United Nations Charter

Harry Truman at the foundational conference in San Francisco, 1945.

The United Nations Charter is the founding international treaty of the organization, and forms the basis of its internal constitution. The document was signed on June 26, 1945 at the United Nations Conference on International Organization in the Veterans Auditorium (now the Herbst Theater) of the Veterans Memorial in San Francisco, California, United States., and was signed by 50 of the 51 member states originally represented (Poland, the other original member, which was not represented at the conference, signed it two months later). It entered into force on October 24, 1945, after being ratified by the five permanent members of the Security Council, which are the United States, the French Republic, the United Kingdom, the Republic of China (later replaced by the People's Republic of China) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (later replaced by the Russian Federation).

In addition, the Charter establishes that the obligations derived from it are placed above the obligations of the rest of the treaties (art. 103). Most of the countries in the world have already ratified the Charter. A notable exception is the Vatican City State, which has chosen to retain its permanent observer status and is therefore not a full signatory to the Charter.[1]

History

Insignia published on the cover of the letter, prototype of the current United Nations logo

The Charter is the result of a long process, the first of which can be found in different international treaties, in particular in matters of the law of war, the law of the sea, borders and international law signed at the end of the 19th century and early 20th century. It takes into account the failure of the League of Nations created in 1919. The Charter developed from various treaties and declarations, more or less formal, published between 1941 and 1944 between the allies of World War II:

• Declaration of the Palace of St. James (June 1941)
• Atlantic Charter (August 1941)
• United Nations Declaration (January 1942)
• Moscow Declaration (November 1943)
• Tehran Conference (December 1943)
• Dumbarton Oaks Conference (Washington, October 1944)
• Yalta Conference (February 1945)

The San Francisco Conference, which began on April 25, 1945, brought together 850 delegates (plus some 2,500 advisers) from 50 states. It was divided into four commissions and 12 technical committees to prepare the text that would be debated at the end of the Conference, in plenary sessions. The two main documents that served as the basis for this work were those derived from the Yalta and Durnbarton Oaks conferences.

These steps led to a text approved in plenary session on June 26 and signed by 50 United Nations States. This text was enacted as the UN Charter. Its final ratification took place on October 24, 1945 (now declared United Nations Day), which was followed by the formal creation of the United Nations, on November 24, 1945.

The Charter defines the purposes and principles of the organization (arts. 1 and 2), the various United Nations institutions (General Assembly, Security Council, etc.), the procedures for the " peaceful solution" of disputes or "in case of threat against peace, breach of peace or acts of aggression" (Chapter VII and VIII). Economic and social cooperation is not absent from the Charter either.

The General Assembly is the plenary body of the Organization, where all the votes of the Member States have equal value (article 2.1: "The Organization is based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all its Members. "), although its resolutions are not binding.

According to article 41 of the Charter, the Security Council "may decide which measures that do not imply the use of armed force must be used to make its decisions effective."

The General Assembly is made up of all Members of the United Nations. The General Assembly may consider general principles of cooperation in the maintenance of international peace and security, including principles governing disarmament and the regulation of armaments, and may also make recommendations in respect of such principles to Members or to the Security Council or towards the appointed council and to those participating nations that are considered necessary; it may also discuss any question relating to the maintenance of international peace and security submitted to it by any Member of the United Nations or the Security Council or by a State not a Member of the United Nations submitted in accordance with Article 35, paragraph 2, and except as provided in Article 12, may make recommendations on such matters to the State or States concerned or to the Security Council and to those participating countries that it deems necessary. Any question of this nature with respect to which action is required will be referred to the Security Council from the General Assembly before or after discussing it.

According to article 10, the General Assembly may discuss any matters or questions within the limits of the Charter or that refer to the powers and functions of any of the bodies created by it, and may make recommendations on such matters or questions to the Members of the United Nations or the Security Council and to those participating nations that are considered necessary.

Document organization

The Charter consists of a preamble and a total of 111 articles divided into chapters.

The Preamble states:

We the peoples of the United Nations resolved to preserve the generations to come from the scourge of war that has twice in our life inflicted on Humanity unspeakable sufferings, to reaffirm faith in the fundamental rights of man, in the dignity and value of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of the large and small nations, to create conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations emanating from international service can be maintained.
Therefore, our respective Governments, through representatives gathered in the city of San Francisco who have exhibited their full powers, found in good and proper form, have agreed in this Charter of the United Nations, and by this act establish an international organization to be called the United Nations.

• Chapter I raises the principles and purposes of the United Nations, including the important provisions of the maintenance of international peace and security;
• Chapter II defines the criterion for membership in the United Nations;
• Chapter III describes the organs of the UN;

• Chapter IVdefines the General Assembly;
• Chapters V-VI-VIIdefines the Security Council, peaceful settlement of disputes, actions in cases of threat of peace and regional defence:
• Chapter IX on international economic and social cooperation;
• Chapter X on the Economic and Social Council
• Chapter XI-XII-XIIIdeclaration concerning Non-Self-Governing Territories, international regime of trusteeship and establishment of the Trusteeship Council;
• Chapter XIV establish the functions and integration of the International Court of Justice
• Chapter XV establish the functions of the UN General Secretariat;
• Chapters XVI and XVII various provisions and transitional security agreements.
• Chapter XVIII defines the mechanism of reform of the Charter
• Chapter XIX defines the form of signature and rectification of the Charter.

Important chapters are those dealing with the structure and competencies of UN agencies

• Chapter VI describes the competences of the Security Council to investigate and mediate disputes;
• Chapter VII describes the competence of the Security Council to authorize economic, diplomatic and military sanctions as well as military forces to resolve disputes. Based on this chapter, the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia were established;
• Chapters IX and X describe the competence of the UN for economic and social cooperation and the Economic and Social Council that monitors these powers. These chapters are the basis of the entire system of specialized economic, social and cultural agencies and techniques of the United Nations;
• Chapters XII and XIII describe the international regime of trusteeship and establish the Trusteeship Council; and
• Chapters XIV and XV establishing the functions and integration of the International Court of Justice and the UN General Secretariat respectively.