The flag of the United Nations is the closest thing we have to a flag representing Earth. It's a super iconic symbol, designed by the Allies following the Second World War as a symbol of worldwide peace and unity. The Flag of the United Nations, the uniforms of the UN Peacekeepers, and the flags and symbols of all related United Nations agencies feature a unique color called "UN Blue" (Hex #4b92db), which was designed in 1946 to be an international symbol of peace (as an opposite to red, a near-universal symbol of nationalism and war). The United Nations flag is famous, but it's not the only flag to adopt UN blue and white! Here are a few flags of the world that use or have used the international colors of peace.
Flag of the United Nations
The flag of the United Nations was designed in 1946 upon the establishment of the United Nations. The flag features the emblem of the United Nations: a map of the world centered on the North Pole at 0° longitude (centered neutrally upon the Prime Meridian) and showing every country in the world. The emblem is surrounded by olive branches which symbolize peace.
It's actually the second flag of the United Nations. Near the end of the Second World War, the Allies created a symbol called the "Four Freedoms Flag", a white banner with four thick red bars representing the friendship and unity of the Allies. This flag was flown in the United States and throughout the world on VE Day. It was briefly, though unofficially, adapted as a United Nations Flag before 1946, with the UN emblem added to the center of the flag, but the flag of the United Nations that we all know and love today was officially created shortly after, and still flies to this day.
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| Flag of the United Nations |
The "Four Freedoms Flag" (left) and the "United Nations Honour Flag" (right).
The Graham Bartram Flag of Antarctica
The most recognizable flag used to represent Antarctica is the Graham Bertram Flag which, while unofficial, is usually utilized to represent the whole continent. It's the only Antarctic flag that has been recognized as a standardized emoji (🇦🇶). The flag was modeled off of the flag of the United Nations, using the same color scheme of UN blue and white, and features an Antarctica undivided by national or territorial borders. It stands for the unity of the continent as an international territory.
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| Graham Bertram Flag |
Flag of Somalia
The Flag of Somalia is the only national flag which uses UN blue. It features white five-pointed star (the "Star of Unity") against a field of blue to honor the UN's help in supporting Somalia's independence in 1954. Somalia is a country still struggling with civil war and great poverty, and I see the use of the color blue as a symbol representing a possible hopeful future for the country.
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| Flag of Somalia |
UNTAC Flag (Cambodia)
The United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia, or UNTAC, was the first, and thus far only time the United Nations has directly taken over the administration of an independent state. For a period between 1992 and 1993, the United Nations Peacekeepers and administrators established a de facto government in the period following the fall of the Khmer Rouge Regime and the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia. 46 countries participated in peacekeeping operations, which helped to organize free and fair elections, draft a new democratic constitution, and temporarily took over foreign affairs, national defense, and law and order. UNTAC took charge of Cambodia following decades of civil and proxy wars in order to promote human rights and lead to reconciliation in the war-torn country before the reestablishment of the monarchy in 1993.
The flag is modeled after the flag of the United Nations, featuring a map of Cambodia in white and the word "កម្áž–ុជា" meaning "Khmer" or "Cambodia" in the Khmer script.
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| UNTAC Flag (1992-1993) |
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