Dutch representation at international organisations
The Netherlands is represented not only by 110 embassies, 1 embassy office (in Pristina, Serbia-Montenegro), two representations (one to the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah and another in Kabul, Afghanistan), and 27 professional consulates: the bilateral missions. It is also represented at international organisations by 15 multilateral missions.
Multilateral missions
Multilateral tasks
Multilateral missions
Multilateral missions represent the Netherlands at such international organisations as the European Union, NATO, and the United Nations. Staff at these missions work with their counterparts from other countries to achieve the objectives of the international organisations concerned while also representing the official views of the Netherlands and promoting Dutch interests. Multilateral missions are headed by ambassadors called permanent representatives.
Multilateral tasks are performed in many fields, including:
- political and economic cooperation between the 27 members of the European Union (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden);
- cooperation in Atlantic and European organisations for international peace and security (NATO, WEU, and OSCE);
- cooperation in fields covered by the United Nations, its specialised agencies (such as FAO, ILO, UNESCO, and WHO), the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the International Court of Justice;
- economic and development cooperation in the OECD, UN agencies such as UNDP, UNICEF and UNFPA, and the Bretton Woods institutions (the IMF and the World Bank);
- human rights (in the UN, Council of Europe, ILO, etc.);
- environmental issues (in the EU, OECD, UNDP, etc.); energy issues (in the IAEA, etc.);
- prohibition of the possession and use of chemical weapons (OPCW).
Multilateral tasks are also performed on an ad-hoc basis within the framework of special conferences convened for varying periods. In Vienna, for instance, negotiations took place over several years to reduce the armed forces in both Western and Eastern Europe: first in the Conference on Mutual Balanced Force Reduction (MBFR) and later in the Conference on Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE). Lengthy negotiations have also taken place in Vienna on confidence-building and security measures (CBSM).
The Netherlands has permanent multilateral missions in:
Bangkok (ESCAP), Thailand
Brussels (EU), Belgium
Brussels (NATO, WEU), Belgium
The Hague (OPCW), The Netherlands
Geneva (the UN's European office and other international organisations), Switzerland
Geneva (UNHCR), Switzerland
Madrid (WTO), Spain
Nairobi (HABITAT), Kenya
Nairobi (UNEP), Kenya
New York (UN), United States
Paris (OECD), France
Paris (UNESCO), France
Rome (FAO, IFAD, WFP), Italy
Strasbourg (Council of Europe), France
Vienna (OSCE), Austria
Vienna (UNIDO, IAEA), Austria.
Conference on Disarmament (Ontwapeningsconferentie) | |
European Union | |
Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pasific | |
Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations | |
Centrum van de VN voor Menselijke Nederzettingen | |
International Atomic Energy Agency | |
International Criminal Court | |
Internationl Court of Justice | |
International Fund for Agricultural Development | |
International Labour Organization | |
International Monetary Fund | |
International Seabed Authority | |
North Atlantic Treaty Organization | |
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development | |
Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons | |
| Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe | |
United Nations Development Program | |
| United Nations Environment Programme | |
| United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization | |
| United Nations Population Fund | |
| United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees | |
United Nations Children's Fund | |
United Nations Industrial Development Organization | |
Western European Union | |
| Wolrd Food Programme | |
World Health Organization | |
World Trade Organization | |
United Nations |
CD