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United Nations Charter

Official Name

The Charter of the United Nations

Signatories

There are 192 countries that are members of the United Nations. They are listed below:

Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Dates

The Charter was first signed in San Francisco, United States on 26 June 1945. The latest country to join the United Nations Charter is Montenegro on 28 June 2006.

Languages

The Charter was written in English, French, Russian, Spanish and Chinese.

Key Points

Purposes and Principles

The purpose of the United Nations is to maintain peace throughout the international community. Measures will be taken by all member parties to preserve the peace and to eliminate any hostile threats to international security. The United Nations also is key in preserving and upholding international law and human rights.

Each member nation recognises the sovereignty of each other individual state party to the treaty. Members of the United Nations shall not provide any assistance to any state against the Charter. The United Nations shall not interfere with domestic and internal affairs of any state.

The Charter established an International Court of Justice, which each of the member states must answer to.

Membership

Membership to the United Nations Charter is open to any state as long as they are willing to take the responsibility of upholding the Charter principles. New membership will be allowed by decision of the General Assembly and the Security Council. Any member that has constantly broken the Charter shall be expelled from the General Assembly and the United Nations.

General Assembly

The General Assembly shall be compromised of all the members of the United Nations and will have no more than 5 representatives for each state present in the Assembly. They may discuss any issues raised by any members and they may suggest any resolutions. Any of these issues that is discussed by the General Assembly that pose a threat to international security and peace shall be forwarded to the Security Council for resolution.

The budget of the United Nations must be approved by the General Assembly. Each member of the General Assembly has one vote. The General Assembly will meet annually and, if the need arises, when special issues need to be addressed.

Security Council

The Security Council will consist of fifteen (15) members of the General Assembly. There are five permanent members of the Security Council: China, United Kingdom, France, United States and USSR (now Russia). The other ten members shall be voted such by the General Assembly. These non-permanent members shall have a term of two years in the Security Council. A member that is finishing their term cannot stand for re-admission. To the Security Council every member shall have one representative.

Each member of the Security Council has one vote. An affirmative vote is nine votes.

Action Against Threats to Peace

The Security Council will decide if a threat is sufficient enough to threaten international peace and if action is to be taken against the threatening parties. If the United Nations Security Council has explored all other avenues and sees that there would be no way to preserve peace aside from conflict all member states will have air-force units immediately ready to join an international military contingent. This being said, each of the member states of the United Nations has the right of self defence against any attack.

Economic and Social Council

The Economic and Social Council will be made up of fifty-four (54) members as elected by the General Assembly. They shall be elected for three years. A member may be re-elected after their term has finished. The members of the Council shall have one representative. They also have one vote on the Council.

The Council shall initiate studies and reports on international cultural, economical, educational, health and social matters. The findings of these studies and reports shall be presented to the General Assembly if it is felt that actions must be taken.

Secretariat

The Secretariat will consist of the Secretary-General and any additional staff required. The Secretary-General is appointed by the General Assembly by the recommendation of the Security Council. The Secretary-General is the head of the United Nations. The Secretariat will not receive any instructions from a government or any organisation external to the United Nations.

Resources Used:

"Charter of The United Nations." Welcome to the UN. It's your world. 02 Jan. 2009 <http://www.un.org/aboutun/charter/>.

"United Nations Member States." Welcome to the UN. It's your world. 02 Jan. 2009 <http://www.un.org/members/list.shtml>.