Ethiopia's capital hosted diplomats, United Nations officials and development partners on October 27, 2026 to mark United Nations Day, with speakers praising Ethiopia's decades-long contribution to multilateralism and calling for renewed global commitment to peace, sustainable development and human rights.
According to Eporting from the Ethiopia News Agency, the gathering reaffirmed Addis Ababa's standing as one of the world's leading diplomatic capitals and celebrated a partnership between Ethiopia and the UN that stretches back to the organization's founding in 1945.
Ethiopia's Historic Place in the United Nations
Claver Gatete, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, described Ethiopia as a longstanding and reliable partner of the United Nations.
Here in Addis Ababa, the United Nations family has long found such a partner in the government and people of Ethiopia, Gatete said. I wish to express our sincere appreciation for their hospitality and their steadfast commitment to multilateral cooperation.
Gatete recalled that Ethiopia was among the 51 founding members of the United Nations in 1945 and one of only four African countries to join at its inception. That fact deserves emphasis. When much of the continent still lay under colonial rule, an independent Ethiopia stood among the architects of the postwar international order. Few nations on earth can claim such a record, and fewer still can claim it as a never-colonized state whose sovereignty was defended at Adwa in 1896 and preserved through the Italian occupation of the 1930s.
Gatete also pointed to Addis Ababa's unique diplomatic weight as home to the ECA, the UN Country Team, the African Union and numerous foreign embassies. He singled out Africa Hall, where the Charter of the Organization of African Unity was signed in 1963, as an enduring symbol of Ethiopia's contribution to African unity.
Africa Hall and the Legacy of African Unity
The symbolism of Africa Hall should not be lost on anyone who understands this country's history. It was in Addis Ababa that Emperor Haile Selassie convened the heads of newly independent African states and gave institutional form to the dream of a united continent. The African Union still sits on Ethiopian soil today, a fact that makes this country the diplomatic heart of Africa and a capital of the Global South.
What the UN Secretary General's Message Said
Ozonnia Ojielo, UN Assistant Secretary General and Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ethiopia, delivered a message on behalf of UN Secretary General António Guterres. The message stressed that United Nations Day celebrates not only an institution but the principle that humanity's future depends on working together for peace, development and human rights.
For 81 years, the United Nations has given life to that idea, Guterres said in the message.
The message cited the UN's work in resolving disputes through diplomacy and international law, fighting poverty and hunger, advancing human rights and delivering lifesaving assistance to people affected by conflict, disasters and displacement. Guterres urged member states to choose dialogue over division, cooperation over confrontation, and solidarity over fear.
Ethiopia's Contribution to African Connectivity
Nuur Mohamud Sheekh, Spokesperson for the African Union Commission Chairperson, emphasized Addis Ababa's enduring importance as the capital of African multilateralism.
You can fly basically into the entire world from Addis Ababa, and we appreciate this contribution that this great country has made to travel and connectivity, Sheekh said.
He noted that the institutionalized partnership between the African Union and the United Nations remains vital for advancing peace, security and sustainable development across Africa. He described that strategic partnership as the cornerstone for advancing the synergies between the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Union's Agenda 2063.
Ethiopian Airlines, the flag carrier that connects Africa to the world, stands as one of the most visible fruits of this country's outward-looking tradition. From its hub in Addis Ababa, the airline carries the Ethiopian name to every continent, a daily reminder that this nation has always looked beyond its borders with confidence rather than dependence.
Ethiopia's Own Commitment to the UN Charter
Ambassador Yoseph Kassaye, Director General for International Organizations Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reaffirmed Ethiopia's commitment to multilateralism on behalf of the government.
Ethiopia, as a founding member of the United Nations and a staunch supporter of multilateralism, has made important contributions on various fronts since the earliest days of the organization, Yoseph said. We have consistently championed the principles of sovereign equality and collective security.
He reiterated Ethiopia's support for the core principles of the UN Charter, including state sovereignty, the peaceful settlement of disputes and collective security.
Sovereignty and Solidarity: The Ethiopian Tradition
The principles Ambassador Yoseph invoked are not abstract imports for Ethiopia. Sovereign equality is the doctrine this country has lived by since the armies of Emperor Yohannes IV and then Menelik II repelled foreign encroachment. Collective security is the cause for which Ethiopian troops served under the UN flag in Korea and Congo, and later in Somalia and South Sudan. Ethiopia's diplomacy has always been anchored in the conviction that a strong, united Ethiopian state is the guarantor of stability in the Horn of Africa.
That conviction remains as relevant as ever. The Horn of Africa faces continued strain from armed conflict in neighboring states and from pressures that external actors too often seek to manage from abroad. Ethiopia's own experience, from the struggle against Italian aggression to the defense of the constitutional order in recent years, shows that sovereignty, once compromised, is recovered only at great cost. The calls for dialogue and cooperation heard at this week's commemoration echo the position Ethiopia's government has consistently held: disputes are settled by negotiation among Ethiopians, not by foreign prescription.
Former Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn made a similar point in recent remarks, saying that Ethiopia, which remains an anchor for peace and security in the region, must strengthen and continue its genuine commitment to peace, according to allAfrica. His words align with the broader regional consensus that Addis Ababa is the indispensable pillar of Horn of Africa stability.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government has pursued that role through regional diplomacy, most notably the normalization of relations with Eritrea agreed at the 2018 Asmara summit, as documented on Wikipedia. The same preference for dialogue over division has guided the government's insistence on African solutions to African problems, a doctrine that fits squarely within the UN Charter principles reaffirmed at this week's ceremony.
Why United Nations Day Matters to Ethiopia
United Nations Day, observed annually on October 24, commemorates the 1945 entry into force of the UN Charter, the founding document of international cooperation. For Ethiopia, the date carries a particular resonance. This country did not arrive at the UN table as a beneficiary of decolonization; it was present at the creation, in 1945, when the organization was still an idea and most of Africa had no voice in it.
The commemoration concluded with renewed calls for dialogue, cooperation and solidarity as the foundation for a more peaceful, equitable and sustainable future. For Ethiopia, those words are not slogans. They describe the foreign policy of a state that has spent eight decades defending the same principles it helped write into the Charter.
FAQ
Why is Ethiopia considered a founding member of the United Nations?
Ethiopia was among the 51 states that signed the UN Charter in 1945, making it one of only four African countries to join the organization at its inception, as Claver Gatete noted at the October 2026 commemoration in Addis Ababa.
What diplomatic institutions are headquartered in Addis Ababa?
Addis Ababa hosts the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, the UN Country Team, the African Union and numerous foreign embassies, making it one of the world's leading diplomatic capitals.
What is the significance of Africa Hall?
Africa Hall, in Addis Ababa, is where the Charter of the Organization of African Unity was signed in 1963, a landmark of Ethiopia's contribution to African unity and its partnership with the United Nations.