United Nations

The UN in Turmezistan. (TV: The Pyramid at the End of the World)

The United Nations, or Unified Nations, (UN for short) was a coalition of Earth nations. It was led by a Secretary General.

History

20th century

The United Nations was founded in 1945. (PROSE: Torchwood: The Encyclopedia ^[+]Loading...["Torchwood: The Encyclopedia (reference book)"])

The United Nations agreed a first contact protocol in 1968 (TV: The Sound of Drums) but it was already outdated. (PROSE: The Dying Days)

In the late 20th century, the UN put together the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce (later the UNified Intelligence Taskforce) to defend the Earth against threats such as the Great Intelligence. UNIT Central Control was placed in Geneva. (TV: The Invasion etc.) This was done after a direct appeal by Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart. (PROSE: Who Killed Kennedy) UNIT's international status would allow it to go over the head of British military figures, (TV: The Invasion) but this also meant the authorities didn't trust it. (TV: The Ambassadors of Death)

General George Carrington advised the UN Security Council to coordinate a global nuclear assault on the Ambassadors' spaceship. The Council could not agree on how to respond, leaving Carrington frustrated. (TV: The Ambassadors of Death)

Secretary General Kurt Waldheim made it a priority to restrict access to alien technology and keep contacts a secret, out of fear that the world order would be destabilised. (PROSE: The Dying Days)

In the 1980s, the UN oversaw a space agency, International Space Command. (TV: The Tenth Planet)

On 1 January 1990, humanity subconsciously realised that there had been temporal discrepancies in the last two decades. Amara Essy, president of the United Nations Security Council, attended a secret briefing with Brigadiers Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart and Charles Crichton in Geneva to establish a dating protocol for the 1970s and 1980s. (PROSE: The Enfolded Time)

In 1994, the UN's Security Yard gained its own military branch, UNISYC; it would squabble with other UN factions for alien weaponry in 1996. (PROSE: Interference - Book One)

The UN gave observer status to certain individuals, including Josie Williams, during Operation Endeavour in Bosnia. (HOMEVID: When to Die)

21st century

During the 2000s, due to an unspecified incident, the UN possessed the launch codes for the United Kingdom's nuclear deterrent. (TV: World War Three ^[+]Loading...["World War Three (TV story)"])

In 2005, it was in charge of Syria after a US-UK military invasion. (AUDIO: The Longest Night ^[+]Loading...["The Longest Night (audio story)"])

As late as 6 March 2006, the Ninth Doctor identified UNIT as the "United Nations Intelligence Taskforce". (TV: Aliens of London ^[+]Loading...["Aliens of London (TV story)"]) A couple of days later, when publishing details about the UNIT website on his own website, Who is Doctor Who?, Mickey referred to UNIT as the "UN Alien Army". (PROSE: Hoax This! ^[+]Loading...["Hoax This! (short story)"]) As late as December that year, British Prime Minister Harriet Jones noted that the UN remained unaware of the Torchwood Institute, which she herself was not supposed to know of. (TV: The Christmas Invasion ^[+]Loading...["The Christmas Invasion (TV story)"])

In 2007, UN troops were stationed in Turkey. (PROSE: Cat's Cradle: Warhead)

Following the Battle of Canary Wharf, Jack Harkness claimed to Gwen Cooper that the Torchwood Institute was "beyond" the United Nations, clarifying that he could not allow any one power to acquire the alien technology Torchwood collected. (TV: Everything Changes)

In the 2000s, the UN went into emergency session as the Moon was drawn towards Earth. (TV: The Lost Boy)

By the Sontaran invasion of Earth, UNIT themselves identified as the Unified Intelligence Taskforce. However, their association remained, and due to a sharp increase in alien incidents, the UN increased funding for UNIT under a policy of "homeworld security". (TV: The Sontaran Stratagem) During the ATMOS crisis, the United Nations issued a worldwide directive advising urban populations to stay indoors and those in rural areas to stay away from all major cities. (TV: The Poison Sky)

In the immediate aftermath of the Earth's relocation to the Medusa Cascade, the United Nations issued an edict asking the citizens of the world not to panic. Following the subsequent Dalek invasion which saw UNIT North America massacred and the air force retreating over North Africa, the Commander General of the United Nations broadcast a message announcing Earth's surrender to the Dalek Fleet. (TV: The Stolen Earth)

During the Miracle Day phenomenon in 2011, which rendered humanity immortal yet still susceptible to injury or disease, China made a threat to the United Nations that they would undervalue the currency down to fifty percent. (TV: Rendition) PhiCorp established overflow camps for patients, issuing a strategy to the United Nations. (TV: Escape to LA) Soon after, the UN officially sanctioned the category system, which they called a radical new start for the health of humanity. Jack Harkness observed that this gave them the power to define both life and death. (TV: The Categories of Life) Eventually, China withdrew from the United Nations and closed their borders. (TV: The Gathering)

As late as 2012, Adam Mitchell noted that the UN attempted to cover up spacecraft and alien visitors to Earth. (TV: Dalek)

During the Year of the Slow Invasion, the UN classified the Shakri cubes as "provisionally safe". (TV: The Power of Three)

In 2017, the United Nations summoned the Doctor (as President of Earth), Bill Potts, and Nardole to Turmezistan to investigate the sudden appearance of a pyramid in a disputed area between American, Chinese and Russian troops. (TV: The Pyramid at the End of the World)

Between 2086 to 2088, Earth fought the Thousand Day War under the flag of the United Nations. The UN Third Tactical Response Brigade under Yembe Lethbridge-Stewart were one of the UN forces. (PROSE: Transit)

41st century

In the year 4000, Marc Cory, Gordon Lowery, and Jeff Garvey scouted Kembel, the most dangerous planet in the universe, seeking to learn of the Daleks' presence and plans. Their ship was from the United Nations Deep Space Force Group 1, though Cory would ultimately reveal himself to be an agent of the Space Security Service rather than a fellow employee. (TV: Mission to the Unknown)

Other realities

In the Unbound Universe, the Master, trapped on Earth without his TARDIS, found work with the United Nations. After the failure of the World Peace Conference however, he defected to China. (AUDIO: Sympathy for the Devil) By one account, the Doctor, aided by N-Space's Sixth Doctor and Evelyn Smythe, later saved the United Nations from "an annoying man" who tried to unleash Krynoid pods. (AUDIO: The 100 Days of the Doctor)

A version of the United Nations existed on Earth in Dawn 1027. (PROSE: A Bright White Crack)

Behind the scenes

UNIT acronym

Main article: UN's legal actions against the UNIT acronym

After the launch of the in-universe styled U.N.I.T. in 2005, which used the original UNIT acronym (United Nations Intelligence Taskforce), the real world United Nations took legal action against the BBC and the acronym was hastily changed to the Unified Intelligence Taskforce.