PREAMBLE
CHAPTER I: PURPOSES AND PRINCIPLES
CHAPTER II: MEMBERSHIP
CHAPTER III: ORGANS
CHAPTER IV: THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
CHAPTER V: THE SECURITY COUNCIL
CHAPTER VI: PACIFIC SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES
CHAPTER VII: ACTION WITH RESPECT TO THREATS TO THE PEACE, BREACHES OF
THE PEACE, AND ACTS OF AGGRESSION
CHAPTER VIII: REGIONAL ARRANGEMENTS
CHAPTER IX: INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CO-OPERATION
CHAPTER X: THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL
CHAPTER
XI: DECLARATION REGARDING NON-SELF-GOVERNING TERRITORIES
CHAPTER XII: INTERNATIONAL TRUSTEESHIP SYSTEM
CHAPTER XIII: THE trUSTEESHIP COUNCIL
CHAPTER XIV: THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE
CHAPTER XV: THE SECRETARIAT
CHAPTER XVI: MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
CHAPTER XVII: trANSITIONAL SECURITY ARRANGEMENTS
CHAPTER XVIII: AMENDMENTS
CHAPTER XIX: RATIFICATION AND SIGNATURE
PREAMBLE
WE THE PEOPLES OF THE UNITED NATIONS DETERMINED
to save succeeding generations from the scourge
of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow
to mankind, and
to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the
dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of
men and women and of nations large and small, and
to establish conditions under which justice and respect for
the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of
international law can be maintained, and
to promote social progress and better standards of life in
larger freedom,
AND FOR THESE ENDS
to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one
another as good neighbours, and
to unite our strength to maintain international peace and
security, and
to ensure, by the acceptance of principles and the
institution of methods, that armed force shall not be used,
save in the common interest, and
to employ international machinery for the promotion of the
economic and social advancement of all peoples,
HAVE RESOLVED TO COMBINE OUR EFFORTS TO ACCOMPLISH
THESE AIMS
Accordingly, our respective Governments, through
representatives assembled in the city of San Francisco, who
have exhibited their full powers found to be in good and due
form, have agreed to the present Charter of the United Nations
and do hereby establish an international organization to be
known as the United Nations.
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CHAPTER I: PURPOSES AND PRINCIPLES
Article 1
The Purposes of the United
Nations are:
1. To maintain international peace and
security, and to that end: to take effective collective
measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the
peace, and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other
breaches of the peace, and to bring about by peaceful means,
and in conformity with the principles of justice and
international law, adjustment or settlement of international
disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of the
peace;
2. To develop friendly relations among nations
based on respect for the principle of equal rights and
self-determination of peoples, and to take other appropriate
measures to strengthen universal peace;
3. To achieve
international co-operation in solving international problems
of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character,
and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and
for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to
race, sex, language, or religion; and
4. To be a centre
for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of
these common ends.
Article 2
The Organization and its
Members, in pursuit of the Purposes stated in Article 1, shall
act in accordance with the following Principles.
1. The Organization is based on the principle of the sovereign
equality of all its Members.
2. All Members, in order to ensure to 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 Vll.
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CHAPTER II: MEMBERSHIP
Article 3
The original Members of the
United Nations shall be the states which, having participated
in the United Nations Conference on International Organization
at San Francisco, or having previously signed the Declaration
by United Nations of 1 January 1942, sign the present Charter
and ratify it in accordance with Article 110.
Article 4
1. Membership in the United
Nations is open to 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.
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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.
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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 co-operation in the
maintenance of international peace and security, including the
principles governing disarmament and the regulation of
armaments, and may make recommendations with regard to such
principles to the Members or to the Security Council or to
both.
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 questions to the
state or states concerned or to the Security Council or to
both. Any such question on which action is necessary shall be
referred to the Security Council by the General Assembly
either before or after discussion.
3. The General Assembly
may call the attention of the Security Council to situations
which are likely to endanger international peace and security.
4. The powers of the General Assembly set forth in this
Article shall not limit the general scope of Article 10.
Article 12
1. While the Security
Council is exercising in respect of any dispute or situation
the functions assigned to it in the present Charter, the
General Assembly shall not make any recommendation with regard
to that dispute or situation unless the Security Council so
requests.
2. The 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 suchmatters.
Article 13
1. The General Assembly
shall initiate studies and make recommendations for the
purpose of:
a. promoting international co-operation in the
political field and encouraging the progressive development of
international law and its codification;
b. promoting
international co-operation in the economic, social, cultural,
educational, and health fields, and assisting in the
realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all
without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.
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 a violation of the provisions of the present
Charter setting forth the Purposes and Principles of the
United Nations.
Article 15
1. The General Assembly
shall receive and consider annual and special reports from the
Security Council; these reports shall include an account of
the measures that the Security Council has decided upon or
taken to maintain international peace and security.
2. The
General Assembly shall receive and consider reports from the
other organs of the United Nations.
Article 16
The General Assembly shall
perform such functions with respect to the international
trusteeship system as are assigned to it under Chapters XII
and XIII, including the approval of the trusteeship agreements
for areasnot 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
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.
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 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.
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CHAPTER V: THE SECURITY COUNCIL
COMPOSITION
Article 23
1. The Security Council shall consist of fifteen Members of the
United Nations. The Republic of China, France, the Union of
Soviet Socialist 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.
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 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.
3. Each member of the Security Council shall have one representative.
FUNCTIONS and POWERS
Article 24
1. In order to ensure prompt and effective action by the United
Nations, its Members confer on the Security Council primary
responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and
security, and agree that in carrying out its duties under this
responsibility the Security Council acts on their behalf.
2. In discharging these duties the Security Council shall
act in accordance with the Purposes and Principles of the
United Nations. The specific powers granted to the Security
Council for the discharge of these duties are laid down in
Chapters VI, VII, VIII, and XII.
3. The Security Council
shall submit annual and, when necessary, special reports to
the General Assembly for its consideration.
Article 25
The Members of the United
Nations agree to accept and carry out the decisions of the
Security Council in accordance with the present Charter.
Article 26
In order to promote the
establishment and maintenance of international peace and
security with the least diversion for armaments of the world's
human and economic resources, the Security Council shall be
responsible for formulating, with the assistance of the
Military Staff Committee referred to in Article 47, plans to
be submitted to the Members of the 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 nine members.
3. Decisions of the Security Council on all other matters shall be made by an
affirmative vote of nine members including the concurring
votes of the permanent members; provided that, in decisions
under Chapter VI, and under paragraph 3 of Article 52, a party
to a dispute shall abstain from voting.
PROCEDURE
Article 28
1. The Security Council shall be so organized as to be able to
function continuously. Each member of the Security Council
shall for this purpose be represented at all times at the seat
of the Organization.
2. The Security Council shall hold
periodic meetings at which each of itsmembers may, if it so
desires, be represented by a member of thegovernment or by
some other specially designated representative.
3. The Security Council may hold meetings at such places other than
the seat of the Organization as in its judgment will best
facilitate its work.
Article 29
The Security Council may
establish such subsidiary organs as it deems necessary for the
performance of its functions.
Article 30
The Security Council shall
adopt its own rules of procedure, including the method of
selecting its President.
COMPOSITION
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.
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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 procedures
for the settlement of the dispute which have already been
adopted by the parties.
3. In making recommendations under
this Article the Security Council should also take into
consideration that legal disputes should as a general rule be
referred by the parties to the International Court of Justice
in accordance with the provisions of the Statute of the
Court.
Article 37
1. Should the parties to a dispute of the nature referred to in Article 33 fail to settle
it by the means indicated in that Article, they shall refer it
to the Security Council.
2. If the Security Council deems that the continuance of the dispute is in fact likely to
endanger the maintenance of international peace and security,
it shall decide whether to take action under Article 36 or to
recommend such terms of settlement as it may consider
appropriate.
Article 38
Without prejudice to the provisions of Articles 33 to 37, the Security Council may, if
all the parties to any dispute so request, make
recommendations to the parties with a view to a pacific
settlement of the dispute.
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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
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
fulfilment of the obligations assumed under Article 43, invite
that Member, if the Member so desires, to participate in the
decisions of the Security Council concerning the employment of
contingents of that Member's armed forces.
Article 45
In order to enable the
United Nations to take urgent military measures, Members shall
hold immediately available national air-force contingents for
combined international enforcement action. The strength and
degree of readiness of these contingents and plans for their
combined action shall be determined within the limits laid
down in the special agreement or agreements referred to in
Article 43, by the Security Council with the assistance of the
Military Staff Committee.
Article 46
Plans for the application
of armed force shall be made by the Security Council with the
assistance of the Military Staff Committee.
Article 47
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 sub-committees.
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-defence if an armed attack occurs against a
Member of the United Nations, until the Security Council has
taken measures necessary to maintain international peace and
security. Measures taken by Members in the exercise of this
right of self-defence shall be immediately reported to the
Security Council and shall not in any way affect the authority
and responsibility of the Security Council under the present
Charter to take at any time such action as it deems necessary
in order to maintain or restore international peace and
security.
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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 settlement of local disputes through
such regional arrangements or by such regional agencies before
referring them to the Security Council.
3. The Security Council shall encourage the development of pacific settlement
of local disputes through such regional arrangements or by
such regional agencies either on the initiative of the states
concerned or by reference from the Security Council.
4. This Article in no way impairs the application of Articles 34
and 35.
Article 53
1. The Security Council shall, where appropriate, utilize such regional arrangements
or agencies for enforcement action under its authority. But no
enforcement action shall be taken under regional arrangements
or by regional agencies without the authorization of the
Security Council, with the exception of measures against any
enemy state, as defined in paragraph 2 of this Article,
provided for pursuant to Article 107 or in regional
arrangements directed against renewal of aggressive policy on
the part of any such state, until such time as the
Organization may, on request of the Governments concerned, be
charged with the responsibility for preventing further
aggression by such a state.
2. The term enemy state as used in 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.
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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:
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 co-operation
with the Organization for the achievement of the purposes set
forth in Article 55.
Article 57
1. The various specialized
agencies, established by intergovernmental agreement and
having wide international responsibilities, as defined in
their basic instruments, in economic, social, cultural,
educational, health, and related fields, shall be brought into
relationship with the United Nations in accordance with the
provisions of Article 63.
2. Such agencies thus brought
into relationship with the United Nations are hereinafter
referred to as specialized agencies.
Article 58
The Organization shall make
recommendations for the co-ordination of the policies and
activities of the specialized agencies.
Article 59
The Organization shall,
where appropriate, initiate negotiations among the states
concerned for the creation of any new specialized agencies
required for the accomplishment of the purposes set forth in
Article 55.
Article 60
Responsibility for the
discharge of the functions of the Organization set forth in
this Chapter shall be vested in the General Assembly and,
under the authority of the General Assembly, in the Economic
and Social Council, which shall have for this purpose the
powers set forth in Chapter X.
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CHAPTER X: THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL
COUNCIL
COMPOSITION
Article 61
1. The Economic and Social Council shall consist of fifty-four
Members of the United Nations elected by the General Assembly.
2. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 3, eighteen
members of the Economic and Social Council shall be elected
each year for a term of three years. A retiring member shall
be eligible for immediate re-election.
3. 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.
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 co-ordinate 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 within its competence made by the General Assembly.
2. It may communicate its observations on these reports to
the General Assembly.
Article 65
The Economic and Social
Council may furnish information to the Security Council and
shall assist the Security Council upon its request.
Article 66
1. The Economic and Social
Council shall perform such functions as fall within its
competence in connexion 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 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
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.
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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 co-operate 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-neighbourliness, due account being
taken of the interests and well-being of the rest of the
world, in social, economic, and commercial matters.
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CHAPTER XII: INTERNATIONAL trUSTEESHIP SYSTEM
Article 75
The United Nations shall
establish under its authority an international trusteeship
system for the administration and supervision of such
territories as may be placed thereunder by subsequent
individual agreements. These territories are hereinafter
referred to as trust territories.
Article 76
The basic objectives of the
trusteeship system, in accordance with the Purposes of the
United Nations laid down in Article 1 of the present Charter,
shall be:
a. to further international peace and security;
b. to promote the political, economic, social, and
educational advancement of the inhabitants of the trust
territories, and their progressive development towards
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 responsiblefor 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
system, and until such agreements have been concluded, nothing
in this Chapter shall be construed in or of itself to alter in
any manner the rights whatsoever of any states or any peoples
or the terms of existing international instruments to which
Members of the United Nations may respectively be parties.
2. Paragraph 1 of this Article shall not be interpreted as
giving grounds for delay or postponement of the negotiation
and conclusion of agreements for placing mandated and other
territories under the trusteeship system as provided for in
Article 77.
Article 81
The trusteeship agreement shall in each case include the terms under which the trust
territory will be administered and designate the authority
which will exercise the administration of the trust territory.
Such authority, hereinafter called the administering
authority, may be one or more states or the Organization
itself.
Article 82
There may be designated, in any trusteeship agreement, a strategic area or areas which may
include part or all of the trust territory to which the
agreement applies, without prejudice to any special agreement
or agreements made under Article 43.
Article 83
1. All functions of the United Nations relating to strategic areas, including the
approval of the terms of the trusteeship agreements and of
their alteration or amendment shall be exercised by the
Security Council.
2. 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 defence and the
maintenance of law and order within the trust territory.
Article 85
1. The functions of the
United Nations with regard to trusteeship agreements for all
areas not designated as strategic, including the approval of
the terms of the trusteeship agreements and of their
alteration or amendment, shall be exercised by the General
Assembly.
2. The trusteeship Council, operating under the
authority of the General Assembly shall assist the General
Assembly in carrying out these functions.
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CHAPTER XIII: THE TRUSTEESHIP COUNCIL
COMPOSITION
Article 86
1. The trusteeship Council shall consist of the following Members of
the United Nations:
a. those Members administering trust territories;
b. such of those Members mentioned by name in
Article 23 as are not administering trust territories; and
c. as many other Members elected for 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.
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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 conditions 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.
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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
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 to 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 Secretary-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.
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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 fulfilment of its purposes.
Article 105
1. The Organization shall
enjoy in the territory of each of its Members such privileges
and immunities as are necessary for the fulfilment of its
purposes.
2. Representatives of the Members of the United
Nations and officials of the Organization shall similarly
enjoy such privileges and immunities as are necessary for the
independent exercise of their functions in connexion 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.
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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, 30 October
1943, and France, shall, in accordance with the provisions of
paragraph 5 of that Declaration, consult with one another and
as occasion requires with other Members of the United Nations
with a view to such joint action on behalf of the Organization
as may be necessary for the purpose of maintaining
international peace and security.
Article 107
Nothing in the present Charter shall invalidate or preclude action, in relation to
any state which during the Second World War has been an enemy
of any signatory to the present Charter, taken or authorized
as a result of that war by the Governments having
responsibility for such action.
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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 the members of the General
Assembly and by a vote of any nine members of the Security
Council. Each Member of the United Nations shall have one vote
in the conference.
2. Any alteration of the present
Charter recommended by a 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.
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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 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.
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