The extent of the involvement of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and its entities with the United Nations cannot be fully known except by those intimately involved with the day-to-day operations of the relationship. As this topic has been researched, what began as a knowledge of only the consultative status of the GC and ADRA with the UN, has increased in its scope. Regularly, more involvement of the GC and its associated entities are discovered. In light of this, the lists below should not be seen as exhaustive of the scope of their involvement.

Find more information about this and other topics in The Captive Bride by Joanna de Bruyn. This 211-page heavily-footnoted ebook is available as a free PDF download. Topics include the history and scope of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists involvement with the United Nations, creation vs. evolution, unity and universalism, the health message and drugs, Sabbath vs. Sunday as a day of rest and worship, liberty vs. coercion, prophetic fulfillment, peace vs. destruction, church governance, the GC as a voice of the United Nations, religious liberty, and evangelistic compromise.

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1943-1949

The “Seventh-day Adventist Church in America” formed a partnership with UNRAA through the Office of Voluntary and International Agency Liaison.

“Item S-1267-0000-0118-00001: American Council of Voluntary Agencies for Foreign Service, Inc.,” United Nations Archives, accessed December 9, 2025, https://search.archives.un.org/s-1267-0000-0118-00001

1945

The GC voted “to join with other religious bodies in making a statement on the question of religious liberty, in the hope that it may be brought to the attention of the Security Conference in San Francisco” [referring to the first meeting of the UN]. They also voted to send 15 delegates to attend the conference to represent the Seventh-day Adventist Church, including Dr Jean Nussbaum (see below).

General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, General Conference Committee Minutes, March 1945 (Washington, D.C.: General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 1945), 1809, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1945-03.pdf

1933-mid 1950s

The PARL director for the Southern European Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church from 1933 to 1967, Dr Jean Nussbaum,[1] had a significant history of being the official representative of the GC at the League of Nations over calendar reform,[2] and a protracted history of being a representative of the GC at the UN.[3] Under the instruction and expense of the GC,[4] he “attended the United Nations Convention in San Francisco [in 1945] where he and Mrs Eleanor Roosevelt were appointed members of the Economic and Social Council to deal with human rights issues.”[5]

Dr Nussbaum established the International Association for the Defence of Religious Liberty (AIDLR) and had Mrs Roosevelt as the first honorary president. Before it had achieved official consultative status in 1987, the AIDLR “contributed significantly to international agreements, including the 1981 UN Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief.”[6]

Lowell Cooper, “Leadership Innovation: Better Solutions for New Situations,” Adventist Review, September 1, 2020, accessed December 11, 2025, https://adventistreview.org/focus/leadership-innovation

Dr. Jean Nussbaum was the religious liberty secretary of the Southern European Division from 1932 General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, General Conference Committee Minutes, January 1932 (Washington, D.C.: General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 1932), 557, accessed December 15, 2025, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1932-01.pdf

General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, General Conference Committee Minutes, May 1931 (Washington, D.C.: General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 1931), 341, accessed December 15, 2025, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1931-05.pdf

General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. General Conference Committee Minutes, June 1931, (Washington, D.C.: General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 1931), accessed December 15, 2025, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1931-06.pdf

General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, General Conference Committee Minutes, February 1937 (Washington, D.C.: General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 1937), 259, accessed December 15, 2025, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1937-02.pdf

General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, General Conference Committee Minutes, August 1937 (Washington, D.C.: General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 1937), 454, accessed December 15, 2025, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1937-08.pdf

General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, General Conference Committee Minutes, July 1950 (Washington, D.C.: General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 1950), 37 accessed December 16, 2025, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1950-07.pdf

General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, General Conference Committee Minutes, March 1952 (Washington, D.C.: General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 1952), 722, accessed December 16, 2025, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1952-03.pdf

General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, General Conference Committee Minutes, August 1953 (Washington, D.C.: General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 1953), 1250, accessed December 16, 2025, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1953-08.pdf

General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, General Conference Committee Minutes, September 1960 (Washington, D.C.: General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 1960), 665 accessed December 16, 2025, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1960-09.pdf

General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, General Conference Committee Minutes, March 1957 (Washington, D.C.: General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 1957), 835, accessed December 16, 2025, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1957-03.pdf

General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, General Conference Committee Minutes, March 1945 (Washington, D.C.: General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 1945), 1809, accessed December 16, 2025, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1945-03.pdf

History – The International Association for the Defence of Religious Liberty (AIDLR), AIDLR, accessed December 11, 2025, https://promesa.pro/history

6. Ibid.

1945

Dr. Bert Beach also represented the GC at the UN and also “met with the American First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt to discuss religious freedom issues at the founding of the UN.”[7] Nations voted to recommend to the Council the granting of Consultative Status in Category II to the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.”[8] It was announced to the world Church later in 1985.[9]

General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, AdventistLiberty.org, “What We Do (Public Affairs and Religious Liberty – PARL),” accessed December 27, 2025, https://www.adventistliberty.org/more-about-parl

General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, General Conference Committee Minutes, March 1985 (Washington, D.C.: General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 1985), 85-82, accessed December 16, 2025, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Minutes/GCC/GCC1985-03.pdf

United Nations Economic and Social Council, Report of the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations, First Regular Session of 1985 (E/1985/19, April 16, 1985), United Nations Economic and Social Council, Report of the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations, First Regular Session of 1985 (E/1985/19, April 16, 1985), accessed December 16, 2025, https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/gen/nl3/219/71/pdf/nl321971.pdf

United Nations, “e-SANGO Civil Society Search: ‘Adventist’,” accessed December 5, 2025, https://esango.un.org/civilsociety/simpleSearch.do?method=search&searchTypeRedef=simpleSearch&searchType=simpleSearch&organizationNamee=Adventist

B. B. Beach, “GC Receives NGO Status from UN,” Review and Herald 162, no. 23 (June 6, 1985), 24, accessed December 16, 1985, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Periodicals/RH/RH19850606-V162-23.pdf

Neal C. Wilson, “The 20th Century Book of Acts,” Review and Herald, 7 (663), June 27, 1985, accessed October 27, 2025, https://documents.adventistarchives.org/Periodicals/GCSessionBulletins/GCB1985-01.pdf

1985

On March 21, the GC committee was informed, “last night the Non-Governmental Organizations Committee of the Economic, Social and Cultural Council of the United Nations voted to recommend to the Council the granting of Consultative Status in Category II to the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.”94 It was announced to the world Church later in 1985.

1987

The International Association for the Defence of Religious Liberty achieved special consultative status with ECOSOC.

John Graz, “The International Religious Liberty Association,” Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists, June 11, 2022, accessed December 27, 2025, https://encyclopedia.adventist.org/article?id=CJII

United Nations, “e-SANGO Civil Society Search: ‘Defence of Religious Liberty’,” accessed December 5, 2025, https://esango.un.org/civilsociety/simpleSearch.do?method=search&searchTypeRedef=simpleSearch&searchType=simpleSearch&organizationNamee=Defence+of+Religious+Liberty

1997

The Adventist Development and Relief Agency achieved general consultative status with ECOSOC.

Adventist Development and Relief Agency Australia, “Our History,” ADRA Australia, accessed November 7, 2025, https://www.adra.org.au/about-us/our-history

2003

The International Religious Liberty Association achieved general consultative status. After several years of good relations with the United Nations, it was granted Special Consultative Status by the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

United Nations, “e-SANGO Civil Society Search: ‘IRLA’,” accessed December 5, 2025, https://esango.un.org/civilsociety/simpleSearch.do?method=search&searchTypeRedef=simpleSearch&searchType=simpleSearch&organizationNamee=IRLA

2017

The GC entered into a partnership with the UN Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect, the UN Inter-Agency Task Force for Engagement with Faith-based Organizations and the Committee of Religious NGOs at the UN to run a Symposium on Just, Inclusive and Sustainable Peace. This symposium is part of an annual program that the GC runs to help other faith-based organisations achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

Joint Learning Initiative on Faith & Local Communities, “Concept Note: Third Annual Symposium on the Role of Religion and Faith-Based Organizations in International Affairs” (New York: United Nations Secretariat, 23 January 2017), accessed December 26, 2025, https://jliflc.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Concept-Note-Final-Version-1.pdf

2021

Nelu Burcea, then the UN Liaison Officer for the GC, participated in an online training workshop on Changing Mindsets and Strengthening Governance Capacities for Policy Coherence for a Holistic Implementation of the 2030 Agenda in the Arab region. 104 The objectives of the workshop were as follows:

“The workshop aimed to raise awareness and develop capacities among senior public servants from the Arab region on the need for effective institutional arrangements for holistic policy coherence to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It also highlighted the importance of changing mindsets and key competencies needed for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Furthermore, the workshop served to pilot draft material related to two training toolkits on “Strengthening Institutional Arrangements and Governance Capacity for Policy Coherence to implement the SDGs” and “Public Servants’ Mindsets and Capacities to Implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” (emphasis supplied).

United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, “Changing Mindsets and Governance Capacities for Policy Coherence for a Holistic Implementation of the 2030 Agenda in the Arab Region,” March 16, 2021, United Nations Public Administration Network, 19, accessed December 25, 2025, https://publicadministration.desa.un.org/sites/default/files/publications/2023/Report%20-%20Changing%20Mindsets%20and%20Governace%20Capacities%20Final.pdf