San Francisco Conference. Delegates from the United Nations met in San Francisco on April 25, 1945, to form a world organization strong enough to prevent another global war. Representatives of the nations then winning World War II drew up the charter for the United Nations, providing a framework for further cooperation in time of peace.
Britain, China, the Soviet Union, and the United States sponsored the San Francisco Conference. They originally invited 41 nations to send delegates to the conference. Later, they also invited Lebanon and Syria to attend. When the conference met, it agreed to invite four more countries–Argentina; Denmark; and two republics of the Soviet Union, the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (now the nation of Belarus) and the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (now the nation of Ukraine). However, only 50 countries were actually represented because Poland’s postwar government had not been formed and could not send a delegation.
After two months of work, the conference drew up the United Nations Charter. The delegates signed it on June 26, 1945. Each nation agreed to fulfill its obligations under the Charter, settle disputes peacefully, cooperate in police actions, and help solve world economic and social problems.
