Austria and the United Nations

Since joining the United Nations Organisation (UN) on 14 December 1955 as its 70th member, Austria has established itself as an engaged UN Member State. As one of four UN headquarters worldwide, Austria is a strong advocate for effective multilateralism, international dialogue, and a UN that is fit for the 21st century.

Besides peace and security and conflict prevention, Austria puts great emphasis on strengthening human rights and the rule of law, the protection of civilians (in particular women and children) in armed conflict and the fight against impunity. Austria´s efforts were instrumental in increasing UN focus on these issues. Through its engagement, Austria has secured broad recognition and support for these topics within the UN Security Council.

The fight against drugs and organised crime, disarmament and non-proliferation, the environment and the further development of international law are also of particular interest to Austria. Austria has repeatedly acted as a mediator and made a substantial contribution to the development of international law ("Vienna Conventions").

During the UN General Assembly in the autumn of 2015, member states reached agreement on the Agenda 2030 on Sustainable Development and pledged to work together to combat the global and complex challenges of today such as poverty and climate change and to leave behind a better world for future generations. Austria supports this goal. Equally, Austria actively takes part in the implementation of Our Common Agenda, the ambitious reform agenda of the United Nations Secretary-General to address the most pressing issues of our time, such as conflict prevention, climate change, or digitalisation.

Agenda 2030 forms the basis of Austrian development cooperation with partner countries.

Austria will also contribute to the sustainable development of Austria and the world as a whole, with the aim of realising human dignity for all, a healthy planet, just and resilient societies, and economic well-being.

The Vienna UN headquarters have become an important centre for addressing global security challenges and the issues of our times, such as nuclear safety or the fight against organised crime, and for sustainability with a focus on energy and development

Through its active, fair, and principled engagement, Austria enjoys a high profile at the UN. Such recognition takes many forms, including having been elected thrice to the Security Council (1973/1974, 1991/1992 and 2009/2010), as well as twice to the UN Human Rights Council (2011-2014 and 2019-2021) with the Austrian Ambassador Elisabeth Tichy-Fisslberger holding the Presidency of this important UN body in 2020. Willing to assume responsibility again, Austria is a candidate for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for 2027-2028 at elections in 2026.

Austria´s reputation has also helped secure the appointment of Austrian nationals to key posts within the UN, as UN officials or independent experts. From 1972 to 1981, Kurt Waldheim acted as UN Secretary-General. From 2012 to 2014, Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal was UN Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information. Since September 2022, Volker Türk (previously Undersecretary-General for strategic coordination in the Executive Office of UN Secretary-General António Guterres) has been acting as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.