The United Nations (UN)

The United Nations Charter provided the legal basis for the creation of the Alliance and establishes the overall responsibility of the UN
Security Council for international peace and security.

Article 51 of the UN Charter establishes the inherent right of all UN member

countries to individual or collective selfdefense. The preamble to the North
Atlantic Treaty makes it clear from the outset that the UN Charter is the
framework within which the Alliance operates.

UN home page

Both legal and strong practical links exist between the UN Charter and the North Atlantic Treaty on the one hand, and the institutions of the
UN and those of the Alliance on the other.
NATO and the United Nations (UN) share a commitment to maintaining international peace and security. The two organizations
have been cooperating in this area since the early 1990s.
At the Lisbon Summit in November 2010, the Allies underlined their commitment to strong and productive cooperation with the
UN and welcomed the strengthened practical cooperation following the Joint Declaration on UN/NATO Secretariat Cooperation of
September 2008. NATO aims to deepen this practical cooperation and further develop political dialogue on issues of common interest,
including through enhanced liaison, more regular political consultation, and enhanced practical cooperation in managing crises where both
organizations are engaged.

NATOs new Strategic Concept commits the Alliance to prevent crises, manage conflicts and stabilize postconflict situations, including by
working more closely with NATOs international partners, most importantly the United Nations and the European Union.

The UN is at the core of the framework of international organizations within which the Alliance operates, a principle that is enshrined in NATOs
founding treaty. UN Security Council resolutions have provided the mandate for NATOs operations in the Balkans and in Afghanistan, and the
framework for NATOs training mission in Iraq. More recently, in March 2011, the Allies decided to take on the whole military operation in
Libya under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, in order to protect civilians and civilianpopulated areas under threat of attack.
This operation was highly successful. It terminated on 31 October 2011.
Over the years, NATOUN cooperation has been extended beyond cooperation in peacesupport and stabilization operations to include
consultations between NATO and UN specialized bodies on issues such as crisis assessment and management, civilmilitary cooperation,
logistics, combating human trafficking, mine action, civilian capabilities, women and peace and security, arms control and nonproliferation,
and the fight against terrorism.
Close cooperation between NATO and the UN and its agencies is an important element in the development of an international Comprehensive
Approach to crisis management and operations. At Lisbon, the Allies decided to enhance NATOs contribution to a comprehensive approach to
crisis management as part of the international communitys effort and to improve NATOs ability to deliver stabilization and reconstruction
effects.
NATO has also provided support to UNsponsored operations, including logistical assistance to the African Unions UNendorsed peacekeeping
operations in Darfur, Sudan and in Somalia; support for UN disasterrelief operations in Pakistan, following the massive earthquake in 2005;
and escorting merchant ships carrying World Food Program humanitarian supplies off the coast of Somalia.