Charter of the United Nations
(June 26, 1945)
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 RESOLED 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.
CHAPTER I
PURPOSES AND PRINCIPLES
Article 1
The Purposes of the United Nations are:
1. To maintain international peace and security, and to that end:
to take effective collective measures for the prevention 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 settlement 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 selfdetermination
of peoples, and to take other appropriate measures to strengthen
universal peace;
3. To achieve international cooperation in solving international
problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian 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 2
The Organization and its Members, in pursuit of the Purposes
stated in Article 1, shall act in accordance with the following
Principles.
1. The Organization is based on the principle of the sovereign
equality of all its Members.
2. All Members, in order to ensure to a of them the rights and
benefits resulting from membership, shall fulfil in good faith
the obligations assumed by them in accordance with the present
Charter.
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 assistance
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 enforcement 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 application of enforcement
measures under Chapter VII.
CHAPTER II
MEMBERSHIP
Article 3
The original Members of the United Nations shall be the states
which, having participated in the United Nations Conference on
International Organization at San Francisco, or having previously
signed the Declaration by United Nations of 1 January 1942, sign
the present Charter and ratify it in accordance with Article 110.
Article 4
1. Membership in the United Nations is open to a other peaceloving
states which accept the obligations contained in the present Charter
and, in the judgment of the Organization, are able and willing
to carry out these obligations.
2. The admission of any such state to membership in the Nations
will be effected by a decision of the General Assembly upon the
recommendation of the Security Council.
Article 5
A Member of the United Nations against which preventive or enforcement
action has been taken by the Security Council may be suspended
from the exercise of the rights and privileges of membership by
the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council.
The exercise of these rights and privileges may be restored by
the Security Council.
Article 6
A Member of the United Nations which has persistently violated
the Principles contained in the present Charter may be' expelled
from the Organization by the General Assembly upon the recommendation
of the Security Council.
CHAPTER III
ORGANS
Article 7
1. There are established as the principal organs of the United
Nations: a General Assembly, a Security Council, an Economic and
Social Council, a Trusteeship Council, an International Court
of Justice, and a Secretariat.
2. Such subsidiary organs as may be found necessary may be established
in accordance with the present Charter.
Article 8
The United Nations shall place no restrictions on the eligibility
of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions
of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs.
CHAPTER IV
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Composition
Article 9
1. The General Assembly shall consist of all the Members of the
United Nations.
2. Each Member shall have not more than five representatives in
the General Assembly.
Functions and Powers
Article 10
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
1. The General Assembly may consider the general principles of
cooperation in the maintenance of international peace and
security, including the principles governing disarmament and the
regulation of armaments, and may make recommendations with regard
to such principles to the Members or to the Security Council or
to both.
2. The General Assembly may discuss any questions relating to
the maintenance of inter national 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, and, except as provided
in Article 12, may make recommendations 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 recommendation
with regard to that dispute or situation unless the Security Council
so requests.
2. The SecretaryGeneral, 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 similarly notify the General Assembly, or the Members 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 cooperation in the political
field and encouraging the progressive development of international
law and its codification;
b. promoting international cooperation in the economic,
social, cultural, educational, and health fields, an assisting
in the realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms for
all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.
2. The further responsibilities, functions and powers of the General
with respect to matters mentioned in paragraph ) above are set
forth in Chapters IX and X.
Article 14
Subject to the provisions of Article 12, the General Assembly
may recommend measures for the peaceful adjustment of any situation,
regardless of origin, which it deems likely to impair the general
welfare or friendly relations among nations, including situations
resulting from a violation of the provisions of the present Charter
setting forth the Purposes and Principles of the United Nations.
Article 15
1. The General Assembly shall receive and consider annual and
special reports from the Security Council; these reports shall
include an account of the measures that the Security Council has
decided upon or taken to maintain international peace and security.
2. The General Assembly shall receive and consider reports from
the other organs of the United Nations.
Article 16
The General Assembly shall perform such functions with respect
to the international trusteeship system as are assigned to it
under Chapters XII and XIII, including the approval of the trusteeship
agreements for areas not designated as strategic.
Article 17
1. The Genera Assembly shall consider and approve the budget of
the Organization.
2. The expenses of the Organization shall be borne by the Members
as apportioned by the General Assembly.
3. The Assembly shall consider and approve any financial and budgetary
arrangements with specialize agencies referred to in Article 57
and shall examine the administrative budgets of such specialized
agencies with a view to making recommendations to the agencies
concerned.
Voting
Article 18
1. Each member of the General Assembly shall have one vote.
2. Decisions of the General Assembly on important questions shall
be made by a two thirds majority of the members present
and voting. These questions shall include: recommendations with
respect to the maintenance of international peace and security,
the election of the nonpermanent members of the Security
Council, the election of the members of the Economic and Social
Council, the election of members of the Trusteeship Council in
accordance with paragraph 1 of Article 86, the admission of new
Members to the United Nations, the suspension of the rights and
privileges of membership, the expulsion of Members, questions
relating to the operation of the trusteeship system, and budgetary
questions.
3. Decisions on other questions, including the determination of
additional categories of questions to be decided by a twothirds
majority, shall be made by a majority of the members present and
voting.
Article 19
A Member of the United Nations which is in arrears in the payment
of its financial contributions to the Organization shall have
no vote in the General Assembly if the amount of its arrears equals
or exceeds the amount of the contributions due from it for the
preceding two full years. The General Assembly may, nevertheless,
permit such a Member to vote if it is satisfied that the failure
to pay is due to conditions beyond the of the Member.
Procedure
Article 20
The General Assembly shall meet in regular annual sessions and
in such special sessions as occasion may require. Special sessions
shall be convoked by the SecretaryGeneral at the request
of the Security Council or of a majority of the Members of the
United Nations.
Article 21
The General Assembly shall adopt its own rules of procedure. It
shall elect its President for each session.
Article 22
The General Assembly may establish such subsidiary organs as it
deems necessary for the performance of its functions.
CHAPTER V
THE SECURITY COUNCIL
Composition
Article 23
1. The Security Council shall consist of fifteen Members of the
United Nations. The Republic of China, France, the Union of Soviet
Socialist , the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,
and the United States of America shall be permanent members of
the Security Council. The General Assembly shall elect ten other
Members of the United Nations to be nonpermanent members
of the Security Council, due regard being specially paid, in the
first in stance to the contribution of Members of the United
Nations to the maintenance of inter national peace and security
and to the other purposes of the Organization, and also to equitable
geographical distribution.
2. The nonpermanent members of the Security Council shall
be elected for a term of two years. In the first election of the
non permanent members after the increase of the membership
of the Security Council from eleven to fifteen, two of the four
additional members shall be chosen for a term of one year. A retiring
member shall not be eligible for immediate reelection.
3. Each member of the Security Council shall have one representative.
Functions and Powers
Article 24
1. In order to ensure prompt and effective action by the United
Nations, its Members confer on the Security Council primary responsibility
for the maintenance of international peace and security, and agree
that in carrying out its duties under this responsibility the
Security Council acts on their behalf.
2. In discharging these duties the Security Council shall act
in accordance with the Purposes and Principles of the United Nations.
The specific powers granted to the Security Council for the discharge
of these duties are laid down in Chapters VI, VII, VIII, and XII.
3. The Security Council shall submit annual and, when necessary,
special reports to the General Assembly for its consideration.
Article 25
The Members of the United Nations agree to accept and carry out
the decisions of the Security Council in accordance with the present
Charter.
Article 26
In order to promote the establishment and maintenance of international
peace and security with the least diversion for armaments of the
world's human and economic resources, the Security Council shall
be responsible for formulating, with the assistance of the Military
Staff Committee referred to in Article 47, plans to be submitted
to the Members of the UnitedNations for the establishment
of a system for the regulation of armaments.
Voting
Article 27
1. Each member of the Security Council shall have one vote.
2. Decisions of the Security Council on procedural matters shall
be made by an affirmative vote of nine members.
3. Decisions of the Security Council on all other matters shall
be made by an affirmative vote of nine members including the concurring
votes of the permanent members; provided that, in decisions under
Chapter VI, and under paragraph 3 of Article 52, a party to a
dispute shall abstain from voting.
Procedure
Article 28
1. The Security Council shall be so organized as to be able to
function continuously. Each member of the Security Council shall
for this purpose be represented at times at the seat of the Organization.
2. The Security Council shall hold meetings at which each of its
members may, if it so desires, be represented by a member of the
government or by some other specially designated representative.
3. The Security Council may hold meetings at such places other
than the seat of the Organization as in its judgment will best
facilitate its work.
Article 29
The Security Council may establish such subsidiary organs as it
deems necessary for the performance of its functions.
Article 30
The Security Council shall adopt its own rules of procedure, including
the method of selecting its President.
Article 31
Any Member of the United Nations which is not a member of the
Security Council may participate, without vote, in the discussion
of any question brought before the Security Council whenever the
latter considers that the interests of that Member are specially
affected.
Article 32
Any Member of the United Nations which is not a member of the
Security Council or any state which is not a Member of the United
Nations, if it is a party to a dispute under consideration by
the Security Council, shall be invited to participate, without
vote, in the discussion relating to the dispute. The Security
Council shall any down such conditions as it deems just for the
participation of a state which is not a Member of the United Nations.
CHAPTER VI
PACIFIC SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES
Article 33
1. The parties to any dispute, the continuance of which is likely
to endanger the maintenance of international peace and security,
shall, first of a, seek a solution by negotiation, enquiry, mediation,
conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement, resort to regional
agencies or arrangements, or other peaceful means of their own
choice.
2. The Security Council shall, when it deems necessary, call upon
the parties to settle their dispute by such means.
Article 34
The Security Council may investigate any dispute, or any situation
which might lead to international friction or give rise to a dispute,
in order to determine whether the continuance of the dispute or
situation is likely to endanger the maintenance of international
peace and security.
Article 35
l. Any Member of the United Nations may bring any dispute, or
any situation of the nature referred to in Article 34, to the
attention of the Security Council or of the General Assembly.
2. A state which is not a Member of the United Nations may bring
to the attention of the Security Council or of the General Assembly
any dispute to which it is a party if it accepts in advance, for
the purposes of the dispute, the obligations of pacific settlement
provided in the present Charter.
3. The proceedings of the General Assembly in respect of matters
brought to its attention under this Article will be subject to
the provisions of Articles 11 and 12.
Article 36
1. The Security Council may, at any stage of a dispute of the
nature referred to in Article 33 or of a situation of like nature,
recommend appropriate procedures or methods of adjustment.
2. The Security Council should take into consideration any procedures
for the settlement of the dispute which have already been adopted
by the parties.
3. In making recommendations under this Article the Security Council
should also take into consideration that legal disputes should
as a general rule be referred by the parties to the International
Court of Justice in accordance with the provisions of the Statute
of the Court.
Article 37
1. Should the parties to a dispute of the nature referred to in
Article 33 fail to settle it by the means indicated in that Article,
they shall refer it to the Security Council.
2. If the Security Council deems that the continuance of the dispute
is in fact likely to endanger the maintenance of international
peace and security, it shall decide whether to take action under
Article 36 or to recommend such terms of settlement as it may
consider appropriate.
Article 38
Without prejudice to the provisions of Articles 33 to 37, the
Security Council may, if all the parties to any dispute so request,
make recommendations to the parties with a view to a pacific settlement
of the dispute.
CHAPTER VII
ACTION WITH RESPECT TO THREATS TO THE PEACE, BREACHES OF THE
PEACE, AND ACTS OF AGGRESSION
Article 39
The Security Council shall determine the existence of any threat
to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression and shall
make recommendations, or decide what measures shall be taken in
accordance with Articles 4 and 42, to maintain or restore international
peace and security.
Article 40
In order to prevent an aggravation of the situation, the Security
Council may, before making the recommendations or deciding upon
the measures provided for in Article 39, call upon the parties
concerned to comply with such provisional measures as it deems
necessary or desirable. Such provisional measures shall be without
prejudice to the rights, claims, or position of the parties concerned.
The Security Council shall duly take account of failure to comply
with such provisional measures.
Article 41
The Security Council may decide what measures not involving the
use of armed force are to be employed to give effect to its decisions,
and it may call upon the Members of the United Nations to apply
such measures. These may include complete or partial interruption
of economic relations and of rail, sea, air, postal, telegraphic,
radio, and other means of communication, and the severance of
diplomatic relations.
Article 42
Should the Security Council consider that measures provided for
in Article 41 would be inadequate or have proved to be inadequate,
it may take such action by air, sea, or land forces as may be
necessary to maintain or restore international peace and security.
Such action may include demonstrations, blockade, and other operations
by air, sea, or land forces of Members of the United Nations.
Article 43
1. All Members of the United Nations, in order to contribute to
the maintenance of international peace and security, undertake
to make available to the Security Council, on its and in accordance
with a special agreement or agreements, armed forces, assistance,
and facilities, including rights of passage, necessary for the
purpose of maintaining international peace and security.
2. Such agreement or agreements shall govern the numbers and types
of forces, their degree of readiness and general location, and
the nature of the facilities and assistance to be provided.
3. The agreement or agreements shall be negotiated as soon as
possible on the initiative of the Security Council. They shall
be concluded between the Security Council and Members or between
the Security Council and groups of Members and shall be subject
to ratification by the signatory states in accordance with their
respective constitutional processes.
Article 44
When Security Council has decided to use force it shall, before
calling upon a Member not represented on it to provide armed forces
in fulfilment of the obligations assumed under Article 43, invite
that Member, if the Member so desires, to participate in the decisions
of the Security Council concerning the employment of contingents
of that Member's armed forces.
Article 45
In order to enable the Nations to take urgent military measures,
Members shall hold immediately available national airforce
contingents for combined international enforcement action. The
strength and degree of readiness of these contingents and plans
for their combined action shall be determined, within the limits
laid down in the special agreement or agreements referred to in
Article 43, by the Security Council with the assistance of the
Military Committee.
Article 46
Plans for the application of armed force shall be made by the
Security Council with the assistance of the Military Staff Committee.
Article 47
1. There shall be established a Military Staff Committee to advise
and assist the Security Council on questions relating to the Security
Council's military requirements for the maintenance of international
peace and security, the employment and command of forces placed
at its disposal, the regulation of armaments, and possible disarmament.
2. The Military Staff Committee consist of the Chiefs of Staff
of the permanent members of the Security Council or their representatives.
Any Member of the United Nations not permanently represented on
the Committee shall be invited by the Committee to be associated
with it when the efficient discharge of the Committee's responsibilities
re quires the participation of that Member its work.
3. The Military Staff Committee be responsible under the Security
Council for the strategic direction of any armed forces paced
at the disposal of the Security Council. Questions relating to
the command of such forces shall be worked out subsequently.
4. The Military Staff Committee, with the authorization of the
security Council and after consultation with appropriate regional
agencies, may establish subcommit tees.
Article 48
1. The action required to carry out the decisions of the Security
Council for the maintenance of international peace and security
shall be taken by all the Members of the United Nations or by
some of them, as the Security Council may determine.
2. Such decisions shall be carried out by the Members of the United
Nations directly and through their action in the appropriate international
agencies of which they are members.
Article 49
The Members of the United Nations shall join in affording mutual
assistance in carrying out the measures decided upon by the Security
Council.
Article 50
If preventive or enforcement measures against any state are taken
by the Security Council, any other state, whether a Member of
the United Nations or not, which finds itself confronted with
special economic problems arising from the carrying out of those
measures shall have the right to consult the Security Council
with regard to a solution of those problems.
Article 51
Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right
of individual or collective selfdefence if an armed attack
occurs against a Member of the United Nations, until the Security
Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international
peace and security. Measures taken by Members in the exercise
of this right of selfdefence shall be immediately reported
to the Security Council and shall not in any way affect the authority
and responsibility of the Security Council under the present Charter
to take at any time such action as it deems necessary in order
to maintain or restore international peace and security.
REGIONAL ARRANGEMENTS
Article 52
1. Nothing in the present Charter the existence of regional arrangements
or agencies for dealing with such matters relating to the maintenance
of international peace and security as are appropriate fur regional
action, provided that such arrangements or agencies and their
activities are consistent with the Purposes and Principles of
the United Nations.
2. The Members of the United Nations entering into such arrangements
or constituting such agencies shall make every effort to achieve
pacific settlement of local disputes through such regional arrangements
or by such regional agencies before referring them to the Security
Council.
3. The Security Council shall encourage the development of pacific
settlement of local disputes through such regional arrangements
or by such regional agencies either on the initiative of the states
concerned or by reference from the Security Council.
4. This Article in no way the application of Articles 34 and 35.
Article 53
1. The Security Council shall, where appropriate, utilize such
regional arrangements or agencies for enforcement action under
its authority. But no enforcement action shall be taken under
regional arrangements or by regional agencies without the authorization
of the Security Council, with the exception of measures against
any enemy state, as defined in paragraph 2 of this Article, provided
for pursuant to Article 107 or in regional arrangements directed
against renewal of aggressive policy on the part of any such state,
until such time as the Organization may, on request of the Governments
concerned, be charged with the responsibility for preventing further
aggression by such a state.
2. The term enemy state as used in para graph 1 of this
Article applies to any state which during the Second World War
has been an enemy of any signatory of the present Charter.
Article 54
The Security Council shall at all times be kept fully informed
of activities undertaken or in contemplation under regional arrangements
or by regional agencies for the maintenance of international peace
and security.
CHAPTER IX
INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COOPERATION
Article 55
With a view to the creation of conditions of stability and wellbeing
which are necessary for peaceful and friendly relations among
nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and
selfdetermination of peoples, the United Nations shall promote:
a. higher standards of living, fu employment, and conditions of
economic and social progress and development;
b. solutions of international economic, social, health, and related
problems; and international cultural and educational co
operation; and
c. universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and
fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex,
language, or religion.
Article 56
All Members pledge themselves to take joint and separate action
in cooperation with the Organization for the achievement
of the purposes set forth in Article 55.
Article 57
1. The various specialized agencies, established by intergovernmental
agreement and having wide international responsibilities, as defined
in their basic instruments, in economic, social, cultural, educational,
health, and related fields, shall be brought into relationship
with the United Nations in accordance with the provisions of Article
63.
2. Such agencies thus brought into relationship with the United
Nations are hereinafter referred to as specialized agencies.
Article 58
The Organization shall make recommendations for the coordination
of the policies and activities of the specialized agencies.
Article 59
The Organization shall, where appropriate, initiate negotiations
among the states concerned for the creation of any new specialized
agencies required for the accomplishment of the purposes set forth
in Article 55.
Article 60
Responsibility for the discharge of the functions of the Organization
set forth in this Chapter shall be vested in the General Assembly
and, under the authority of the General Assembly, in the Economic
and Social Council, which shall have for this purpose the powers
set forth in Chapter X.
CHAPTER X
THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL
Composition
Article 61
1. The Economic and Social Council shall consist of fiftyfour
Members of the United Nations elected by the General Assembly.
2. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 3, eighteen members
of the Economic and Social Council shall be elected each year
for a term of three years. A retiring member shall be eligible
for immediate reelection.
3. At the first election after the increase in the membership
of the Economic and Social Council from twentyseven to fiftyfour
members, in addition to the members elected in place of the nine
members whose term of office expires at the end of that year,
twentyseven additional members shall be elected. Of these
twentyseven additional members, the term of office of nine
members so elected shall expire at the end of one year, and of
nine other members at the end of two years, in accordance with
arrangements made by the General Assembly.
4. Each member of the Economic and Social Council shall have one
representative.
Functions and Powers
Article 62
1. The Economic and Social Council may make or initiate studies
and reports with respect to international economic, social, cultural,
educational, health, and related matters and may make recommendations
with respect to any such matters to the General Assembly, to the
Members of the United Nations, and to the specialized agencies
concerned.
2. It may make recommendations for the purpose of promoting respect
for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms
for all.
3. It may prepare draft conventions for submission to the General
Assembly, with respect to matters falling within its competence.
4. It may call, in accordance with the rules prescribed by the
United Nations, international conferences on matters falling within
its competence.
Article 63
1. The Economic and Social Council may enter into agreements with
any of the agencies referred to in Article 57, defining the terms
on which the agency concerned shall be brought into relationship
with the United Nations. Such agreements shall be subject to approval
by the General Assembly.
2. It may coordinate the activities of the specialized agencies
through consultation with and recommendations to such agencies
and through recommendations to the General Assembly and to the
Members of the United Nations.
Article 64
1. The Economic and Social Council may take appropriate steps
to obtain regular re ports from the specialized agencies.
may make arrangements with the Members of the United Nations and
with the specialized agencies to obtain reports on the steps taken
to give effect to its own recommendations and to recommendations
on matters falling within its competence made by the General Assembly.
2. It may communicate its observations on these reports to the
General Assembly.
Article 65
The Economic and Social Council may furnish information to the
Security Council and shall assist the Security Council upon its
request.
Article 66
1. The Economic and Social Council shall perform such functions
as fall within its competence in connection with the carrying
out of the recommendations of the General Assembly.
2. It may, with the approval of the General Assembly, perform
services at the request of Members of the United Nations and at
the request of specialized agencies.
3. It shall perform such other functions as are specified elsewhere
in the present Charter or as may be assigned to it by the General
Assembly.
Voting
Article 67
1. Each member of the Economic and Social Council shall have one
vote.
2. Decisions of the Economic and Social Council shall be made
by a majority of the members present and voting.
Procedure
Article 68
The Economic and Social Council shall set up commissions in economic
and social fields and for the promotion of human rights, and such
other commissions as may for the performance of its functions.
Article 69
The Economic and Social Council shall invite any Member of the
United Nations to participate, without vote, in its deliberations
on any matter of particular concern to that Member.
Article 70
The Economic and Social Council may make arrangements for representatives
of the specialized agencies to participate, without vote, in its
deliberations and in those of the commissions established by it,
and for its representatives to participate in the deliberations
of the specialized agencies.
Article 71
The Economic and Social Council may make suitable arrangements
for consultation with nongovernmental organizations which
are concerned with matters within its competence. Such arrangements
may be made with international organizations and, where appropriate,
with national organizations after consultation with the Member
of the United Nations concerned.
Article 72
1. The Economic and Social Council shall adopt its own rules of
procedure, including the method of selecting its President.
2. The Economic and Social Council shall meet as required in accordance
with its rules, which shall include provision for the convening
of meetings on the request of a majority of its members.
CHAPTER XI
DECLARATION REGARDING NONSELFGOVERNING TERRITORIES
Article 73
Members of the United Nations which have or assume responsibilities
for the administration of territories whose peoples have not yet
attained a full measure of selfgovernment recognize the
principle that the interests of the inhabitants of these territories
are paramount, and accept as a sacred trust the obligation to
promote to the utmost, within the system of international peace
and security established by the present Charter, the well
being of the inhabitants of these territories, and, to this end:
a. to ensure, with due respect for the culture of the peoples
concerned, their political, economic, social, and educational
advancement, their just treatment, and their protection against
abuses;
b. to develop selfgovernment, to take due account of the
political aspirations of the peoples, and to assist them in the
progressive development of their free political institutions,
according to the particular circumstances of each territory and
its peoples and their varying stages of advancement;
c. to further international peace and security;
d. to promote constructive measures of development, to encourage
research, and to cooperate with one another and, when and
where appropriate, with specialized international bodies with
a view to the practical achievement of the social, economic, and
scientific purposes set forth in this Article; and
e. to transmit regularly to the SecretaryGeneral for information
purposes, subject to such limitation as security and constitutional
considerations may require, statistical and other information
of a technical nature relating to economic, social, and educational
conditions in the territories for which they are respectively
responsible other than those territories to which Chapters XII
and XIII apply.
Article 74
Members of the United Nations also agree that their policy in
respect of the territories to which this Chapter applies, no less
than in respect of their metropolitan areas, must be based on
the general principle of goodneighbourliness, due account
being taken of the interests and wellbeing of the rest of
the world, in social, economic, and commercial matters.
CHAPTER XII
INTERNATIONAL TRUSTEESHIP SYSTEM
Article 75
The United Nations shall establish under its authority an international
trusteeship system for the administration and supervision of such
territories as may be placed thereunder by subsequent individual
agreements. These territories are hereinafter referred to as trust
territories.
Article 76
The basic objectives of the trusteeship system, in accordance
with the Purposes of the United Nations laid down in Article 1
of the present Charter, shall be:
a. to further international peace and security;
b. to promote the political, economic, social, and educational
advancement of the inhabitants of the trust territories, and their
progressive development towards selfgovernment or independence
as may be appropriate to the particular circumstances of each
territory and its peoples and the freely expressed wishes of the
peoples concerned, and as may be provided by the terms of each
trusteeship agreement;
c. to encourage respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms
for all with out : as to race, sex, language, or religion,
and to encourage recognition of the interdependence of the peoples
of the world; and
d. to ensure equal treatment in social, economic, and commercial
matters for all Members of the United Nations and their , and
also equal treatment for the latter in the administration of justice,
without prejudice to the attainment of the foregoing objectives
and subject to the provisions of Article 80.
Article 77
1. The trusteeship system shall apply to such territories in the
following categories as may be placed thereunder by means of trusteeship
agreements:
a. territories now held under mandate;
b. territories which may be detached from enemy states as a result
of the Second World War; and
c. territories voluntarily placed under the system by states responsible
for their administration.
2. It will be a matter for subsequent agreement as to which territories
in the foregoing categories will be brought under the trustee
ship system and upon what terms.
Article 78
The trusteeship system shall not apply to territories which have
become Members of the United Nations, relationship among which
shall be based on respect for the principle of sovereign equality.
Article 79
The terms of trusteeship for each territory to be placed under
the trusteeship system, including any alteration or amendment,
shall be agreed upon by the states directly concerned, including
the mandatory power in the case of territories held under mandate
by a Member of the United Nations, and shall be approved as provided
for in Articles 83 and 85.
Article 80
1. Except as may be agreed upon in individual trusteeship agreements,
made under Articles 77, 79, and 81, placing each territory under
the trusteeship system, and until such agreements have been concluded,
nothing in this Chapter shall be construed in or of itself to
alter in any manner the rights whatsoever of any states or any
peoples or the terms of existing international instruments to
which Members of the United Nations may respectively be parties.
2. Paragraph 1 of this Article shall not be interpreted as giving
grounds for delay or postponement of the negotiation and conclusion
of agreements for placing mandated and other territories under
the trusteeship system as provided for in Article 77.
Article 81
The trusteeship agreement shall in each case include the terms
under which the trust territory will be administered and designate
the authority which will exercise the administration of the trust
territory. Such authority, hereinafter called the administering
authority, may be one or more states or the Organization itself.
Article 82
There may be designated, in any trusteeship agreement, a strategic
area or areas which may include part or all of the trust territory
to which the agreement applies, without prejudice to any special
agreement or agreements made under Article 43.
Article 83
1. All functions of the United Nations relating to strategic areas,
including the approval of the terms of the trusteeship agreements
and of their alteration or amendment, shall be exercised by the
Security Council.
2. he basic objectives set forth in Article 76 shall be applicable
to the people of each strategic area.
3. The Security Council shall, subject to the provisions of the
trusteeship agreements and without prejudice to security considerations,
avail itself of the assistance of the Trusteeship Council to perform
those functions of the United Nations under the trusteeship system
relating to political, economic, social, and educational matters
in the strategic areas.
Article 84
It shall be the duty of the administering authority to ensure
that the trust territory shall play its part in the maintenance
of international peace and security. To this end the administering
authority may make use of volunteer forces, facilities, and assistance
from the trust territory in carrying out the obligations towards
the Security Council undertaken in this regard by the administering
authority, as well as for local defence and the maintenance of
law and order within the trust territory.
Article 85
1. The functions of the United Nations with regard to trusteeship
agreements for all areas not designated as strategic, including
the approval of the terms of the trusteeship agreements and of
their alteration or amendment, shall be exercised by the General
Assembly.
2. The Trusteeship Council, operating under the authority of the
General Assembly, shall assist the General Assembly in carrying
out these functions.
CHAPTER XIII
THE TRUSTEESHIP COUNCIL
Composition
Article 86
1. The Trusteeship Council shall consist of the following Members
of the United Nations:
a. those Members administering trust territories;
b. such of those Members mentioned by name in Article 23 as are
not administering trust territories; and
c. as many other Members elected for threeyear terms by
the General Assembly as may be necessary to ensure that the total
number of members of the Trusteeship Council is equally divided
between those Members of the United Nations which ad minister
trust territories and those which do not.
2. Each member of the Trusteeship Council shall designate one
specially qualified person to represent it therein.
Functions and Powers
Article 87
The General Assembly and, under its authority, the Trusteeship
Council, in carrying out their functions, may:
a. consider reports submitted by the ad ministering authority;
b. accept petitions and examine them in consultation with the
administering authority;
c. provide for periodic visits to the respective trust territories
at times agreed upon with the administering authority; and
d. take these and other actions in conformity with the terms of
the trusteeship agreements.
Article 88
The Trusteeship Council shall formulate a questionnaire on the
political, economic, social, and educational advancement of the
inhabitants of each trust territory, and the administering authority
for each trust territory within the competence of the General
Assembly shall make an annual report to the General Assembly upon
the basis of such questionnaire.
Voting
Article 89
1. Each member of the Trusteeship Council shall have one vote.
2. Decisions of the Trusteeship Council shall be made by a majority
of the members present and voting.
Procedure
Article 90
1. The Trusteeship Council shall adopt its own rules of procedure,
including the method of selecting its President.
2. The Trusteeship Council shall meet as required in accordance
with its rules, which shall include provision for the convening
of meetings on the request of a majority of its members.
Article 91
The Trusteeship Council shall, when appropriate, avail itself
of the assistance of the Economic and Social Council and of the
specialized agencies in regard to matters with which they are
respectively concerned.
CHAPTER XIV
THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE
Article 92
The International Court of Justice shall be the principal judicial
organ of the United Nations. It shall function in accordance with
the annexed Statute, which is based upon the Statute of the Permanent
Court of International Justice and forms an integral part of the
present Charter.
Article 93
1. All Members of the United Nations are facto parties to the
Statute of the International Court of Justice.
2. A state which is not of the United Nations may become a party
to the Statute of the International Court of Justice on to be
determined in each case by the General Assembly upon the recommendation
of the Security Council.
Article 94
1. Each Member of the United Nations undertakes to comply with
the decision of the International Court of Justice in any case
to which it is a party.
2. If any party to a case fails to perform the obligations incumbent
upon it under a judgment rendered by the Court, the other party
may have recourse to the Security Council, which may, if it deems
necessary, make recommendations or decide upon measures to be
taken to give to the judgment.
Article 95
Nothing in the present Charter shall prevent Members of the United
Nations from entrusting the solution of their differences to other
tribunals by virtue of agreements already in existence or which
may be concluded in the future.
Article 96
1. The General Assembly or the Security Council may request the
International Court of Justice to give an advisory opinion on
any legal question.
2. Other organs of the United Nations and specialized agencies,
which may at any time be so authorized by the General Assembly,
may also request advisory opinions of the Court on legal questions
arising within the scope of their activities.
CHAPTER XV
THE SECRETARIAT
Article 97
The Secretariat shall comprise a Secretary General and such
staff as the Organization may require. The SecretaryGeneral
shall be appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation
of the Security Council. He shall be the chief administrative
officer of the Organization.
Article 98
The SecretaryGeneral shall act in that capacity in all meetings
of the General Assembly, of the Security Council, of the Economic
and Social Council, and of the Trusteeship Council, and shall
perform such other functions as are entrusted to him by these
organs. The SecretaryGeneral shall make an annual report
to the General Assembly on the work of the Organization.
Article 99
The SecretaryGeneral may bring to the attention of the Security
Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance
of international peace and security.
Article 100
1. In the performance of their duties the SecretaryGeneral
and the staff shall not seek or receive instructions from any
government or from any other authority externa to the Organization.
They shall refrain from any action which might on their position
as international officials responsible only to the Organization.
2. Each Member of the United Nations undertakes to respect the
exclusively inter national character of the responsibilities
of the SecretaryGeneral and the staff and not to seek to
influence them in the discharge of their responsibilities.
Article 101
1. The staff shall be appointed by the SecretaryGeneral
under regulations established by the General Assembly.
2. Appropriate staffs shall be permanently assigned to the Economic
and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council, and, as required,
to other organs of the United Nations. These staffs shall form
a part of the Secretariat.
3. The paramount consideration in the employment of the staff
and in the determination of the conditions of service shall be
the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency,
competence, and integrity. Due regard shall be paid to the importance
of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible.
CHAPTER XVI
MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
Article 102
1. Every treaty and every international agreement entered into
by any Member of the United Nations after the present Charter
comes into force shall as soon as possible be registered with
the Secretariat and published by it.
2. No party to any such treaty or international agreement which
has not been registered in accordance with the provisions of paragraph
I of this Article may invoke that treaty or agreement before any
organ of the United Nations.
Article 103
In the event of a conflict between the obligations of the Members
of the United Nations under the present Charter and their obligations
under any other international agreement, their obligations under
the present Charter shall prevail.
Article 104
The Organization shall enjoy in the territory of each of its Members
such legal capacity as may be necessary for the exercise of its
functions and the fulfilment of its purposes.
Article 105
1. The Organization shall enjoy in the territory of each of its
Members such privileges and immunities as are necessary for the
fulfilment of its purposes.
2. Representatives of the Members of the United Nations and officials
of the Organization shall similarly enjoy such privileges and
immunities as are necessary for the independent exercise of their
functions in connection with the Organization.
3. The General Assembly may make recommendations with a view to
determining the details of the application of paragraphs 1 and
2 of this Article or may propose conventions to the Members of
the United Nations for this purpose.
CHAPTER XVII
TRANSITIONAL SECURITY ARRANGEMENTS
Article 106
Pending the coming into force of such special agreements referred
to in Article 43 as in the opinion of the Security Council enable
it to begin the exercise of its responsibilities under Article
42, the parties to the FourNation Declaration, signed at
Moscow, 30 October 1943, and France, shall, in accordance with
the provisions of paragraph 5 of that Declaration, consult with
one another and as occasion requires with other Members of the
United Nations with a view to such joint action on behalf of the
Organization as may be necessary for the purpose of maintaining
international peace and security.
Article 107
Nothing in the present Charter shall invalidate or preclude action,
in relation to any state which during the Second World War has
been an enemy of any signatory to the present Charter, taken or
authorized as a result of that war by the Governments having responsibility
for such action.
CHAPTER XVIII
AMENDMENTS
Article 108
Amendments to the present Charter shall come into force for all
Members of the United Nations when they have been adopted by a
vote of two thirds of the members of the General Assembly and
ratified in accordance with their respective constitutional processes
by two thirds of the Members of the United Nations, including
all the permanent members of the Security Council.
Article 109
1. A General Conference of the Members of the United Nations for
the purpose of reviewing the present Charter may be held at a
date and place to be fixed by a twothirds vote of the members
of the General Assembly and by a vote of any nine members of the
Security Council. Each Member of the United Nations shall have
one vote in the conference.
2. Any alteration of the present Charter recommended by a twothirds
vote of the conference shall take effect when ratified in accordance
with their respective constitutional processes by two thirds of
the Members of the United Nations including the permanent members
of the Security Council.
3. If such a conference has not been held before the tenth annual
session of the General Assembly following the coming into force
of the present Charter, the proposal to call such a conference
shall be placed on the agenda of that session of the General Assembly,
and the conference shall be held if so decided by a majority vote
of the members of the General Assembly and by a vote of any seven
members of the Security Council.
CHAPTER XIX
RATIFICATION AND SIGNATURE
Article 110
1. The present Charter shall be ratified by the signatory states
in accordance with their respective constitutional processes.
2. The shall be deposited with the Government of the Unite States
of America, which shall notify a the signatory states of each
deposit as well as the SecretaryGeneral of the Organization
when he has been appointed.
3. The present Charter shall come into force upon the deposit
of by the Republic of China, France, the Union of Soviet Socialist,
the United King dom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,
and the United States of America, and by a majority of the other
signatory states. A protocol of the deposited shall thereupon
be drawn up by the Government of the United States of America
which shall communicate copies thereof to all the signatory states.
4. The states signatory to the present Char tear which ratify
it after it has come into force will become original Members of
the United Nations on the date of the deposit of their respective
ratifications.
Article 111
The present Charter, of which the Chinese, French, Russian, English,
and Spanish texts are equally authentic, shall remain deposited
in the archives of the Government of the United States of
America. Duly certified copies thereof shall be transmitted by
that Government to the Governments of the other signatory states.
IN FAITH WHEREOF the representatives of the Governments of the
United Nations have signed the present Charter.
DONE at the city of San Francisco the twentysixth day of
June, one thousand nine hundred and fortyfive.
Sources: The Avalon Project |