United Nations Conference on International Organization

Insignia of the conference, prototype of the current logo of the United Nations

Entrance sign to Muir Woods National Monument

The United Nations Conference on International Organization (UNCIO) was a convention of delegates from 50 Allied nations that took place from 25 April 1945 to 26 June 1945 in San Francisco, United States. At this convention, the delegates reviewed and rewrote the Dumbarton Oaks agreements.^[1] The convention resulted in the creation of the United Nations Charter, which was opened for signature on 26 June.

The conference was held at various locations, primarily the War Memorial Opera House, with the Charter being signed on 26 June at the Herbst Theatre in Civic Center. The conference was chaired by U.S. diplomat Alger Hiss.^[2]

As President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who was supposed to host the conference, had died on April 12, 1945, the delegates held a commemorative ceremony on May 19 among the tall Redwood trees in Muir Woods National Monument Cathedral Grove, where a dedication plaque was placed in his honor.

A square in downtown San Francisco, called "UN Plaza," commemorates the conference, and is located adjacent to the city's Civic Center.

In addition to the Soviet Union, the Byelorussian SSR and Ukrainian SSR became founding members of the United Nations (UN), as a part of a deal with the United States to ensure a degree of balance in the General Assembly, which, the USSR opined, was unbalanced in favor of the Western Bloc. For that, amendments to the constitutions of the SSRs were accepted, which allowed them to act as separate subjects of international law in some cases and to a certain extent, remaining parts of the Soviet Union at the same time.