The People’s Republic of Albania was admitted to the United Nations after a ten-year period of the organization’s existence. The continuous requests of the Albanian government to join the United Nations began as early as 1944, but during the conditions of the Cold War, they were rejected by representatives of the United States of America, Great Britain, and most of the Assembly members. The main tasks of the United Nations are maintaining peace worldwide; fostering friendly relations among nations; promoting and improving living conditions; combating hunger, diseases, illiteracy, and respecting freedom and human rights. The United Nations also encompasses 14 other organizations known as its specialized agencies, including the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the International Labour Organization, etc. Albania had cooperated with some specialized agencies of the United Nations before joining the organization itself. Such was the cooperation with the World Health Organization, of which Albania was a founding member (July 22, 1946). Also, the Albanian government accepted that some commissions of the United Nations would carry out their activities in Albania. Cooperation with the United Nations and its specialized agencies was difficult. On February 25, 1950, the Albanian government withdrew from the World Health Organization, expressing solidarity with the position of the Soviet Union and other socialist countries in Europe. After Albania’s membership in the United Nations, the Council of Ministers of the People’s Republic of Albania approved on January 28, 1956, the organic statute of Albania’s permanent delegation to the World Health Organization, headed by an extraordinary and plenipotentiary ambassador. After the fall of the communist regime in Albania, relations with the United Nations reached high levels of cooperation. Albania joined several important specialized agencies of the United Nations, such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, etc. A large number of organizations, funds, and programs of the United Nations carry out their activities in Albania. (In the photo: The decision of the Council of Ministers on the approval of the composition of the delegation to the UN, 1956.)
Text: Albanian encyclopedic dictionary – Vol. 3 , Academy of Sciences of Albania, “Kristalina-KH”, Tirana, 2009, page 1893-1894.
Photo: © Central State Archives
Graphic processing: AHCF
