United Nations Day 2023: Date, history, message

United Nations Day 2023: The United Nations is celebrating its anniversary on Tuesday (October 24, 2023). On October 24, 1945, the United Nations was established, while United Nations Day originated in 1948. In 1971, the organisation adopted United Nations Resolution 2782 and declared that United Nations Day ought to be an international observance. The resolution suggested that United Nations member states observe October 24 as a public holiday too.
 
A message on the United Nations website reads, there is no other global organisation with the legitimacy, convening power, and normative impact of the United Nations. No other global organisation gives hope to so many people for a better world and can deliver the future we want. Today, the urgency for all countries to come together, to fulfil the promise of the nations united, has rarely been greater.
 
Organisations and offices of the United Nations system, and most importantly, governments, civil society, the public and private sectors, schools, universities, and, more generally, citizens, make an international day a springboard for awareness-raising actions.
 

United Nations Day: History
 

The United Nations was named by Franklin D. Roosevelt during World War 2. Twenty-six nations united to pledge their governments to continue fighting against the Axis Powers. In 1945, delegates from 51 countries drew up the United Nations Charter in San Francisco, California. They signed the Charter on June 26, 1945, and it was ratified on October 24, 1945.  
Secretary-General's message (2023)
 
The United Nations is a reflection of the world as it is – and an aspiration of the world we know it can be.  
 It is our responsibility to help build a world of peace, sustainable development, and human rights for all.
 I know we can do it. The Charter of the United Nations, which entered into force 78 years ago today, points the way.
 Above all, it is rooted in a spirit of determination to heal divisions, repair relations, and build peace.
 To expand opportunities and leave no one behind.
To ensure justice, equality, and empowerment for women and girls.
 To provide life-saving relief to those in need.
 And to be flexible enough to address challenges that did not even exist when the UN was born – from the existential climate crisis to the perils and promise of artificial intelligence.  
 The United Nations is guided by timeless values and principles, but it must never be frozen in time. That is why we must always keep strengthening ways of working and applying a 21st-century lens to all we do.
 On this United Nations Day, let us commit with hope and determination to build a better world for our aspirations.
 Let us commit to a future that lives up to the name of our indispensable organisation.  
 We are a divided world. We can and must be united nations.