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The United Nations and Decolonization

Charter of the United Nations


A signatory page of the United Nations Charter, passed unanimously and signed by all the representatives of UN Member States, came into force 24 October 1945.

A signatory page of the UN Charter, which passed unanimously,
and was signed by representatives of UN Member States in 1945.
(UN Photo/Rosenberg)

Delegates of 50 nations met at San Francisco between April 25 and June 26, 1945 and agreed upon the UN Charter, the founding document of the United Nations.

The decolonization efforts of the United Nations derive from the UN Charter's principle of “equal rights and self-determination of peoples” as well as from three specific chapters in the Charter devoted to the interests of dependent peoples: