Canada and the United Nations

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Canada has been a member of the United Nations since the body's creation and has served six terms on the Security Council: 1948-49, 1958-59,1967-68,1977-78, 1989-90, and 1999-2000.

Highlights

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.

In the initial set-up of the UN, McGill University law professor John 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

Another major contribution Canada has made is the development of the Ottawa Process which was signed by 122 countries in 1997 and led to a worldwide reduction of anti-personnel landmines.