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The United Nations, or UN, is an international organization made up of states. Almost all countries are members. It was established in San Francisco on October 24, 1945, following the Dumbarton Oaks Conference in Washington, DC, but the first General Assembly, with 51 nations represented, was not held until January 10, 1946 (held in Church House, London). From 1919 to 1946, there existed a somewhat similar organization under the name of League of Nations, which can be considered as the UN's precursor. UN membership is open to all "peace-loving states" that accept the obligations of the UN Charter and, in the judgment of the organization, are able and willing to fulfill these obligations. The General Assembly determines admission upon recommendation of the Security Council. As of April 2004 there have been 191 members; see United Nations member statesThere are currently 191 member states in the United Nations. Afghanistan November 19 1946 Albania December 14 1955 Algeria October 8 1962 Andorra July 28 1993 Angola December 1 1976 Antigua and Barbuda November 11 1981 Argentina October 24 1945 Armenia Ma. The organization's headquarters is in New York CitySkyline, with Statue of Liberty New York, New York" redirects here. For alternate meanings, see New York, New York (disambiguation). New York — officially named City of New York and often called New York City to distinguish it from the state of New York,; see United Nations headquartersNew York City East River The United Nations headquarters is a distinctive complex in New York City that has served as the United Nations's headquarters since its completion in 1952. It is located in the Turtle Bay neighborhood, on the east side of Manhatt.
In the latter part of World War IIWorld War II was the most extensive and costly armed conflict in the history of the world, involving the great majority of the world's nations, being fought simultaneously in several major theatres, and costing tens of millions of lives. The war was fough, the AlliesIn general, allies are people or groups that have joined an alliance and are working together to achieve some common purpose. In general English usage, those who share a common goal and whose work toward that goal is complementary may be viewed as allies were increasingly referred to as "the United Nations" as a result of the 1942Events January January 1 World War II: The word " United Nations" is first officially used to describe the Allied pact. January 2 World War II: Manila is captured by Japanese forces. January 5 Amy Johnson disappears in flight over River Thames estuary ass Declaration by the United Nations. The name was transferred to the UN as it was founded by the victorious powers in the war as a condition of the Atlantic Charter and other wartime agreements. Initially, the body was known as the United Nations Organization or UNO but by the 1950s English speakers were referring to it as the United Nations or UN.
On April 25, 1945, the United Nations Conference on International Organizations began in San Francisco. In addition to the Governments, a number of non-government organisations, including Lions Clubs International were invited to assist in the drafting of the charter.
The League of Nations can be considered a precursor.
The 1945 UN Charter envisaged a system of regulation that would ensure "the least diversion for armaments of the world's human and economic resources." The advent of nuclear weapons came only weeks after the signing of the Charter and provided immediate impetus to concepts of arms limitation and disarmament. In fact, the first resolution of the first meeting of the UN General Assembly ( January 24, 1946) was entitled "The Establishment of a Commission to Deal with the Problems Raised by the Discovery of Atomic Energy" and called upon the commission to make specific proposals for "the elimination from national armaments of atomic weapons and of all other major weapons adaptable to mass destruction."
The UN has established several forums to address multilateral disarmament issues. The principal ones are the First Committee of the General Assembly and the UN Disarmament Commission . Items on the agenda include consideration of the possible merits of a nuclear test ban, outer-space arms control, efforts to ban chemical weapons, nuclear and conventional disarmament, nuclear-weapon-free zones, reduction of military budgets, and measures to strengthen international security.
The Conference on Disarmament is the sole forum established by the international community for the negotiation of multilateral arms control and disarmament agreements. It has 66 members representing all areas of the world, including the five major nuclear-weapon states (the People's Republic of China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States). While the conference is not formally a UN organization, it is linked to the UN through a personal representative of the Secretary-General; this representative serves as the secretary general of the conference. Resolutions adopted by the General Assembly often request the conference to consider specific disarmament matters. In turn, the conference annually reports on its activities to the General Assembly.