Today (24/10/2025) marks 80 years since the foundation of the United Nations (UN).
As the Second World War was coming to an end, representatives from 50 countries gathered in San Francisco for the United Nations Conference on International Organisation. From 25 April to 26 June 1945, the UN Charter was created and signed, laying out the “major principles of international relations”. [1] Poland would join the signatories on 15 October 1945, giving the organisation 51 founding members.[2] As per the Charter, the UN was created officially on the 24 October 1945.
Today, there are 193 member states of the UN.[3] Though “the efficacy, legitimacy, and power” of the UN has been debated by scholars, the organisation has continued to work to fulfil the principles of international peace that its founders laid out.[4] It has also broadened its work to fields such as climate action and sustainability, social progress, and human rights.
[1] “United Nations Charter”, United Nations, available at https://www.un.org/en/about-us/un-charter.
[2] “Un Membership: Founding Member States”, United Nations, available at https://research.un.org/en/unmembers/founders.
[3] For a list of member states, see: “Member States”, United Nations, available at https://www.un.org/en/about-us/member-states.
[4] “80 Years of the UN”, Cambridge Core, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/review-of-international-studies/special-collections/80-years-of-the-un.