About the Author: Ashli Ferguson Savoy serves as a Public Affairs Specialist in theBureau of International Organization Affairs.

Following the end of World War II, the Allied powers came together with the desire to have a forum where they could work together in the hopes of preventing future conflicts and wars. In the summer of 1945, representatives of 50 countries met in San Francisco at the United Nations Conference on International Organization where they crafted and signed the UN Charter. In the months to follow, the U.S. Senate approved the UN Charter and the United Nations officially came into existence on October 24, 1945, after 29 nations had ratified the Charter. 

As President Obama said in his 2012 United Nations Day proclamation, “Throughout its history, the United Nations Charter has reflected the belief that the world is more secure when the global community acts collectively.” Dedicated to assuring “the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small,” the institution… more »