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The United Nations celebrated the 60th anniversary of its Charter on Monday, with speakers addressing the UN General Assembly. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said the UN had both successes and failures in carrying out the pledges in the Charter. The UN Charter is the constitution of the organization. It was signed in San Francisco on June 26th,1945 by the 50 original member countries. It took effect on October 24th,1945, after being approved by the five founding members: China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States, and a majority of the other countries that signed the Charter. The Charter is a constitutional treaty. All countries that signed it are bound by its articles. It states that the Charter comes first above all other treaties. Its main purposes include the prevention of new conflict, building peace and protecting human rights and social progress. The most important chapters are those dealing with the enforcement powers of UN bodies. They describe, for example, the Security Council's power to investigate and mediate disputes.They also describe its power to authorize economic, diplomatic and military sanctions as well as the use of military force to resolve disputes. The UN, late last year, revealed a proposal to overhaul the organization including the Security Council. This could be the most comprehensive UN reformsince its foundation. |