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.

Chapter I: Purposes and Principles

Article 1
The Purposes of the United Nations are:
[Link] 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;
[Link] 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;
[Link] achieve international co-operation 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
[Link] 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.
[Link] Organization is based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all its
Members.
[Link] Members, in order to ensure to all of them the rights and benefits resulting from
membership, shall fulfill in good faith the obligations assumed by them in accordance
with the present Charter.
[Link] Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a
manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered.
[Link] 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.
[Link] 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.
 [Link] 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.
[Link] 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 Vll.

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
[Link] in the United Nations is open to all other peace-loving 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.
[Link] admission of any such state to membership in the United 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
[Link] are established as 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.
[Link] 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
[Link] General Assembly shall consist of all the Members of the United Nations.
[Link] 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
[Link] General Assembly may consider the general principles of co-operation 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.
[Link] General Assembly may discuss any questions relating 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, 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.
[Link] General Assembly may call the attention of the Security Council to situations
which are likely to endanger international peace and security.
[Link] powers of the General Assembly set forth in this Article shall not limit the general
scope of Article 10.

Article 12
[Link] 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.
[Link] 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 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
[Link] General Assembly shall initiate studies and make recommendations for the purpose of:
[Link] international co-operation in the political field and encouraging the
progressive development of international law and its codification;
[Link] international co-operation in the economic, social, cultural, educational,
and health fields, and assisting in the realization of human rights and fundamental
freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.
[Link] further responsibilities, functions and powers of the General Assembly with respect to
matters mentioned in paragraph 1 (b) 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
[Link] 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.
[Link] 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
[Link] General Assembly shall consider and approve the budget of the Organization.
[Link] expenses of the Organization shall be borne by the Members as apportioned by
the General Assembly.
[Link] General Assembly shall consider and approve any financial and budgetary
arrangements with specialized 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
[Link] member of the General Assembly shall have one vote.
[Link] 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 non-permanent 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 (c) 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.
[Link] on other questions, including the determination of additional categories of
questions to be decided by a two-thirds 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 control 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 Secretary-General 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
[Link] Security Council shall consist of fifteen Members of the United Nations. The
Republic of China, France, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, 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 non-permanent members of the Security
Council, due regard being specially paid, in the first instance to the contribution of
Members of the United Nations to the maintenance of international peace and security
and to the other purposes of the Organization, and also to equitable geographical
distribution.
 [Link] non-permanent 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 re-election.
[Link] member of the Security Council shall have one representative.

FUNCTIONS AND POWERS

Article 24
[Link] 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.
[Link] 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.
[Link] 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 United
Nations for the establishment of a system for the regulation of armaments.
VOTING

Article 27
[Link] member of the Security Council shall have one vote.
[Link] of the Security Council on procedural matters shall be made by an
affirmative vote of nine members.
[Link] 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
[Link] 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 all times
at the seat of the Organization.
[Link] Security Council shall hold periodic 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.
[Link] 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 lay 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
[Link] parties to any dispute, the continuance of which is likely to endanger the
maintenance of international peace and security, shall, first of all, 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.
[Link] 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
[Link] 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.
[Link] 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
[Link] 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.
[Link] Security Council should take into consideration any procedures for the
settlement of the dispute which have already been adopted by the parties.
[Link] 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
[Link] 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.
[Link] 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 41 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
[Link] 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 call 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.
[Link] 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.
[Link] 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 the 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 United Nations to take urgent military measures, Members shall hold
immediately available national air-force 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
Staff 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
[Link] shall be established a Military Staff Committee to advise and assist the
Security Council on all 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.
[Link] Military Staff Committee shall 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 requires the participation of that Member in its work.
[Link] Military Staff Committee shall be responsible under the Security Council for the
strategic direction of any armed forces placed at the disposal of the Security Council.
Questions relating to the command of such forces shall be worked out subsequently.
[Link] Military Staff Committee, with the authorization of the Security Council and after
consultation with appropriate regional agencies, may establish regional sub-
committees.

Article 48
[Link] 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.
[Link] 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 self-
defence 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 self-defence 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.

Chapter VIII: Regional Arrangements

Article 52
[Link] in the present Charter precludes the existence of regional arrangements or
agencies for dealing with such matters relating to the maintenance of international
peace and security as are appropriate for regional action provided that such
arrangements or agencies and their activities are consistent with the Purposes and
Principles of the United Nations.
[Link] 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.
 [Link] 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.
[Link] Article in no way impairs the application of Articles 34 and 35.

Article 53
[Link] 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.
[Link] term enemy state as used in paragraph 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 well-being which are necessary for
peaceful and friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal
rights and self-determination of peoples, the United Nations shall promote:
[Link] standards of living, full employment, and conditions of economic and social progress
and development;
[Link] of international economic, social, health, and related problems; and international
cultural and educational cooperation; and
[Link] 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 co-operation with the
Organization for the achievement of the purposes set forth in Article 55.

Article 57
[Link] 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.
[Link] 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 co-ordination 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
[Link] Economic and Social Council shall consist of fifty-four Members of the United
Nations elected by the General Assembly.
[Link] 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 re-election.
[Link] the first election after the increase in the membership of the Economic and Social
Council from twenty-seven to fifty-four members, in addition to the members elected in
place of the nine members whose term of office expires at the end of that year, twenty-
seven additional members shall be elected. Of these twenty-seven 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.
[Link] member of the Economic and Social Council shall have one representative.