United Nations Day
This is the 60th anniversary of the first ever United Nations day, which was initiated on 24 October 1947.
The date was picked as it symbolised the organisation’s Charter being signed on that day two years earlier.
The day itself aims to celebrate and highlight the UN’s goals and successes throughout the world. Below
are some of the UN entries from our Records Database:
Largest humanitarian agency
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is the largest humanitarian agency in the world. The organisation was
established in 1963 and to date has delivered 68.7 million tonnes (151 billion lb) of food to over 1.2 billion
people in 100 countries, with a total cost of $32 billion (£19.1 billion, €27.3 billion).
Largest single humanitarian operation
The world's largest and most expensive humanitarian operation was undertaken by the United Nations World Food
Programme (WFP), feeding the 27.1 million people of Iraq, following the war there. The food-aid operation began on 1
April 2003 and finished in late October 2003 with 2.2 million tonnes (4.8 billion lb) of food commodities being
delivered under a budget of $1.5 billion (£927 million, €1.3 billion).
Largest stand up (multiple venue)
The world record for the most people to 'Stand Up Against Poverty' in 24 hours was set on 15 - 16 October 2006 for the
United Nation’s Millennium Campaign and involved a massive total of 23,542,614 participants in 11,646 events
around the globe.
Largest cash bequest
Ted Turner, the founder of CNN and vice-president of Time Warner, announced on 18 Sept 1997,that he was to give the
United Nations $1billion (£580 million) of his own money in $100 million (£58 million) installments over
ten years to finance programmes for refugees, children, the environment and clearing landmines.
Largest peacekeeping force deployed on multiple operations (present day)
The global deployment of United Nations peacekeeping representatives reached an historic high at the end of October
2006, with 80,976 military and police personnel, in addition to 15,000 civilians serving in peace operations around
the world. In the same year, the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations led 18 different missions in
Africa, the Caribbean, the Middle East, Europe and Asia.
23 October 2007