Charter of the United Nations

United for a Better World

We the people of the United Nations
United for a Better World

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 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 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.