The United Nations this week celebrated the 80th Anniversary of the signing of its Charter in San Francisco on June 26,1945.
The Secretary-General's Remarks
The Timeline of Events Leading to the Charter and its Coming into Force
1. The San Francisco Conference (April 25 – June 26, 1945)
The idea for a postwar international organization to replace the League of Nations had already been discussed during World War II at conferences in Moscow (1943), Tehran (1943), Dumbarton Oaks (1944), and Yalta (February 1945).
April 25, 1945, delegates from 50 countries convened in San Francisco to draft and agree on the Charter of the United Nations.
Purpose: They worked from the Dumbarton Oaks proposals, revising and negotiating the framework for a new international organization dedicated to peace, security, human rights, and development.
Key issues: Debates focused on the structure of the Security Council, the veto power of permanent members, trusteeship systems, and human rights provisions.
June 26, 1945, after two months of negotiation, the UN Charter was signed by representatives of the 50 nations. Poland, which was not present due to a transitional government being formed, signed later, bringing the number of founding members to 51.
Key issues: Debates focused on the structure of the Security Council, the veto power of permanent members, trusteeship systems, and human rights provisions.
June 26, 1945, after two months of negotiation, the UN Charter was signed by representatives of the 50 nations. Poland, which was not present due to a transitional government being formed, signed later, bringing the number of founding members to 51.
Ratification of the Charter - Condition for entry into force: The Charter would only become effective once it was ratified by the five permanent members of the proposed Security Council (the U.S., U.K., USSR, China, and France) and a majority of the other signatories.
U.S. ratification: The United States Senate ratified the Charter on July 28, 1945—an overwhelming bipartisan endorsement. Other ratifications: Over the next few months, other founding members also completed their ratification processes.
October 24, 1945 - Charter Comes into Force
On October 24, 1945, the Charter came into force when the Soviet Union ratified the Charter - the fifth of the permanent members, thus fulfilling the requirement that ratifications include all five permanent members of the Security Council.
This day is now commemorated annually as United Nations Day.
The fact that the USA ratified the Charter already within two days of its adoption should be a reminder to the present government of the critical support provided by the American Government.
ReplyDeleteFor those history buffs like me, and others interested in learning about the founding of the UN, the best book to read is: 'Act of Creation: The Founding of the United Nations' by historian Stephen C Schlesinger. This fascinating book tells the story of superpowers, secret agents, wartime allies and enemies, and their quest for a peaceful world. A truly worthwhile book for all of us who devoted so much of our life to serving "we the peoples of the United Nations".
ReplyDeleteThe founding Fathers made a crucial mistake in the wording of the Charter…Instead of We The People, it should have been; WE THE GOVERNMENTS….all the mess the UN and the World is facing is not because of People, but because of their stupid governments who do not abide or read the wording in the Heading..,,,,,perhaps we can start a petition to re-draft the heading of the Charter?
ReplyDelete@anonymous - you also made a crucial mistake. The Preambel of the charter reads: we the peoples. The american constitution reads: we the people. So you don't need to rewrite the charter, but exclude the non-democratically-elected ones
ReplyDeleteOne spelling mistake deserves another! Detlef, your comment spelled "PREAMBEL" whereas it should be "PREAMBLE". You know as well as anybody how many "democratically elected" governments are completely ignoring the UN Charter.
ReplyDelete