The name "United Nations", coined by United States President Franklin D.

Roosevelt was first used in the

Declaration by United Nations of 1 January 1942, during the Second World War, when representatives of
26 nations pledged their Governments to continue fighting together against the Axis Powers.

States first established international organizations to cooperate on specific matters. The International
Telecommunication Union was founded in 1865 as the International Telegraph Union, and the Universal
Postal Union was established in 1874. Both are now United Nations specialized agencies.

In 1899, the International Peace Conference was held in The Hague to elaborate instruments for settling
crises peacefully, preventing wars and codifying rules of warfare. It adopted the Convention for the
Pacific Settlement of International Disputes and established the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which
began work in 1902.

The forerunner of the United Nations was the League of Nations, an organization conceived in similar
circumstances during the first World War, and established in 1919 under the Treaty of Versailles "to
promote international cooperation and to achieve peace and security." The International Labour
Organization was also created under the Treaty of Versailles as an affiliated agency of the League. The
League of Nations ceased its activities after failing to prevent the Second World War.

The UN Charter, opened to the signature page, at the San Francisco Conference in 1945.

Signature page of UN Charter, San Francisco, 1945

In 1945, representatives of 50 countries met in San Francisco at the United Nations Conference on
International Organization to draw up the United Nations Charter. Those delegates deliberated on the
basis of proposals worked out by the representatives of China, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom
and the United States at Dumbarton Oaks, United States in August-October 1944. The Charter was
signed on 26 June 1945 by the representatives of the 50 countries. Poland, which was not represented
at the Conference, signed it later and became one of the original 51 Member States.

The United Nations officially came into existence on 24 October 1945, when the Charter had been
ratified by China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and by a majority of
other signatories. United Nations Day is celebrated on 24 October each year.
Every year the U.N. and its member nations observe October 24th as United Nations Day around the
world.

That’s because the 24th of October marks that fall day in New York City in 1945 when nations ratified
the Charter of the U.N. and launched humanity’s second major attempt at forming a world Parliament.
By far our most successful, this second attempt at global negotiation and cooperation has stopped
famine, averted wars and given the world hope. Starting with just 51 member nations, the U.N. now has
193. The first major attempt, the League of Nations, collapsed after little more than a decade–but the
United Nations has lasted now for almost 70 years.

While they recognize that the United Nations isn’t perfect, Baha’is in every country observe and
celebrate this unique day, and work toward the realization of the great dream behind the U.N.–world
unity.

Why should we celebrate? Here are three excellent reasons:

The U.N. saves lives. While world media attention focuses on the international controversies and the
policy intervention failures, it rarely covers the U.N.’s powerful lifesaving work with its agencies like the
World Food Program, the U.N. Peacekeeping forces and the many other U.N. agencies. One example:
WFP feeds 90 million people in 80 countries every year. Another: the U.N.’s programs for women
promote maternal and child health, saving the lives of 30 million women a year. Another: the U.N.
vaccinates 58% of the world’s children, which saves 3 million lives every year.

The U.N. helps refugees. Every year, the United Nations assists 38 million refugees, saving them from
wars, conflicts, famine and persecution.

The U.N. Fights Climate Change and Promotes Sustainable Development. No organization on Earth does
more to protect the environment than the United Nations, which fosters knowledge, conducts research
and brokers international climate treaties.

MANILA, Philippines - United Nations Day is celebrated worldwide every October 24, in honor of the
intergovernmental organization promoting human rights, social progress, and world peace.

In many Philippine schools, United Nations Day is celebrated by having students dress up in the national
costumes or traditional clothing of different nations, and holding lessons about cultural diversity.

1. The United Nations was founded after World War II and replaced the League of Nations.
2. The Philippines is among the 51 founding members of the United Nations
3. There are 6 official languages in the United Nations: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian,
and Spanish.
193 members

Afghanistan Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia
Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus
Belgium Belize Benin Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei
Darussalam Bulgaria Burkina FasoBurundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape
Verde Central African RepublicChad Chile China Colombia Comoros Congo
(Republic of the) Costa Rica Côte d’Ivoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Democratic Republic of the Congo Denmark Djibouti
Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Fiji Finland France Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany
Ghana Greece Grenada Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti
Honduras Hungary IcelandIndia Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica
Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Lao People’s
Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon LesothoLiberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania
Luxembourg Madagascar Malawi Malaysia MaldivesMali Malta Marshall Islands
Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia (Federated States of) Monaco Mongolia
Montenegro Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal
Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Norway Oman Pakistan
Palau Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland
Portugal Qatar Republic of Korea Republic of Moldova Romania Russian
Federation Rwanda Saint Kitts and NevisSaint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa
San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra
Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Sudan
Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Swaziland Switzerland Sweden Syria Tajikistan
Thailand The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Timor Leste Togo Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab
Emirates United Kingdom United of Republic of Tanzania United States Uruguay
Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela VietNam Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe