Kingdom of the Netherlands Mission to the UN

The Permanent Mission's main tasks are to promote and clarify the position of The Netherlands in the UN, report to the authorities in The Hague and give advice on developments at the UN. The position of the Netherlands on various subjects is increasingly being finalised in the framework of the European Union. However, the Mission has countless contacts with other member states of the UN, the UN-secretariat and UN-organisations, and operates on an individual basis (including through the delivery of statements) in cases where European coordination is not foreseen.

Diplomats of the Mission participate in debates and negotiations in the General Assembly, ECOSOC and subsidiary bodies of which it is a member or active observer, in UN conferences and in other bodies such as UNDP, UNFPA or UNICEF. During its membership of the Security Council the Netherlands actively participated in the Council's discussions on political crises.

The Mission maintains contacts with ngo's, universities and other institutions with a clear interest in the UN's work. The Mission also regularly provides briefings to visiting students and other groups. Periodically the Mission initiates thematic discussions or seminars on new or disputed issues with representatives and experts from within and outside the UN-community. Recent examples were seminars on the relationship between the Security Council and ECOSOC, on the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), on revitalizing the General Assembly and on the report of the High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change.