The forefather of the United Nations was the League of Nations, an organisation established in 1919, after signing the Treaty of Versailles, "to promote international cooperation and achieve peace and security." The League of Nations failed as the Second World War could not be avoided.
In January 1942, representatives of 26 nations approved the Declaration of The United Nations, at which time the president of the United States Franklin D. Roosevelt referred to the "United Nations" for the first time.
At the end of the Second World War, representatives of 50 countries, meeting in San Francisco, drafted the Charter of the United Nations, which was signed on 26 June 1945 by 51 founding Member States. Both duties and obligations of the member states were stated therein, as well as the bodies and procedures that make up the United Nations. Currently, 193 Member States make up the organisation, after the accession of the Republic of South Sudan on 14 July 2011.
Spain became a member of the UN on 14 December 1955 and has been an elected member of the Security Council five times, which is approximately once every ten years. The last one took place in the biennium 2015-2016. Over these years, and especially after the advent of democracy, Spain has been actively involved in the organisation, reiterating the need for the international community to be based on the pillars of security, development and respect for human rights, so that this body may solve the great challenges of our time in a concerted and solidary way.
Spain ranks eleventh in the scale of financial contributions to the UN Regular Budget and is a member of the Geneva Group, made up of the biggest contributors, which closely monitors administrative and budgetary issues in the United Nations system, including its specialised Agencies and International Technical Organisations.
Charter of the United Nations and its Principles
The Charter of the United Nations was signed on 26 June 1945, in San Francisco, at the conclusion of the United Nations Conference on International Organization, and came into force on 24 October 1945, once it was ratified by several States. The Statute of the International Court of Justice is an integral part of the Charter.
Since 1963, the UN General Assembly has approved amendments to articles 23, 27, 61, 62 and 109 of the Charter. Amendment to Article 23 must be highlighted, as it enlarges the membership of the Security Council from eleven to fifteen.
The Charter includes the following purposes of the United Nations in Article 1 of Chapter I. These are the maintenance of international peace and security, the development of friendly relations among nations based on respect, the equality of rights and the self-determination of peoples and the international co-operation.
The principles of the United Nations established in Article 2 of Chapter I of the Charter deserve special attention.
1. Principle of the sovereign equality of all its Members.
2. All Members shall fulfil the obligations assumed by them in accordance with the present Charter.
3. All Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means.
4. Respect the territorial integrity and political independence of any State.
5. All Members shall render all kinds of assistance to the Organisation and shall refrain from giving assistance to any state against which the United Nations is taking preventive or enforcement action.
6. The Organisation shall ensure that states which are not Members of the United Nations act in accordance with these Principles for the maintenance of international peace and security.
7. Respect the internal jurisdiction of the States.
Charter of the United Nations