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The United Nations was established on 24 October 1945 by 51 countries determined to save future generations from the horrors of war. New Zealand was a founding member of the UN and our former Prime Minister, Peter Fraser, chaired the committee which wrote the Trusteeship chapter of the Charter. The purposes of the United Nations, as set forth in the Charter, are to maintain international peace and security; to develop friendly relations among nations; to cooperate in solving international economic, social, cultural and humanitarian problems and in promoting respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms; and to be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in attaining these ends.
The six principal organs of the United Nations are the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the Trusteeship Council, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and the Secretariat. Apart from the ICJ, which is located at The Hague in the Netherlands, the main organs of the UN are based at UN Headquarters in New York.
