The United Nations (UN) was established after the Second World War with the purpose of preventing the recurrence of the wars of the first half of the twentieth century, which brought great grief to mankind, and to safeguard international peace and security.

The UN Charter was drawn up during meetings which took place between 25 April and 26 June 1945 and was signed by 50 nations, including Turkey, on 26 June 1945 in San Francisco. Poland, which did not participate in the initial conferences, also signed the UN Charter, raising the number of founding nations to 51.

As foreseen in the Charter, the UN was officially established on 24 October 1945 with the ratification of its founding document by a majority of Member States including the five permanent members of the Security Council.

The UN continues to be the world’s only universal organization. As Montenegro joined the UN in 2006, membership has risen to 192 nations.