United Nations Charter is adopted

The United Nations Charter was adopted in San Francisco by the United Nations Conference on International Organisations. The preamble to the charter was based on a draft which South African premier General Jan Smuts had prepared. Governments and a number of non-government organisations, including the Lions Clubs International, received invitations to assist in the drafting of a charter. It was signed by the fifty countries represented at the conference. Poland, which was not present at the conference but which had a reserved place, added its name later to bring the total of "original" signatories to 51. The Charter came into effect on the 24 October 1945 after it was ratified by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, namely the Republic of China, France, USSR, United Kingdom, and the United States. The Statute of the International Court of Justice became an integral part of the Charter. Sources: Potgieter, D.J. et al. (eds)(1970). Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa, Cape Town: NASOU, v. 11, p. 78. History of the United Nations. Website: wikipedia.org Charter of the United Nations. Website: taiwandocuments.org United Nations Charter. Website: cnn.com