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The National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of the United States, the national governing body of the U.S. Baha’i community, has been represented at the United Nations since 1947. The U.S. National Spiritual Assembly is a member of the Baha’i International Community, a network of 182 Baha’i national affiliates that acts on behalf of five million Baha’is worldwide.

Since 1948, the Baha’i International Community has been accredited as an international nongovernmental organization of the United Nations. It was granted special consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council in 1970.

The Baha’i U.S./U.N. Office represents the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of the United States at the UN Headquarters in New York.

The Office collaborates with a variety of U.N offices and specialized agencies. It also engages the U.S. Baha’i community in UN.-related advocacy campaigns and works with nongovernmental organizations on issues related to human rights, social justice, sustainable development, the advancement of women and U.N. reform.

The Baha’is’ long record of supporting representative global institutions dates back to the period shortly after World War I when a Baha’i office opened at the Geneva, Switzerland, headquarters of the League of Nations.

This commitment to representative global governance is grounded in the Baha’i principle of the oneness of humanity, which “implies the establishment of a world commonwealth in which all nations, races, creeds and classes are closely and permanently united, and in which the autonomy of its state members and personal freedom and initiative of the individuals that compose them are definitely and completely safeguarded.” (Universal House of Justice, Century of Light, pg. 51)

The National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of the United States, accredited to the U.N. Department of Public Information since 1947, is also a member of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF and the United Nations Association-USA.

Baha’i representatives provide leadership in a number of UN-related bodies, including the NGO/Department of Public Information Executive Committee, the Committee of Religious NGOs, the Values Caucus, the Millennium NGO Network for U.N. reform, the Commission on the Status of Women and the Commission on Sustainable Development

For more information about the Baha’is at the United Nations, please contact

Carl Murrell, Representative to the United Nations
National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of the U.S.
866 United Nations Plaza, Suite 120
New York, New York 10017
Phone: 212-803-2500
Email: usun-nyc@bic.org

Additional information can be found on the administrative website of the Baha'is of the United States. (U.S. Baha'i identification number required to logon to the site.)