Declaration by United Nations

Twenty-six states reaffirm their common struggle against the Axis powers and pledge not to make a separate peace.

The document was signed in Washington as the Allies coordinated their war effort. At that time, the term 'United Nations' referred to the coalition fighting the Axis rather than the post-war international organisation.

In the declaration, the signatories agreed to devote their resources to the war and not to negotiate a separate peace with the enemy. For a coalition of states with very different political systems, this was an essential minimum of shared commitments.

The declaration became an important step toward the creation of the United Nations in 1945. It also marked a transition from individual alliance treaties to broader global coordination.

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