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INTRODUCTORY NOTE

The Charter of the United Nations was signed on 26 June
1945, in San Francisco, at the conclusion of the United Nations
Conference on International Organization, and came into force
on 24 October 1945. The Statute of the International Court of
Justice is an integral part of the Charter.

Amendments to Articles 23, 27 and 61 of the Charter were
adopted by the General Assembly on 17 December 1963 and
came into force on 31 August 1965. A further amendment to
Article 61 was adopted by the General Assembly on 20 Decem-
ber 1971, and came into force on 24 September 1973. An
amendment to Article 109, adopted by the General Assembly.
on 20 December 1965, came into force on 12 June 1968.

The amendment to Article 23 enlarges the membership
of the Security Council from eleven to fifteen. The amended
Article 27 provides that decisions of the Security Council on
procedural matters shall be made by an affirmative vote of
nine members (formerly seven) and on all other matters by an
affirmative vote of nine members (formerly seven), including
the concurring votes of the five permanent members of the
Security Council.

The amendment to Article 61, which entered into force
on 31 August 1965, enlarged the membership of the Economic
and Social Council from eighteen to twenty-seven. The subse-
quent amendment to that Article, which entered into force on
24 September 1973, further increased the membership of the
Council from twenty-seven to fifty-four.

The amendment to Article 109, which relates to the first
paragraph of that Article, provides that a General Conference
of Member States for the purpose of reviewing the Charter
may be held at a date and place to be fixed by a two-thirds
vote of the members of the General Assembly and by a vote

CHARTER OF THE UNITED NATIONS

of any nine members (formerly seven) of the Security Council. Paragraph 3 of Article 109, which deals with the consideration of a possible review conference during the tenth regular session of the General Assembly, has been retained in its original form in its reference to a "vote, of any seven members of the Security Council”, the paragraph having been acted upon in 1955 by the General Assembly, at its tenth regular session, and by the Security Council.

W determined

E 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 inter-
national 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 se-
curity, and
to ensure, by the acceptance of principles and the institution of
methods, that armed force shall not be used, save in the com-
mon 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.

The

CHAPTER I
PURPOSES AND PRINCIPLES

ARTICLE 1
he Purposes of the United Nations are:

1. To maintain international peace and security, and to
that end: to take effective collective measures for the preven-
tion and removal of threats to the peace, and for the

suppression
of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace, and to
bring about by peaceful means, and in conformity with the
principles of justice and international law, adjustment or settle-
ment of international disputes or situations which might lead
to a breach of the peace;

2. To develop friendly relations among nations based on
respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination
of peoples, and to take other appropriate measures to strengthen
universal

peace;
3. To achieve international co-operation in solving inter-
national problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humani-
tarian character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for
human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without
distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion; and

4. To be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations
in the attainment of these common ends.

ARTICLE 4

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3. All Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international

peace

and security, and justice, are not endangered.

4. All Members shall refrain in their international relations
from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity
or political independence of any state, or in any other manner
inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.

5. All Members shall give the United Nations every assist-
ance in any action it takes in accordance with the present
Charter, and shall refrain from giving assistance to any state
against which the United Nations is taking preventive or en-
forcement action.

6. The Organization shall ensure that states which are not
Members of the United Nations act in accordance with these
Principles so far as may be necessary for the maintenance of
international peace and security.

7. Nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorize
the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially
within the domestic jurisdiction of any state or shall require
the Members to submit such matters to settlement under the
present Charter; but this principle shall not prejudice the appli-
cation of enforcement measures under Chapter VII.

and, except as provided in Article 12, may make recommenda-
tions with regard to any such questions to the state or states
concerned or to the Security Council or to both. Any such
question on which action is necessary shall be referred to the
Security Council by the General Assembly either before or after
discussion.

3. The General Assembly may call the attention of the
Security Council to situations which are likely to endanger
international peace and security.

4. The powers of the General Assembly set forth in this
Article shall not limit the general scope of Article 10.

ARTICLE 12
1. While the Security Council is exercising in respect of
any dispute or situation the functions assigned to it in the
present Charter, the General Assembly shall not make any rec-
ommendation with regard to that dispute or situation unless the
Security Council so requests.

2. The Secretary-General, with the consent of the Security
Council, shall notify the General Assembly at each session of
any matters relative to the maintenance of international peace
and security which are being dealt with by the Security Council
and shall similarly notify the General Assembly, or the Mem-
bers of the United Nations if the General Assembly is not in
session, immediately the Security Council ceases to deal with
such matters.

ARTICLE 13
1. The General Assembly shall initiate studies and make
recommendations for the purpose of:

a. promoting international co-operation in the political
field and encouraging the progressive development of in-
ternational law and its codification;

b. promoting international co-operation in the economic,
social, cultural, educational, and health fields, and assisting

The General Assembly may discuss any questions or any
matters within the scope of the present Charter or relating to
the powers and functions of any organs provided for in the
present Charter, and, except as provided in Article 12, may
make recommendations to the Members of the United Nations
or to the Security Council or to both on any such questions or
matters.

ARTICLE 11

11.
1. The General Assembly may consider the general princi-
ples of co-operation in the maintenance of international peace
and security, including the principles governing disarmament
and the regulation of armaments, and may make recommenda-
tions with regard to such principles to the Members or to the
Security Council or to both.

2. The General Assembly may discuss any questions relat-
ing to the maintenance of international peace and security
brought before it by any Member of the United Nations, or by
the Security Council, or by a state which is not a Member of
the United Nations in accordance with Article 35, paragraph 2,