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CHARTER OF THE UNITED NATIONS
We the people of 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 neighbors, and
To unite our strength to maintain international peace and
security, and
To ensure, by the acceptance of principles and the
institutions 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 I
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 self-determination 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 center 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 I, 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 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.
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 January 1, 1942, sign
the present Charter and ratify it in accordance with Article 110.
Article 4
1. Membership 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.
2. The 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
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 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
question 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 recommendations
with regard to that dispute or situation unless the Security
Council so requests.
2. The Secretary-General, with the consent of the Security
Council, shall notify the General Assembly at each session of any
matters relative to the maintenance of international peace and
security which are being dealt with by the Security Council and
shall similarly notify the General Assembly, or the 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, and 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 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 the present Charter setting forth the
Purposes and Principles of the United Nations.
Article 15
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 General 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 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
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 maintenance of international peace and security, the
election of the non-permanent members of the Security Council, the
election of 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.
3. Decisions 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 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
1. The Security Council shall consist of eleven 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 six other Members of the United Nations to be
nonpermanent 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.
2. The 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, however, three shall be chosen for a term of one
year. A retiring member shall not be eligible for immediate re-
election.
3. Each member of the Security Council shall have one
representative.
Functions And Powers
Article 24
1. In order to insure 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 that 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 7, 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
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 seven members.
3. Decisions of the Security Council on all other matters
shall be made by an affirmative vote of seven 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 all times at the seat of
the Organization.
2. The 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 order 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
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
1. The 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.
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
1. 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
procedure of 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 the 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.
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 Article 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
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 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.
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 The Security Council has decided to use force it shall,
before calling upon a Member not represented on it to provide armed
forces in fulfillment 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
1. There 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.
2. The 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.
3. The 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.
4. The Military Staff Committee, with the authorization of
the Security Council and after consultation with appropriate
regional agencies, may establish regional subcommittees.
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 self-defense 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-defense shall be immediately reported to 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
1. Nothing 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.
2. The Members of the United Nations entering into such
arrangements or constituting such agencies shall make every effort
to achieve pacific settlements 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 impairs the application of Article
34 and 35.
Article 53
1. The Security Council shall, where appropriate, utilize
such regional arrangements or agencies of 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 states 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 certain of conditions of stability and
well-being 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:
(a) higher standards of living, full 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
cooperation; 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 for the
coordination of the policies and activities of the 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
Economic And Social Council
Composition
Article 61
1. The Economic and Social Council shall consist of eighteen
Members of the United Nations elected by the General Assembly.
2. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 3, six 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, eighteen members of the Economic
and Social Council shall be chosen. The term of office of six
members so chosen shall expire at the end of one year, and of six
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 reports from the specialized agencies. It 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 with 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 be required for the performance
of its functions.
Article 69
The Economic and Social Council shall invite any Members 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 non-governmental 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 Non-Self-
Governing 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 self-government
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 self-government, 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 Secretary-General 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 good-neighborliness, due account being taken
of the interests and well-being 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 there-under 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
self-government 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 without distinction 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
nationals, 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
trusteeship 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 systems, 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
by 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 administrations 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. The 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 defense 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 these Members mentioned by name in Article 23 as
are not administering trust territories; and
(c) as many other Members elected for three-year 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 administer 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 administering
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 ipso facto parties
to the Statute of the International Court of Justice.
2. A state which is not a Member of the United Nations may
become a party to the Statute of the International Court of Justice
on condition 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 effect 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 Secretary-General shall
be appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendations of
the Security Council. He shall be the Chief administrative officer
of the Organization.
Article 98
The Secretary-General 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 Secretary-General shall make an annual report to the
General Assembly on the work of the Organization.
Article 99
The Secretary-General 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 Secretary-General
and the staff shall not seek or receive instructions from any
government or from any other authority external of the
Organization. They shall refrain from any action which might
reflect on their position as international officials responsible
only to the Organization.
2. Each Member of the United Nations undertakes to respect
the exclusively international character of the responsibilities of
the Security-General 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 Secretary-General
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 1 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 fulfillment 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
fulfillment 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 Four-Nation Declaration, signed at
Moscow, October 30, 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 two-thirds vote of any seven
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
two-thirds 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 all 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 ratifications shall be deposited with the Government
of the United States of America, which shall notify all the
signatory states of each deposit as well as the Secretary-General
of the Organization when he has been appointed.
3. The present Charter shall come into force upon the deposit
of ratifications by 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, and by a
majority of the other signatory states. A protocol of the
ratifications 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 Charter 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 Governments of the other signatory
states.
IN FAITH WHEREOF the representatives of the Government of the
United Nations have signed the present Charter.
DONE at the city of San Francisco the twenty-sixth day of
June, one thousand nine hundred and forty-five.