Dumbarton Oaks conference

Dumbarton Oaks conference, held at a Harvard University centre near Washington DC when delegates from 39 nations met to discuss the framework for a new global security organization as outlined in the Four-Power Declaration. Because the USSR was not then involved in the war in the Far East, it was held in two phases, the first between 21 August and 28 September 1944, the second between 28 September and 7 October when the Chinese delegation replaced the Soviet one. The conference issued a twelve-chapter set of guidelines for the formation of a United Nations organization (see San Francisco conference), a Secretariat, and an International Court of Justice. It was agreed that the United Nations organization would comprise a General Assembly and a Security Council. The Council would have executive powers and would comprise five permanent members—China, UK, USA, USSR, and, when a legitimate government had been formed, France—and six other members who would be elected on two-year terms by the General Assembly. Left unresolved were the USSR's demand for a seat for each of the sixteen Soviet republics and the use of the veto in the Council. See also diplomacy.