The United Nations was established by its Charter of 26 June 1945. Membership is open only to states. By the end of 2004, there were 191 Members, virtually all the states of the world.

Membership

The fifty-one original Members did not have to satisfy the criteria for membership (Article 3). They included India, which did not become independent until 1947, and the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (now Belarus) and the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (now Ukraine), both of which were only republics of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and did not become independent until 1991. The membership of these three was the result of a political deal at the San Francisco Conference.

New applicants for membership have had to satisfy the criteria in Article 4: an applicant must be a state, be peace-loving, accept the obligations in the Charter and, in the judgment of the Organization, be able and willing to carry out the obligations of membership. The first criterion is essentially legal, whereas the other three are more subjective and political, and no longer cause problems. The attributes of statehood have been discussed earlier.