France has been one of the UN s members since its founding in 1945. It holds a permanent seat at the Security Council, alongside the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia and China, thus playing a leading role on many subjects. It is also represented both within the other major UN bodies and within its subsidiary organs (elected to the Human Rights Council, for example), and is a permanent member of the Conference on Disarmament. France is the fifth-largest contributor to the United Nations regular budget and to the peacekeeping operations budget.
To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs and the Minister for Justice are organising an event in Paris.