A conference during an unfinished war
Representatives of 50 countries met in San Francisco from 25 April to 26 June 1945. They drafted and signed the UN Charter. The organisation came into existence when the Charter entered into force on 24 October 1945. The United Nations history distinguishes these stages.
What the conference did not do
It did not create every organisation later associated with the UN system at one sitting. UNESCO’s constitution was adopted at a separate London conference in November 1945; UNESCO documents that history.
The World Health Organization also has its own later founding history. It should not be listed as an agency created by the San Francisco conference.
A framework, not a guarantee
The Charter established institutions and purposes for international cooperation. Agreement on a framework did not eliminate power differences or ensure that every dispute would be peacefully resolved.
To assess an institution, distinguish its stated aims from evidence of its performance. A founding document answers what members agreed to establish, not every question about what happened afterwards.
Explore the negotiations
Choose one provision and ask whose agreement was needed. What compromise did it embody, and what limits remained?
If you imagine a different arrangement, explain why states would accept it. Do not claim that the absence of the UN necessarily produces a calculable increase in wars, or that an alternative charter guarantees peace.
Editorial review
Reviewed on 26 September 2026. Corrected the WHO/UNESCO conference claim and separated signing from legal commencement; removed unsupported predictions of exponential war.