By: HISTORY.com Editors

1946

UNICEF founded

Published: February 09, 2010Last Updated: May 27, 2025

In the aftermath of World War II, the General Assembly of the United Nations votes to establish the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), an organization to help provide relief and support to children living in countries devastated by the war.

After the food and medical crisis of the late 1940s passed, UNICEF continued its role as a relief organization for the children of troubled nations and during the 1970s grew into a vocal advocate of children’s rights. During the 1980s, UNICEF assisted the U.N. Commission on Human Rights in the drafting of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. After its introduction to the U.N. General Assembly in 1989, the Convention on the Rights of the Child became the most widely ratified human rights treaty in history, and UNICEF played a key role in ensuring its enforcement.

The United States is the only U.N. member state to have not ratified the treaty. The U.S., which was one of the original signatories of the convention, has failed to ratify the treaty because of concerns about its potential impact on national sovereignty and the parent-child relationship.

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Since its founding in 1945, the organization has been on the front lines of some of the biggest events in world history.

By: Sarah Pruitt

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Citation Information

Article title
UNICEF founded
Website Name
History
Date Accessed
August 22, 2025
Publisher
A&E Television Networks
Last Updated
May 27, 2025
Original Published Date
February 09, 2010

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