San Francisco Conference

The San Francisco Conference, formally the United Nations Conference on International Organization (UNCIO), convened from 25 April to 26 June 1945 at the War Memorial Opera House and Veterans Building in San Francisco. Delegations from 50 states negotiated the text of the Charter of the United Nations; Poland, which did not send a delegation in time, signed later and is counted as an original member, bringing the total to 51.

The conference was convened by the four sponsoring powers — the United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, and Republic of China — following the groundwork laid at the Dumbarton Oaks Conversations (August–October 1944) and the Yalta Conference (February 1945), where Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin agreed on the Security Council voting formula, including the great-power veto.

Work was divided among four commissions covering general provisions, the General Assembly, the Security Council, and judicial organization. Among the more contentious issues were:

• The veto power of permanent Security Council members, resisted by smaller states but ultimately accepted.
• The scope of the General Assembly's competence relative to the Council.
• Regional arrangements (Chapter VIII), pushed by Latin American delegations.
• Trusteeship provisions replacing the League of Nations mandate system.
• Inclusion of human rights language and the establishment of the Economic and Social Council, advanced in part by NGO consultants attached to the U.S. delegation.

The Charter was signed on 26 June 1945 and entered into force on 24 October 1945 — now observed as United Nations Day — after ratification by the five permanent members and a majority of other signatories. The Statute of the International Court of Justice was adopted as an integral annex. Secretary of State Edward Stettinius Jr. chaired the U.S. delegation, and Alger Hiss served as Secretary-General of the conference.