In news- US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson met for the first time and inspected documents of the ‘New Atlantic Charter’.
Key updates-
- It is cited as a cornerstone of the trans-Atlantic “special relationship.”
- At their meeting, the two leaders signed the new Atlantic Charter, pledging to “defend the principles, values, and institutions of democracy and open societies.”
- The new Charter outlines modern-day threats including illicit finance, violent conflict and extremism, climate change, and global health crises like the Covid-19 pandemic.
About the Atlantic charter-
- It was a declaration signed by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt in August 1941.
- It set out common goals for the world after the Second World War that included freer trade, disarmament and the right to self-determination of all people.
- The Charter made it clear that the United States supported Britain in the war.
- A fundamental aim was to focus on the peace that would follow, not specific American involvement and war strategy.
- The charter’s adherents signed the Declaration by the United Nations on 1 January 1942, which was the basis for the modern United Nations.
- The dismantling of the British Empire, the formation of NATO, and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) all were derived from the Atlantic Charter.
The eight principal clauses of the charter were-
- No territorial gains were to be sought by the United States or the United Kingdom.
- Territorial adjustments must be in accord with the wishes of the peoples concerned.
- All people had a right to self-determination.
- Trade barriers were to be lowered.
- There was to be global economic co-operation and advancement of social welfare.
- The participants would work for a world free of want and fear.
- The participants would work for freedom of the seas.
- There was to be disarmament of aggressor nations and a common disarmament after the war.
Source: The Hindu
