Summary
The Charter consists of a preamble and a series of articles grouped into chapters.
The preamble consists of two principal parts. The first part containing a general call for the maintenance of peace and international security and respect for human rights. The second part of the preamble is a declaration in a contractual style that the governments of the peoples of the United Nations have agreed to the Charter.
- Chapter I sets forth the purposes of the United Nations, including the important provisions of the maintenance of international peace and security.
- Chapter II defines the criteria for membership in the United Nations.
- Chapters III-XV, the bulk of the document, describe the organs and institutions of the UN and their respective powers.
- Chapters XVI and Chapter XVII describe arrangements for integrating the UN with established international law.
- Chapters XVIII and Chapter XIX provide for amendment and ratification of the Charter.
The following chapters deal with the enforcement powers of UN bodies:
- Chapter VI describes the Security Council's power to investigate and mediate disputes;
- Chapter VII describes the Security Council's power to authorize economic, diplomatic, and military sanctions, as well as the use of military force, to resolve disputes;
- Chapter VIII makes it possible for regional arrangements to maintain peace and security within their own region;
- Chapters IX and Chapter X describe the UN's powers for economic and social cooperation, and the Economic and Social Council that oversees these powers;
- Chapters XII and Chapter XIII describe the Trusteeship Council, which oversaw decolonization;
- Chapters XIV and Chapter XV establish the powers of, respectively, the International Court of Justice and the United Nations Secretariat.
- Chapters XVI through Chapter XIX deal respectively with XVI: miscellaneous provisions, XVII: transitional security arrangements related to World War II, XVIII: the charter amendment process, and XIX: ratification of the charter.
Read more about this topic: United Nations Charter
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