United Nations Day, observed on 24 October, in 2026 marks 81 years since the UN formally came into being on 24 October 1945. In 1945, delegates from 50 countries gathered in San Francisco to draft the United Nations Charter. The five permanent members of the UN Security Council (UNSC) are China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. The organisation brings nations together to tackle shared international problems and foster global cooperation, and the day reaffirms the purposes and principles set out in the UN Charter.