United Nations Member States

United Nations Member States
Name	United Nations Member States
Caption	The Flag of the United Nations.
Formation	24 October 1945
Type	Sovereign states
Headquarters	New York City, United States
Membership	193 sovereign states

United Nations Member States. The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945, composed of sovereign states that have been admitted by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council. Membership is open to all peace-loving states that accept the obligations contained in the Charter of the United Nations and are able and willing to carry them out. The current 193 member states represent the vast majority of the world's sovereign nations, from founding members like the United States and the Soviet Union to newly admitted states such as South Sudan.

Membership criteria

The primary criteria for admission are outlined in Chapter II of the United Nations Charter. Article 4 states that membership is open to all "peace-loving states" which accept the obligations of the Charter of the United Nations and, in the judgment of the organization, are able and willing to carry out these obligations. The process requires a recommendation from the Security Council, where the five permanent members hold veto power, followed by a two-thirds majority vote in the General Assembly. Notable cases testing these criteria include the long-delayed admissions of the People's Republic of China and the two German states during the Cold War. The principle of sovereign equality among all members is a foundational tenet, as enshrined in the Preamble to the United Nations Charter.

Current member states

As of 2024, there are 193 United Nations member states. This includes every internationally recognized sovereign state with the exception of the Holy See and the State of Palestine, both of which hold the status of Permanent Observer. The most recent admission was South Sudan in 2011, following its independence from Sudan as outlined in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. All member states maintain a Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York City, and their representatives participate in bodies like the Economic and Social Council and the International Court of Justice. Notable geographic and political groupings within the membership include the African Union, the European Union, and the Group of 77.

History of membership

The organization began with 51 original members who signed the Charter of the United Nations at the United Nations Conference on International Organization in San Francisco in 1945, including Argentina, Egypt, and the Republic of China. A major period of expansion occurred during the decolonization wave of the 1950s and 1960s, with many newly independent nations from Africa and Asia, such as Ghana and Indonesia, joining. Significant changes in representation include the 1971 General Assembly Resolution 2758, which transferred China's seat from the Republic of China to the People's Republic of China, and the 1991 admission of both North Korea and South Korea. The dissolution of states like the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia in the early 1990s led to the admission of their successor states, including the Russian Federation and Croatia.

Rights and obligations

All member states pledge to fulfill in good faith the obligations set forth in the Charter of the United Nations. Key obligations include settling international disputes by peaceful means, refraining from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity of any state, and giving the United Nations every assistance in any action it takes in accordance with the Charter. In return, members enjoy rights such as participation in all organs, including the Security Council and the International Court of Justice, and the protection of the principle of sovereign equality. They also commit to promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, as further detailed in instruments like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Geneva Conventions.

Representation and voting

Each member state has one seat and one vote in the General Assembly, where decisions on important questions, such as recommendations on international peace and security, require a two-thirds majority. In the Security Council, fifteen members hold seats, with the five permanent members—China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States—possessing veto power over substantive resolutions. Representation in other principal organs, such as the Economic and Social Council and the Trusteeship Council, is based on equitable geographic distribution. The Secretary-General of the United Nations is appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council.

Suspension and expulsion

The Charter of the United Nations provides mechanisms for addressing members that persistently violate its principles. Under Article 5, a member against which preventive or enforcement action has been taken by the Security Council may be suspended from the rights and privileges of membership by the General Assembly upon the Council's recommendation. Article 6 allows for the expulsion of a member that has persistently violated the principles contained in the Charter, also by the General Assembly upon the Security Council's recommendation. While these provisions exist, they have rarely been invoked; no member state has ever been expelled, though the representation of South Africa was effectively suspended during the apartheid era by a ruling from the International Court of Justice.

Category:United Nations