Update 31 July 2026
Luxembourg and the United Nations: What you need to know
As international cooperation faces challenges linked to geopolitical tensions and financial constraints, this article highlights the partnership between the United Nations and Luxembourg, a small country with a global impact, which began in 1945.
A founding member and strong advocate of multilateralism
By signing the United Nations Charter on 26 June 1945 in San Francisco, Luxembourg became the smallest founding member of the United Nations.
“My country has a long tradition of commitment to multilateralism and universal values,” says Olivier Maes, Permanent Representative of Luxembourg to the United Nations in New York.
Luxembourg’s contribution to the United Nations humanitarian mission
In 2025, Luxembourg contributed 137.7 million dollars to humanitarian aid, continuing its long-standing commitment to international solidarity. Of this amount, 67.7 million dollars were paid directly to United Nations agencies, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The main beneficiaries were the World Food Programme (WFP) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
A commitment to 1%: Luxembourg’s development assistance benchmark
According to the Activity Report of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade, “Luxembourg continues to position itself as a determined actor (…) in promoting a world based on democracy, human rights, inclusive governance, the rule of law, solidarity, and sustainable development.”
In 2025, the country maintained its objective of allocating 1% of its gross national income (GNI) to official development assistance (ODA), a target enshrined in the government programme for the 2023–2028 period. This amounted to 615 million euros.
This contribution exceeds the long-standing United Nations target for developed countries to devote 0.7% of their GNI to ODA, and reaffirms the country’s position as a reliable partner in global development.
Luxembourg in the United Nations system
In 2026, 44 Luxembourg nationals worked across various United Nations agencies and entities. Although this figure represents a modest share of the total workforce, it reflects Luxembourg’s participation in the multilateral system.
Despite its modest size, Luxembourg has played a visible diplomatic role within the United Nations system, notably by holding a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council in 2013–2014. It also demonstrated its support for international law and human rights by being elected, for the first time in its history, to the United Nations Human Rights Council for the 2022–2024 term, alongside 17 other new members.
Luxembourg is home to one UNESCO World Heritage Site: the Old Quarters and Fortifications of the City of Luxembourg, which testify to its historical and architectural significance. This inscription forms part of cultural preservation efforts carried out in cooperation with UNESCO.
Less well known is the fact that Luxembourg-based companies are important suppliers to the United Nations. In 2025, Luxembourg ranked 68th among the largest suppliers to the United Nations, with 62.27 million dollars in contracts, according to data from the United Nations Global Marketplace (UNGM).
Most of these purchases were destined for UNICEF, an essential United Nations agency that vaccinates nearly half of all children worldwide. The pharmaceutical products sector accounted for the largest share, with 38.8 million dollars.
Support for global solidarity
In 1988, Luxembourg gifted the “Non-Violence” sculpture, also known as the “Knotted Gun”, to the United Nations. Created by Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd, the sculpture stands at the entrance of the UN Secretariat building and has become a symbol of the United Nations’ role in disarmament, peace and international security.
According to the OECD Development Co-operation Peer Reviews: Luxembourg 2025, “its objective of allocating 1% of the country’s gross national income to official development assistance (ODA) enjoys strong political and public support.”
This underlines Luxembourg’s consistent support for the work of the United Nations worldwide.
Luxembourg may be small in size, but its contributions to the United Nations, in development aid and diplomacy, are significant in a world facing complex challenges.