The UN Charter is the constitutive instrument of the United Nations, signed on 26 June 1945. It sets out the rights and obligations of Member States and establishes the principal organs and procedures of the United Nations.

Article 51 Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations, until the Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international peace and security.

Article 2. The Organization and its Members, in pursuit of the Purposes stated in Article 1, shall act in accordance with the following Principles. The Organization is based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all its Members.

By employing a system of collective security, the United Nations hopes to dissuade any member state from acting in a manner likely to threaten peace and thus avoid a conflict. Collective security selectively incorporates the concept of both balance of power and global government.