Emblem and flag of the United Nations

UN Emblem at the UN Office, Nairobi, Kenya The first mention of an emblem for the new United Nations Organization was a report by secretary-general Trygve Lie on 15 October 1946. He stated that although the name 'United Nations' had been formally adopted for the Organization in the Preamble of the Charter, no such official sanction existed for the emblem and seal of the United Nations.

The symbol that was in use at the time was a modification of a designed created by members of the Presentation Branch of the US Office of Strategic Services in April 1945, in response to a request for a button design for the San Francisco Conference.

He recommended the General Assembly to adopt a design to function as official emblem. Also he recommended that the member states would take care of national legislation to protect the name and emblem of the UN against commercial use.

First UN flag A few weeks later the design was modified to include all countries. Also the world map was turned so the Greenwich meridian would be in the centre of the emblem. Without a vote the General Assembly adopted the emblem on 7 December 1946 (Resolution 92 (I)).

The design is "a map of the world representing an azimuthal equidistant projection centred on the North Pole, inscribed in a wreath consisting of crossed conventionalised branches of the olive tree, in gold on a field of smoke-blue with all water areas in white. The projection of the map extends to 60 degrees south latitude, and includes five concentric circles".

On 21 August 1947 the secretary-general sent a memorandum to the General Assembly underlining the necessity of a flag for the UN. He described that some time earlier a flag was designed to protect and identify with a neutral symbol the Commission of Investigation concerning Greek Frontier Incidents. The UN secretariat designed a flag in blue with the UN emblem in white with the words "United Nations - Nations Unies" around it.

Flag for the Commission of Investigation concerning Greek Frontier Incidents 1947 Since then more than a hundred other designs were received from various countries. The secretary-general feels that the design with the UN emblem, but without the name on it, "possesses the essential requirements of simplicity and dignity to a greater extent than any other design which has been submitted."

The General Assembly adopted Resolution 167 (II) on 20 October 1947 giving the UN its own flag and instructing the secretary-general to draw up regulation concerning the dimensions and proportions of the flag and to adopt a flag code.

UN Flag The flag code was published on 19 December 1947, amended on 11 November 1952 and completely revised on 1 January 1967 and contains regulations where and when to display the flag, including in periods of mourning. It also contains the rules on the display of the flags of the member states outside the UN Headquarters.

Later on the flags of the other specialized organizations were based on the original design and have in most cases the blue colour with a white emblem. The colour light blue has consequently been used in various ways, with the best known being the UN peace-keeping forces wearing blue helmets.

The emblem and flag are frequently pictured on stamps. The stamp catalogue is divided into two parts: stamps that have the emblem or flag as main subject and stamps that have the emblem or flag on it but are issued for another occasion. It should be noted that not every stamp with the emblem is listed. The emblem should be a significant part of the stamp design.

Links

All official documents concerning the emblem and flag on the UN website. Flags of the Member States