9781422285503

Official Languages The official languages of the United Nations, as established by its charter, are Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish. Later, Arabic was added as an official language of the General Assembly, the Security Council, and the Economic and Social Council. European English spellings are traditionally used for international documents written in English. That is why they are used in the UN Charter although the United Nations is headquartered in the United States.

The UN Preamble When the original UN membership—in effect, the first UN General Assembly—signed the charter, they established the principles under which the United Nations operates.The charter spells out the rights and obligations of its member states and puts in writing the principle prohibiting the use of force in any manner inconsistent with the founding purpose of the United Nations.The preamble of the charter states the goal of the United Nations to avoid another global conflict: to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, and to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained, and to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom, We the Peoples of the United Nations Determined

14

The United Nations