The history of Monaco’s accession
The Council of Europe: the Principality’s "natural family"
A desire for recognition and integration with international bodies
After the First World War, relations with France – the country with which Monaco had been closely linked since the seventeenth century – were strengthened by the Franco-Monegasque Treaty of 17 July 1918, known as the "protective friendship treaty". The Government of the French Republic vowed "to protect the independence and sovereignty of the Principality of Monaco and to guarantee the integrity of its territory as if that territory were a part of France. For its part, the Government of His Serene Highness the Prince of Monaco commits to exercising its rights of sovereignty in full compliance with the political, military, naval and economic interests of France".
In addition, France was bound to facilitate the Principality’s access to international institutions and conferences, which were then flourishing, particularly since the Principality’s longstanding commitment to the values of peace had been reflected in the establishment of an International Institute of Peace in 1903. With a very limited territory and a small population, Monaco was not, however, able to obtain membership of the League of Nations, the forerunner of the United Nations.
Following the Second World War, access to international bodies finally opened up for the Principality. The country joined the International Telecommunication Union (1947), the World Health Organization (1948) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (1949), three specialised bodies of the United Nations. In August 1949, in the first year of the reign of Rainier III (1923–2005), the Principality took part in the Seventeenth International Red Cross Conference, at which the Geneva Conventions were ratified.
In 1957, the country was admitted to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Finally, in May 1993, Monaco became the 183rd Member State of the United Nations, after being granted observer status in 1956.
