The United Nations

The United Nations was originally formed to replace the League of Nations that had come before it and had failed to prevent WWII. It was formed based on the global recognition that the world could not afford a 3rd World War. It’s mission was to solve international problems of either social, economic, or humanitarian nature. The first conference of the UN was held on April 25, 1945 in San Francisco and was attended by 5o governments and non-government organizations involved in the drafting of the UN Charter. It officially came to exist that October when the Charter was ratified by the Permanent Members of the Security Council, France, The People’s Republic of China, the Soviet Union (and then later Russia), The United Kingdom, and The United States, and the other 46 signing governments. The Permanent members were chosen as such because they are the 5 central leading powers. The first official meeting of the UN took place in January 1946 in Methodist Central Hall in London. There is now an official UN building located in Manhatan although, the building itself is international territory. | Vocab: The United Nations Charter: The Charter signed by all members of the UN outlining international law and protocol for handling issues. UN Security Council: One branch of the UN aimed at keeping peace and security among all countries. UN’s General Assembly: One branch of the UN and the only one where all members of the UN have equal say. It is used to oversee