The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) is an initiative that attempts to "galvanize international action against extremism" through the forging of international, intercultural and interreligious dialogue and cooperation. The Alliance places a particular emphasis on defusing tensions between the Western and Islamic worlds.
The initiative was first proposed by the Prime Minister of Spain, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, at the 59th General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) in 2005. It was co-sponsored by the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
On 14 July 2005, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan formally proclaimed the launch of the Alliance of Civilizations at the United Nations Headquarters with the co-sponsorship of the governments of Spain and Turkey.
On 10 November 2009, the United Nations General Assembly recognized the mandate of the Alliance of Civilizations by adopting resolution A/RES/64/14 "The Alliance of Civilization", acknowledging the importance of intercultural and interreligious dialogue in promoting tolerance and expressing its continuous support for the work of the Alliance of Civilizations.
On 6 July 2015, Member States demonstrated their support for the work and achievements of the Alliance of Civilizations and adopted by consensus General Assembly resolution A/RES/69/312 "United Nations Alliance of Civilizations", hence affirming the status of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) as an initiative of the United Nations Secretary-General, an entity within the United Nations system.
In January 2026, the United States and Israel left the UNAOC.
Structure and leadership The "High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations" is the title of the primary leadership position of UNAOC, who functions as a political facilitator and lead spokesperson, and consults directly with the United Nations Secretary-General. The High Representative holds the rank of Under-Secretary-General.
In April 2007, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon assigned the position of High Representative to Jorge Sampaio, former President of Portugal.
In February 2013, Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, who served as President of the Sixty-sixth Session of the United Nations General Assembly (2011-2012), assumed the post of High Representative, succeeding President Sampaio in the position.
In January 2019, Secretary-General António Guterres appointed Miguel Ángel Moratinos, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain, as High Representative.
In 2023, Nihal Saad, former TV journalist from Egypt, assumed the role of Director of UNAOC. Before assuming the post of Director, Ms. Saad served as the Chief of Cabinet and Spokesperson for the High Representative from 2013 to 2023.
The Secretariat of the Alliance of Civilizations provides support to the High Representative and implements developmental functions of UNAOC.
Location The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations is headquartered at the United Nations campus in New York. In 2021, a second UNAOC office was inaugurated at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
Inception The group argues that mutual suspicion, fear and misunderstanding between Islamic and Christian Western societies has been increasing for the past millennium. Due to diverging backgrounds, instability of coexistence between these groups is argued to have led to exploitation by extremists, with the severest form being ultimate acts of violence. Belen Alfaro, then Ambassador-at-large for the Alliance of Civilizations, believes that efforts should be made to reach a common ground between diverse ethnic and religious groups, balancing their fundamental set of values and beliefs. She believes that, in this way, an attempt can be made to quell extremism and a coalition can be established to work toward peaceful coexistence between diverse groups, thereby supporting international stability.
The Alliance of Civilizations initiative was proposed by the Spanish Prime Minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, at the 59th General Assembly of the United Nations in 2005. It was co-sponsored by the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.For Turkey's role and motivations, see, Ali Balcı, and Nebi Miş, "Turkey’s Role in the Alliance of Civilizations: A New Perspective in Turkish Foreign Policy?" Turkish Studies 9.3 (2008): 387–406 The aim of the initiative was to produce actionable, time-bound recommendations by the end of 2006 for UN member states to adopt.
To fulfill the objective of the initiative, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan assembled a High-Level Group (HLG) consisting of 20 eminent persons drawn from policy making, academia, civil society, religious leadership, and the media. A full range of religions and civilizations were represented.Secretary-General Announces Composition Of High-Level Group For Alliance Of Civilizations Among the members were former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, who proposed the Dialogue Among Civilizations initiative, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, South African Nobel laureate, Prof. Pan Guang, who obtained the Saint Petersburg-300 Medal for Contribution to China-Russia Relations, and Arthur Schneier, who is the founder and president of the “Appeal of Conscience Foundation” and who gained the "Presidential Citizens Medal”. The HLG met five times between November 2005 and November 2006, and produced a report prioritising relations between the Western and Muslim societies.
The first meeting of the HLG of the AoC occurred in Spain in November 2005. The second meeting was in Doha, Qatar, from 25 to 27 February 2006 with the agenda of aiming to find ways to calm the cartoon crisis between West and Islamic world."Alliance of Civilizations and the AKP" http://www.radikal.com.tr/ek_haber.php?ek=r2&haberno=6425 The third meeting took place in Dakar, Senegal, from 28 to 30 May 2006. At the final meeting in November 2006 in Istanbul, the members presented their final report to Kofi Annan and to Prime Ministers José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The report outlined recommendations and practical solutions on how the Western and Islamic societies can solve misconceptions and misunderstandings between them. According to the report, "politics, not religion, is at the heart of growing Muslim-Western divide", although a large emphasis is maintained on religion.Microsoft Word - 061113 AoC High level Group press release.doc
The High-Level Group’s report, published on 13 November 2006, put forth recommendations that became the guiding principles for the implementation of the Alliance. In particular, it identified four priority areas of action for the Alliance of Civilizations, which all play a critical role in reducing cross-cultural tensions and building bridges between communities, and to which the Alliance of Civilizations should bring a multidisciplinary and multi-perspective approach: Youth, Education, Media, and Migration.
In May 2007, UNAOC released its "Implementation Plan 2007–2009", which elaborated on the notion that the AoC will not replace or reconstitute any existing plans or political channels. Rather, the AoC will facilitate its goals primarily through partnership operations among a variety of existing groups, and also through projects in youth, education, media, and migration. The core of the 16-page document consists of two parts. The first part, drawing directly on the 2006 HLG report, describes the strategic and structural framework for the AoC. Included are plans for an AoC forum held in varying locations annually, the "Group of Friends" representatives from States and international organizations, and UN Secretary-General-appointed ambassadors to the AoC. Financing will be accomplished via the AoC Voluntary Trust Fund with support from various organizations. The second part of the plan calls for actions to staff the office of the Secretariat by Summer 2007, and to implement the directives established in the first part of the document. A mid-term review of the plan of action is intended in 2008. The first group of ambassadors will be listed by the end of 2007, and the first annual AoC forum will be held 15–16 January in 2008 in Spain, with a focus on youth. The AoC will establish a rapid-response media-based mechanism to intervene in escalations of global tension. The plans were discussed with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on 14 June 2007.
On 24 June, Ban Ki-moon spoke at a commemoration of 13th century Muslim poet Rumi in New York, in which he embraced the teachings of the poet, expressing the resonance with the goals of the AoC.Secretary-General Says Commemoration Of Poet Maulana Rumi Can Motivate Work Of United Nations Alliance Of Civilizations, Ensure Its Ultimate Success
Priority areas
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Media Traditional and new media play a crucial role in influencing public perception, narratives, and attitudes and therefore hold the potential to bridge cultural divides. With the advent of the web and a plethora of new news sources, social media, blogs, and other websites run by citizen journalists, UNAOC media projects focus on building the critical media literacy skills required to receive the ever-increasing speed and volume of information, and on training journalists so they can do their work to the best of their abilities.
Youth Young people are critical agents for social change, economic growth, development and technological innovation. It is crucial to recognize youth not only as a source of mobilization, but as autonomous actors and partners. They are our most important pool of talent, ideas, energy, and passion. Through education, training, and many other opportunities for innovation and creativity, UNAOC empowers youth globally and recognize them as powerful agents for social change.
Education Education systems today face the challenge of preparing young people for an interdependent world that is unsettling to individual and collective identities. Education about one’s own history fosters a sense of community and solidarity, but it must be balanced by knowledge of global issues and an understanding and appreciation of other societies and cultures. Education in its various forms – including music, sports, art, drama and film – can help build bridges between communities and people. Through its education programmes, UNAOC enables citizens to acquire intercultural competencies and critical thinking skills to help foster cross-cultural dialogue and overcome cultural stereotypes and intolerance.
Migration Virtually every state is both a country of origin and of destination for migrants. In a world of porous borders, rapidly evolving modes of transportation and communications, and globalized economies, diverse populations are destined to interact. This phenomenon presents new challenges that need to be addressed, but also opportunities that need to be harnessed. With its migration programmes, UNAOC addresses the many facets of migration with the goal of fostering inclusive societies that respect the human rights of all.
Women as peace mediators The new High Representative Mr. Moratinos intends to propose adding “women as peace mediators” to the areas of focus of UNAOC. Integral to the vision of the United Nations Secretary-General on prevention is the inclusion and women’s empowerment in their fullest sense. He has committed to integrate gender perspectives in mediation efforts dispatching women leaders as mediation envoys.
UNAOC projects and initiatives UNAOC Youth Solidarity Fund UNAOC Fellowship Programme UNAOC Young Peacebuilders Intercultural Innovation Hub (IIH), formerly Intercultural Innovation Award (IIA) (in partnership with BMW Group and with the support of Accenture) PLURAL+ Youth Video Festival (in partnership with IOM) Sport for One Humanity initiative (in partnership with Turkish Airlines) News Generation Against Hate (in partnership with La Courneuve) Promoting the Role of Women as Peacemakers