UN Charter turns 80 – but does it still matter? 

The United States' Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield holds up a copy of the United Nations charter while addressing a United Nations Security Council meeting chaired by Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, at the United Nations headquarters in New York, New York, USA, April 24, 2023. Keystone

The United Nations Charter turns 80 at a time when Israel, Iran and the United States have been launching missile attacks and Russia is continuing its invasion of Ukraine. So what is the UN Charter, and is it still respected?  

The United Nations CharterExternal link was born 80 years ago. Nowadays, if it gets a mention in the news, it is usually to say an event such as a missile attack, invasion or annexation of territory has violated the Charter’s principles. What is really left of this text? Here’s an answer in five questions.  

What is the United Nations Charter?  

It is the founding text of the United Nations, originally signed by 50 states at the San Francisco Conference after the Second World War ended in 1945. It came into force on October 24 the same year.  

The UN Charter forms the basis of current international law, setting out its fundamental principles. These include the sovereignty of states, equality of nations under the law, prohibition of using force except in self-defence or by decision of the UN Security Council, respect for human rights, and international cooperation. 

In a way, it is the constitution of the multilateral system, a binding international treaty that each state undertakes to respect when it joins the United Nations. It contains 111 articles, organised in 19 chapters.   

The Charter has also paved the way for other historic texts, including the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and, more recently, the 2024 Pact for the Future. 

>> Read our article on the background to the birth of the UN:

What is its purpose?

Its primary aim is to promote peace in the world. It gives responsibility for this task firstly to the UN Security Council, especially its five permanent members: China, the United States, France, the United Kingdom and Russia. But at a time when there have never been so many conflicts, it is hard to say it has been a success.   

“Given the unilateral use of force by Russia, the United States and Israel, we tend to paint a dark picture in terms of peace and security,” says Vincent Chetail, professor of international law at the Geneva Graduate Institute. “But in the field of technical cooperation, there have been many less visible successes.”  

The Charter also lays the ground for cooperation in many other areas, including health, telecommunications and meteorology. This work is concentrated within the UN’s technical agencies, which are mostly based in Geneva. 

Is the Charter being flouted more than in the past?  

Reading the news, including the recent Israeli and American attacks against Iran’s nuclear programme and Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, gives the impression that the UN Charter is less respected today than in the past.  

“That is indeed the feeling. But if we take a step back, we realise that major powers violating international law is not fundamentally new,” Chetail says.  

Over the decades, several big powers have violated the Charter in a number of conflicts. These include the Korean War, which began in 1950, the Vietnam War and US intervention in the 1960s, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, and the war in Iraq waged by the US and its allies starting in 2003. 

Chetail thinks violations are now more visible than ever before, notably because of social media, and there is greater awareness and knowledge of international law among the public, which is more vocal in denouncing them.  

“What is worrying today is that it seems the powerful are violating the law without even bothering to justify it or to project an image of respect for the law,” he adds.  

States traditionally invoke Article 51 of the Charter, which guarantees the right to self-defence in the event of “armed aggression”. It is misrepresenting the provision when people fight and claim they are defending themselves against an unproven threat.  

This is illustrated, according to Chetail, when governments try to justify their use of force in the name of regime change, as the United States, Russia and Israel have done in recent years in different contexts. 

Delegations from 50 nations work on the content of the UN Charter at the UN Founding Conference in San Francisco, USA, between April 25 and June 26,1945. Keystone

Yet does the Charter still carry weight?  

The fact that states continue to invoke the Charter to justify or defend themselves demonstrates its symbolic importance. China, for example, regularly invokes the principles of sovereignty and non-interference, defined in the Charter, to counter criticism that it is failing to respect human rights – even when criticism comes from the UN.  

But it is probably for the smaller countries, including Switzerland, that the Charter is still particularly important. “Powerful states can rely on the law of the strongest. So the UN Charter is clearly a factor of stability and security for weaker countries,” Chetail says.  

The Charter and the United Nations also played a role in decolonisation, paving the way for the independence of colonised states. In 80 years, the number of UN members has risen from 50 to 193. 

An aerial view shows a giant ephemeral landart painting by Swiss French artist Saype entitled “World in Progress” for the the 75th anniversary of the signing of the United Nations Charter. Keystone/Valentin Flauraud)

Can the Charter be reformed? 

A mechanism exists for this. Two articles (108 and 109) allow amendments to be introduced, provided that two-thirds of the General Assembly and all the permanent members of the Security Council support them.  

The Charter has been amended several times since its creation. The most significant changes include the addition of non-permanent members to the Security Council. Their number has increased from six to ten. There is also the expansion of UN Economic and Social Council membership, from 18 to 27 and then 54 members.  

Now come calls for wider changes. The Coalition for UN Charter ReformExternal link is calling for a General Conference (this would be a first, even though Article 109 provides for it) to review the Charter in its entirety. 

Brazil, South Africa and India in particular are in favour. At the heart of the debate is the Security Council, paralysed by the veto power of its permanent members. Only an amendment to the Charter could change the Council’s composition, which reflects the balance of power in the aftermath of the Second World War.   

No one believes that abandoning the veto power is currently realistic, but enlarging the permanent membership to include countries from Africa or South America, for example, could appeal to some in the international community.  

Edited by Virginie Mangin. Adapted from French by Julia Crawford/ts