Flag of the United Nations

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Categories: International flags | United Nations | 1947 introductions

Image:FIAV normal.svg UN Flag, adopted December 7, 1946.

Image:Flag of the United Nations (1945-1947).svg

The first version of the UN flag, April 1945.

The flag of the United Nations was adopted on October 20, 1947. The flag has the official emblem of the United Nations in white on a blue background. The emblem is composed of an azimuthal equidistant projection of a world map (less Antarctica) centred on the North Pole, enclosed in olive branches. The olive branches are a symbol for peace, and the world map represents all the people of the world.

A similar looking flag was first presented in a slightly different form from the present one at the Organisation Conference in San Francisco in April 1945, with the only difference the drawing of the Earth. The flag was distributed among delegates and the press. In 1946, a UNO committee got the task of making a definite design, which was presented December 2, 1946, and adopted by the plenary session of the UNO on December 7, 1946. The earlier version had the globe 90 degrees turned eastward compared with the present flag. According to press statements, the change was made to move North America away from the center of the emblem.[1]

White and blue are the official colors of the United Nations.

According to the "Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel", the emblem and the flag of the United Nations can be used by the personnel and material of UN Peacekeeping missions as a protective sign to prevent attacks during an armed conflict.

1 Derived flags
- 1.1 Agencies and organizations
- 1.2 Countries and regions
2 External links

Derived flags

Agencies and organizations

The International Atomic Energy Agency (a body independent of but reporting to the United Nations) has a flag with the same colours and olive leaves as the United Nations. The central symbol is a Rutherford model atom.
The flag of the International Civil Aviation Organization is that of the UN with pilot's wings superimposed.
The flag of the International Telecommunication Union is UN blue and white with a globe, lightning bolt, and the letters "ITU".
The flag of UNESCO has the same colours as the United Nations; its symbol is a Greek temple (possibly the Parthenon), representing science, learning and culture.
The flag of UNICEF has the leaves and globe of the UN flag but with a mother and child inlay instead of the world map.
The flag of the World Food Programme has the olive leaves of the UN flag, with a hand clutching grains in the center, in place of the globe. The white/blue colors of the UN flag are reversed in the WFP flag.
The flag of the World Health Organization is identical to the UN flag, with a Rod of Asclepius, a traditional symbol of medicine, added.
The flag of the World Meteorological Organization is that of the UN with a compass rose and the letters "OMM/WMO" atop the globe.
A proposed flag for a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly uses the same colors and olive branches and uses the cartographic elements of the globe to create what appear to be parliamentary benches.

IAEA	ICAO	ITU	UNESCO
UNICEF	WHO	WMO	Uno unpalogo (1).svg United Nations Parliamentary Assembly (proposed)

Countries and regions

Perhaps the most popular proposed flag of Antarctica uses the UN colours, consisting of a plain white representation of the continent on a blue background.
A number of proposed flags of Bosnia and Herzegovina used UN colours.
Flag of Cambodia under the UNTAC.
A proposed flag of Kosovo, the United Nations-administered province of Serbia. The flag has the central white color and olive branches from the UN flag and the red background and double-headed eagle from the flag of Albania.
The flag of Somalia, with central symbol a five-pointed star, uses the UN colours in honour of the UN's help in gaining Somalia's independence.
The Flag of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI) a former United Nations trust territory in the western Pacific, i.e. Micronesia. The flag of Micronesia in turn was based on this flag.

Antarctica (proposed)	Ba 1 - 2.gif Bosnia and Herzegovina (proposed)	Flag of BiH (First set of proposal 3).svg Bosnia and Herzegovina (proposed)	First Westendorp Proposal of BiH flag.svg Bosnia and Herzegovina (proposed)
Cambodia (1992-1993)	Kosovo Flag Proposal.svg Kosovo (proposed)	Somalia	Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (historic)