<P> The UN adopted The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, "as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations ." The Soviet Union abstained from voting on adoption of the declaration . The US did not ratify the social and economic rights sections . </P> <P> The five major Allied powers were given permanent membership in the United Nations Security Council . The permanent members can veto any United Nations Security Council resolution, the only UN decisions that are binding according to international law . The five powers at the time of founding were: the United States of America, the United Kingdom, France, the Soviet Union and the Republic of China . The Republic of China lost the Chinese Civil War and retreated to the island of Taiwan by 1950 but continued to be a permanent member of the Council even though the de facto state in control of mainland China was the People's Republic of China (PRC). This was changed in 1971 when the PRC was given the permanent membership previously held by the Republic of China . Russia inherited the permanent membership of the Soviet Union in 1991 after the dissolution of that state . </P> <P> Japanese holdouts persisted on various islands in the Pacific Theatre until at least 1974 . Although all hostilities are now resolved, a peace treaty has never been signed between Japan and Russia due to the Kuril Islands dispute . </P> <P> By the end of the war, the European economy had collapsed with some 70% of its industrial infrastructure destroyed . The property damage in the Soviet Union consisted of complete or partial destruction of 1,710 cities and towns, 70,000 villages / hamlets, and 31,850 industrial establishments . The strength of the economic recovery following the war varied throughout the world, though in general it was quite robust, particularly in the United States . </P>

Effects of world war 2 on international relations