Charter of the
United Nations
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
neighbors, 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:
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;
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;
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
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 1,
shall act in accordance with the following Principles.
The
Organization is based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all its
Members.
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.
All
Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a
manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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
The
General Assembly shall consist of all the Members of the United Nations.
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
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.
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
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.
The
General Assembly may call the attention of the Security Council to situations
which are likely to endanger international peace and security.
The
powers of the General Assembly set forth in this Article shall not limit the
general scope of Article 10.
Article
12
·
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.
·
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
The
General Assembly shall initiate studies and make recommendations for the purpose
of:
promoting
international cooperation in the political field and encouraging the progressive
development of international law and its codification;
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.
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 a violation of the provisions of 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.
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
The
General Assembly shall consider and approve the budget of the Organization.
The
expenses of the Organization shall be borne by the Members as apportioned by the
General Assembly.
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
Each
member of the General Assembly shall have one vote.
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 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.
Decisions
on other questions, Composition 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
Article
23
The
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.
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 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.
Each
member of the Security Council shall have one representative.
Functions
and Powers
Article
24
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.
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.
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 United Nations for the establishment
of a system for the regulation of armaments.
Voting
Article
27
Each
member of the Security Council shall have one vote.
Decisions
of the Security Council on procedural matters shall be made by an affirmative
vote of nine members.
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
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.
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 other
specially designated representative.
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
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.
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
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.
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.
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
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.
The
Security Council should take into consideration any procedures for the
settlement of the dispute which have already been adopted by the parties.
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
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.
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 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
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
The
Military Staff Committee, with the authorization of the Security Council and
after consultation with appropriate regional agencies, may establish regional
subcommittees.
Article
48
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.
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 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
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.
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.
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.
This
Article in no way impairs the application of Articles 34 and 35.
Article
53
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.
The
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 Co-operation
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:
higher
standards of living, full employment, and conditions of economic and social
progress and development;
solutions
of international economic, social, health, and related problems; and
international cultural and educational co-operation; and
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
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.
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
The
Economic and Social Council shall consist of fifty-four Members of the United
Nations elected by the General Assembly.
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 re-election.
At
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.
Each
member of the Economic and Social Council shall have one representative.
Functions
and Powers
Article
62
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.
It
may make recommendations for the purpose of promoting respect for, and
observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all.
It
may prepare draft conventions for submission to the General Assembly, with
respect to matters falling within its competence.
It
may call, in accordance with the rules prescribed by the United Nations,
international conferences on matters falling within its competence.
Article
63
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.
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
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 within its competence made by the General Assembly.
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
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.
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.
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.
Article
67
Each
member of the Economic and Social Council shall have one vote.
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 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
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
The
Economic and Social Council shall adopt its own rules of procedure, including
the method of selecting its President.
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:
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;
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;
to
further international peace and security;
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
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 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:
to
further international peace and security;
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;
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
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
The
trusteeship system shall apply to such territories in the following categories
as may be placed thereunder by means of trusteeship agreements:
territories
now held under mandate;
territories
which may be detached from enemy states as a result of the Second World War, and
territories
voluntarily placed under the system by states responsible for their
administration.
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
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.
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
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.
The
basic objectives set forth in Article 76 shall be applicable to the people of
each strategic area.
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
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.
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
The
Trusteeship Council shall consist of the following Members of the United
Nations:
those
Members administering trust territories;
such
of those Members mentioned by name in Article 23 as are not administering trust
territories; and
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.
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:
consider
reports submitted by the administering authority;
accept
petitions and examine them in consultation with the administering authority;
provide
for periodic visits to the respective trust territories at times agreed upon
with the administering authority; and
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
Each
member of the Trusteeship Council shall have one vote.
Decisions
of the Trusteeship Council shall be made by a majority of the members present
and voting.
Procedure
Article
90
The
Trusteeship Council shall adopt its own rules of procedure, including the method
of selecting its President.
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
All
Members of the United Nations are ipso facto parties to the Statute of the
International Court of Justice.
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 conditions to be determined in
each case by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security
Council.
Article
94
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.
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
The
General Assembly or the Security Council may request the International Court of
Justice to give an advisory opinion on any legal question.
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 recommendation 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
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 to the Organization. They shall refrain from any action which might
reflect on their position as international officials responsible only to the
Organization.
Each
Member of the United Nations undertakes to respect the exclusively international
character of the responsibilities of the Secretary-General and the staff and not
to seek to influence them in the discharge of their responsibilities.
Article
101
The
staff shall be appointed by the Secretary-General under regulations established
by the General Assembly.
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.
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
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.
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
fulfillment of its purposes.
Article
105
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.
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.
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
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 the members of the General Assembly and by a vote of any
seven members of the Security Council. Each Member of the United Nations shall
have one vote in the conference.
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.
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
The
present Charter shall be ratified by the signatory states in accordance with
their respective constitutional processes.
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.
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.
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
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 twenty-sixth day of June, one thousand nine
hundred and forty-five.
Additional
Information
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. The Statute of the International Court
of Justice is an integral part of the Charter.
Amendments
to Articles 23, 27 and 61 of the Charter were adopted by the General Assembly on
17 December 1963 and came into force on 31 August 1965. A further amendment to
Article 61 was adopted by the General Assembly on 20 December 1971, and came
into force on 24 September 1973. An amendment to Article 109, adopted by the
General Assebmly on 20 December 1965, came into force on 12 June 1968.
The
amendment to Article 23 enlarges the membership of the Security Council from
eleven to fifteen. The amended Article 27 provides that decisions of the
Security Council on procedural matters shall be made by an affirmative vote of
nine members (formerly seven) and on all other matters by an affirmative vote of
nine members (formerly seven), including the concurring votes of the five
permanent members of the Security Council.
The
amendment to Article 61, which entered into force on 31 August 1965, enlarged
the membership of the Economic and Social Council from eighteen to twenty-seven.
The subsequent amendment to that Article, which entered into force on 24
September 1973, further increased the membership of the Council from
twenty-seven to fifty-four.
The
amendment to Article 109, which relates to the first paragraph of that Article,
provides that a General Conference of Member States for the purpose of reviewing
the Charter may be held at a date and place to be fixed by a two-thirds vote of
the members of the General Assembly and by a vote of any nine members (formerly
seven) of the Security Council. Paragraph 3 of Article 109, which deals with the
consideration of a possible review conference during the tenth regular session
of the General Assembly, has been retained in its original form in its reference
to a "vote, of any seven members of the Security Council", the
paragraph having been acted upon in 1955 by the General Assembly, at its tenth
regular session, and by the Security Council.
Source:
United Nations, «http://www.un.org/aboutun/charter/»
