United Nations Association

The United Nations Association came into being in 1948 with the help of money from the League of Nations Union which carried on as a parallel organisation. After the demises of the League of Nations Union the UNA took over many of its functions and staff. The UNA describes itself as a 'critical fan club of the United Nations' and has always reflected the concerns of the United Nations. It began by focussing on the issues of world peace and the danger of war through hunger and whilst these have remained central issues for them they have expanded to include human rights, third world development and the environment as issues of major importance to them. The range of activities that the UNA undertake has also changed. In the beginning they mainly concentrated on lobbying government and meeting civil servants and ministers, however they gradually expanded into campaigning in their own right and educating the public about the issues that they are concerned about. Education has become a large part of the work of the UNA. It strives to educate the public about the role and activities of the United Nations and how the UNA is involved in these. It also publishes leaflets on various issues that it thinks is important.

The UNA itself is divided into various branches which are largely independent of the centre, co-ordinating regional officers who are in touch with both the centre and the branches, committees relating to single issues such as human rights and a general council which meets once a year to debate issues raised by the branches. Information from the central organisation is sent out to the branches via the Branch Letter and campaign packs are sent out for the annual nationwide UNA campaign.