United Nations Day, 75 years working for peace

The year 2020 marks the 75th anniversary of the United Nations and its founding charter.This anniversary comes at a time of great upheaval for the world, aggravated by an unprecedented global health crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with serious economic and social impacts. But it's also a reminder that times of struggle can become an opportunity for positive change and transformation. To commemorate 75 years of the United Nations, Member States organize a high-level event on 21 September 2020,in which they reaffirmed and recognized that our challenges are interlinked and can only be addressed through enhanced multilateralism.

The future we want, the United Nations we need -The COVID-19 pandemic reminded us in the most powerful way that we are closely interconnected and only by working together and in solidarity can we build resilience against future pandemics and other global challenges. In January 2020, the Secretary General launched a global conversation asking people through polls and dialogues about their hopes and fears for the future, along with their priorities for international cooperation. The results of this global dialogue have been taken into account by world leaders and have led toadoption of a forward-looking political statement at the high-level event of the 75th anniversary celebrations.

The Charter was signed on June 26, 1945 by representatives of the 50 countries. Poland, which was not represented at the Conference, later signed it and became one of the original 51 Member States. The United Nations was officially born on October 24, 1945, when the Charter was ratified by China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and by the majority of the other signatories. The name "United Nations" was coined by United States President Franklin D.Roosevelt and first used in the United Nations Declaration of January 1, 1942, during World War II.