who is the head of a country’s diplomatic mission to an international organisation. Organizations that receive permanent representatives from their member states include the United Nations, the World Tr ...

of Albania to the United Nations in New York. On 27 January 2019, marking

International Holocaust Remembrance Day The International Holocaust Remembrance Day, or the International Day in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust, is an international memorial day on 27 January that commemorates the victims of the Holocaust, which resulted in the murder of on ...

, Kadare co-hosted together with the

World Jewish Congress The World Jewish Congress (WJC) was founded in Geneva, Switzerland in August 1936 as an international federation of Jewish communities and organizations. According to its mission statement, the World Jewish Congress' main purpose is to act as ...

and the

United Nations Department of Global Communications The United Nations Department of Global Communications (DGC) (previously named the United Nations Department of Public Information) is a department of the Secretariat of the United Nations. It is tasked with raising public awareness and support o ...

a conference titled "A Story of Humanity: The Rescue of Jews in Albania." In June 2020 Kadare was voted a Vice President of the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

for its 75th session. Albania was voted to become a member of the 15-country

for a two-year term, in 2022–23. Kadare said Albania's priorities in the Security Council will include a focus on women, peace, and security, promoting human rights and international law, preventing conflicts, protecting civilians, countering

violent extremism Violent extremism is a form of extremism that condones and enacts violence with ideological or deliberate intent, such as religious or political violence. Violent extremist views can manifest in connection with a range of issues, including politics ...

, addressing climate change and its links to security, and strengthening

multilateralism In international relations, multilateralism refers to an alliance of multiple countries pursuing a common goal. Definitions Multilateralism, in the form of membership in international institutions, serves to bind powerful nations, discourage ...

and the rules-based international order. The election took place on June 11, 2021.

Peacekeeping missions

Albania has participated in the following peacekeeping missions led by the UN:

Representatives

References