The United Nations Founding Charter and
the Formation of the United Nations
Conference on International Organization
From April 25, 1945 to June 26, 1945, representatives of 50 countries met in San Francisco, California at the United Nations Conference on International Organization to create the founding Charter of the United Nations.
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"WE THE PEOPLES OF THE UNITED NATIONS DETERMINED-- to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, and to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained, and to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,
AND FOR THESE ENDS-- to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbours, and to unite our strength to maintain international peace and security, and to ensure, by the acceptance of principles and the institution of methods, that armed force shall not be used, save in the common interest, and to employ international machinery for the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all peoples, |
HAVE RESOLVED TO COMBINE OUR EFFORTS TO ACCOMPLISH THESE AIMS-- Accordingly, our respective Governments, through representatives assembled in the city of San Francisco, who have exhibited their full powers found to be in good and due form, have agreed to the present Charter of the United Nations and do hereby establish an international organization to be known as the United Nations."
-Preamble to the Charter of the United Nations, San Francisco, California, 1945
-Preamble to the Charter of the United Nations, San Francisco, California, 1945
Formation of the United Nations
The formation of the United Nations was recognized on October 24, 1945, when the founding Charter had been ratified by China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the United States as well as twenty-four other signatories.
"...our respective Governments, through representatives assembled in the city of San Francisco, who have exhibited their full powers found to be in good and due form, have agreed to the present Charter of the United Nations and do hereby establish an international organization to be known as the United Nations."
-Excerpt from the Charter of the United Nations, 1945 |
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Role of the Charter of the United Nations
The purposes and principles contained in its founding Charter guide the mission and work of the United Nations.
"The Charter of the United Nations which you have just signed is a solid structure upon which we can build a better world. History will honor you for it. Between the victory in Europe and the final victory, in this most destructive of all wars, you have won a victory against war itself. . . With this Charter the world can begin to look forward to the time when all worthy human beings may be permitted to live decently as free people. If we fail to use it, we shall betray all those who have died so that we might meet here in freedom and safety to create it. If we seek to use it selfishly—for the advantage of any one nation or any small group of nations—we shall be equally guilty of that betrayal."
-United States President Harry Truman, delegate to the United Nations Conference on International Organization |
"The term “human rights” was mentioned seven times in the UN's founding Charter, making the promotion and protection of human rights a key purpose and guiding principle of the Organization."
-United Nations website
-United Nations website