The San Francisco Conference, 25 April-26 June 1945

Delegates of fifty nations met in San Francisco between April 25 and June 26, 1945. Working on the Dumbarton Oaks proposals, the Yalta Agreement, and amendments proposed by various Governments, the Conference agreed upon the Charter of the United Nations and the Statute of the New International Court of Justice. The Charter was passed unanimously and signed by all the representatives. It came into force on October 24, 1945, when China, France, the USSR, the United Kingdom, the United States and a majority of the other signatories had filed their instruments of ratification.

Field Marshall Jan Christian Smuts, Prime Minister; Chairman of the Delegation from the Union of South Africa, 6th Plenary Session. [1 May 1945]