On This Day: The United Nations Charter

In 1945 at the United Nations Conference on International Organization, 50 member countries signed the Charter of the United Nations. Officially going into effect on October 24, 1945 UN Charter was established to maintain peace and security, and promote international cooperation. This charter organized the United Nations to comprise of six principal organs including a General Assembly consisting of representatives from all member states and a Security Council with veto power. Growing from the original members, the United Nations now consists of 193 member countries.