Preamble to the United Nations Charter

The Preamble to the United Nations Charter is the opening (preamble) of the United Nations Charter.

History

Jan Smuts originally wrote the opening lines of the Preamble as, "The High Contracting Parties, determined to prevent a recurrence of the fratricidal strife which twice in our generation has brought untold sorrow and loss upon mankind. . ." which would have been similar to the opening lines of the Covenant of the League of Nations. After considerable argument at the San Francisco Conference, Virginia Gildersleeve was successful in changing and shortening the Preamble, however, with much of Smuts' original text reattached at the end.

The opening phrase "We the peoples of the United Nations .." echoing that of the United States Constitution, was suggested by US congressman and delegate Sol Bloom. The preambulatory phrase "In Larger Freedom" became the title of a UN reform proposal by Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Text

The Preamble reads as follows:

WE THE PEOPLES OF THE UNITED NATIONS DETERMINED

* to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and

* to regain 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......

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