SafekipediaUnited Nations
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The United Nations (UN) is a global intergovernmental organization created to help keep peace between countries and work together on important issues. It was started on 26 June 1945 with the signing of the UN Charter. Its main goals are to maintain international peace and security, build friendly relations among nations, and support cooperation around the world.
The UN has its main office in New York City, with other important offices in Geneva, Nairobi, Vienna, and The Hague. It has six main parts: the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the International Court of Justice, the Secretariat, and the Trusteeship Council. All together, these parts and many specialized agencies make up the United Nations System. There are 193 member states, which are almost all the countries in the world, plus two observer states: the Holy See and the State of Palestine.
The UN has worked hard to help people and countries develop, especially after many countries gained independence in the middle of the last century. Today, it runs 11 peacekeeping missions in places like the Middle East, Kashmir, Cyprus, the Golan Heights, Lebanon, the Western Sahara, Kosovo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, South Sudan, and the Central African Republic. Many people see the UN as a leader in working for peace and helping people, and several of its workers and groups have won the Nobel Peace Prize, though sometimes it also faces criticism.
History
Main article: History of the United Nations
Background (pre-1941)
In the century before the United Nations was created, several international groups were formed to help protect people during times of war and conflict.
During World War I, many leaders, especially U.S. president Woodrow Wilson, wanted a world group to keep peace. After the war, the leaders met and created the League of Nations. But the United States did not join. The League started in 1920, but it had trouble in the 1930s. It could not stop Japan from invading Manchuria or Italy from invading Ethiopia. When World War II began in 1939, the League stopped working.
Declarations by the Allies of World War II (1941–1944)
The first step toward creating the United Nations happened in 1941. By August 1941, U.S. president Franklin Roosevelt and British prime minister Winston Churchill wrote the Atlantic Charter, which talked about goals for the world after the war. In December 1941, Roosevelt created the term “United Nations” for the Allied countries. On New Year’s Day 1942, many countries signed the Declaration by the United Nations, agreeing to work together during the war.
Founding (1945)
After months of planning, the UN Conference opened in San Francisco on April 25, 1945. Fifty nations attended. The UN Charter was signed on June 26, 1945. The UN officially started on October 24, 1945, after ratification by key countries. The first meetings of the General Assembly and the Security Council were held in London in January 1946. New York City was chosen as the UN’s headquarters, with construction starting in 1948 and finishing in 1952.
Cold War (1947–1991)
During the Cold War, the UN sometimes struggled because of disagreements between the United States and the Soviet Union. However, it did manage some peace efforts, like helping to stop the fighting between North and South Korea. The UN also helped create a plan for a Jewish and an Arab state in Palestine, though this led to more fighting. The UN set up its first peacekeepers in 1956 to help end a crisis. Later, the UN helped bring order to Congo and started long peace efforts in Cyprus.
Post-Cold War (1991–1999)
After the Cold War, the UN took on more peace missions. It helped end wars, supervised elections, and worked on development goals. However, some missions, like in Somalia and Rwanda, faced big challenges. The UN also worked on new goals for development and tried to improve how it worked.
2020s: financial crisis
The UN has often had money problems, but these became very serious after 2020. In 2025, the UN faced a big money crisis because many countries did not pay on time. The United States and China, the biggest payers, often delayed payments. By May 2025, only 61 countries paid fully and on time. This crisis is causing big cuts in the UN’s budget, putting many important projects at risk. In January 2026, the UN leader sent a letter warning all members about a possible collapse of the UN.
Structure
The United Nations is part of a larger group called the UN System. It has five main parts: the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the International Court of Justice and the UN Secretariat. A sixth part, the Trusteeship Council, stopped working in 1994 when Palau became independent.
Four of these main parts are in New York City, but the International Court of Justice is in The Hague. Many other offices are in Geneva, Vienna, and Nairobi. The UN uses six official languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. The UN and its offices are protected by special rules so they can stay fair to all countries.
Below these main parts are many other groups and organizations that help the UN with many different jobs.
General Assembly
The General Assembly is the main meeting place of the UN. All UN member states meet here once a year, but they can meet more often if needed. The Assembly is led by a president who changes each year. The first meeting was on 10 January 1946 in London with representatives from 51 nations. Every member state gets one vote in the Assembly.
The Assembly can decide on important issues like peace and security by needing two-thirds of the members to agree. Other issues just need a simple majority. The Assembly can give suggestions on many topics but cannot force member states to do anything, except for budget decisions. Draft suggestions can come from six main committees and two other committees.
Security Council
The Security Council is responsible for keeping peace and security between nations. It can make decisions that all member states must follow. The Security Council has fifteen members: five permanent members (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States) and ten members who are chosen for two years. The five permanent members can stop any decision they don't like. The Security Council changes its leader every month.
UN Secretariat
The UN Secretariat does the everyday work to keep the UN running. It has many workers around the world and is led by the secretary-general. The secretary-general helps the UN talk to different countries and solve problems. The secretary-general is chosen by the General Assembly after the Security Council suggests someone. The current secretary-general is António Guterres of Portugal.
International Court of Justice
Main article: International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice is the main court of the UN. It solves problems between countries. The court is in The Hague, Netherlands. It can also give advice on international law to other UN groups. All UN member states agree to follow the court's decisions. The court has 15 judges from different countries.
Economic and Social Council
The Economic and Social Council helps the General Assembly with economic and social issues. It gathers information, does studies, and gives advice to member states. It works with many smaller groups on topics like helping indigenous peoples, forests, and sustainable development.
Specialized agencies
Main article: List of specialized agencies of the United Nations
The UN can create special groups called specialized agencies to help with its work. These agencies work with the UN and each other. There are fifteen of them, and they help with things like travel, health, and economic growth.
Funds, programmes, and other bodies
The UN works with many other groups that have their own jobs and budgets. These include the World Food Programme for helping with food, the UNHCR for protecting people who have to leave their homes, and the UNAIDS for fighting HIV/AIDS.
| UN General Assembly — Deliberative assembly of all UN member states — | UN Secretariat — Administrative organ of the UN — | International Court of Justice — Universal court for international law — | ||||
May resolve non-compulsory recommendations to states or suggestions to the Security Council (UNSC); Decides on the admission of new members, following proposal by the UNSC; Adopts the budget; Elects the non-permanent members of the UNSC; all members of the Economic and Social Council; the UN Secretary-General (following their proposal by the UNSC); and the fifteen judges of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Each country has one vote. | Supports the other UN bodies administratively (for example, in the organization of conferences, the writing of reports and studies and the preparation of the budget); Its chairperson—the UN Secretary-General—is elected by the General Assembly for a five-year mandate and is the UN's foremost representative. | Decides disputes between states that recognize its jurisdiction; Issues legal opinions; Renders judgment by relative majority. Its fifteen judges are elected by the UN General Assembly for nine-year terms. | ||||
| UN Security Council — For international security issues — | UN Economic and Social Council — For global economic and social affairs — | UN Trusteeship Council — For administering trust territories (currently inactive) — | ||||
Responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security; May adopt compulsory resolutions; | Responsible for co-operation between states as regards economic and social matters; Co-ordinates co-operation between the UN's numerous specialized agencies; Has 54 members, elected by the General Assembly to serve staggered three-year mandates. | Was originally designed to manage colonial possessions that were former League of Nations mandates; Has been inactive since 1994, when Palau, the last trust territory, attained independence. | ||||
| No. | Name | Country of origin | Took office | Left office |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | Gladwyn Jebb |  United Kingdom | 24 October 1945 | 2 February 1946 |
| 1 | Trygve Lie |  Norway | 2 February 1946 | 10 November 1952 |
| 2 | Dag Hammarskjöld |  Sweden | 10 April 1953 | 18 September 1961 |
| 3 | U Thant |  Burma | 30 November 1961 | 31 December 1971 |
| 4 | Kurt Waldheim |  Austria | 1 January 1972 | 31 December 1981 |
| 5 | Javier Pérez de Cuéllar |  Peru | 1 January 1982 | 31 December 1991 |
| 6 | Boutros Boutros-Ghali |  Egypt | 1 January 1992 | 31 December 1996 |
| 7 | Kofi Annan |  Ghana | 1 January 1997 | 31 December 2006 |
| 8 | Ban Ki-moon |  South Korea | 1 January 2007 | 31 December 2016 |
| 9 | António Guterres |  Portugal | 1 January 2017 | Incumbent |
| Acronyms | Agency | Headquarters | Head | Established |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNDP | United Nations Development Programme |  New York City, United States |   Achim Steiner | 1965 |
| UNICEF | United Nations Children's Fund | New York City, United States | Catherine M. Russell | 1946 |
| UNCDF | United Nations Capital Development Fund | New York City, United States |  Marc Bichler | 1966 |
| WFP | World Food Programme |  Rome, Italy | Cindy McCain | 1963 |
| UNEP | United Nations Environment Programme |  Nairobi, Kenya |  Inger Andersen | 1972 |
| UNFPA | United Nations Population Fund | New York City, United States | Natalia Kanem | 1969 |
| UN-HABITAT | United Nations Human Settlements Programme | Nairobi, Kenya |  Maimunah Mohd Sharif | 1978 |
| UNV | United Nations Volunteers | Bonn, Germany |  Toily Kurbanov | 1978 |
Membership
Main articles: Member states of the United Nations and Expulsion from the United Nations
All independent countries in the world are members of the United Nations. South Sudan, which joined on 14 July 2011, is the newest member, making a total of 193 countries in the UN. The rules for joining the UN say that a country must love peace, agree to follow the rules of the UN, and be able to do what it promises.
There are also two special members called observer states: the Holy See and Palestine. The Cook Islands and Niue work closely with New Zealand but are full members in some UN groups.
Indonesia was the only country to try to leave the UN for a short time in 1965 but came back in 1966.
Group of 77
Main article: Group of 77
The Group of 77 is a group of countries that work together to help each other with money and trade. It started with 77 countries in 1964 and now has 133 members. The group began at a meeting in Algiers in 1967 and works to make life better for developing countries all over the world.
Objectives
The United Nations (UN) works to keep countries from fighting and to help them work together peacefully. It also tries to solve problems around the world, like helping people in need and protecting the environment.
The UN sends helpers to places where wars have stopped to make sure peace lasts. These helpers, sometimes called "Blue Helmets" because of their helmets, come from many countries. Since 1947, the UN has helped in over 70 situations like this. The UN also works to stop the use of dangerous weapons, like nuclear weapons, and has helped make treaties to control these weapons.
One big goal of the UN is to protect people’s rights. In 1948, it created a document called the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which says that all people should be treated fairly and with respect. The UN also helps countries work together on problems like poverty, health, and hunger. For example, it helps provide food to people who don’t have enough to eat and works to stop diseases like smallpox and polio.
The UN also cares about the environment and climate change. It has helped start projects to protect forests, reduce pollution, and fight global warming. The UN also supports people who have had to leave their homes because of war or natural disasters, helping them find safety and rebuild their lives.
Millennium Development Goals | |
Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger Achieve universal primary education Promote gender equality and empower women Reduce child mortality Improve maternal health Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases Ensure environmental sustainability Develop a global partnership for development | |
Funding
The United Nations (UN) budget for 2026 was $3.45 billion, not including extra money donated by members, like money for peacekeepers. When you add in money from special UN groups, the total spent in 2022 was $67.4 billion across 43 different UN parts.
The UN gets its money from the countries that are members. The General Assembly, which is like a big meeting of all the member countries, approves the main budget and decides how much each country should pay. This is mostly based on how rich a country is, looking at its total income. The UN tries not to rely too much on one country, so there is a limit to how much any single country can be asked to pay. For very poor countries, the amount they must pay is very small.
A big part of the UN's spending goes to keeping peace around the world. This peacekeeping budget for 2025–2026 is $5.38 billion and helps pay for over 66,000 people working in 12 different places. Some of the biggest countries helping to pay for peacekeeping are the United States, China, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Canada, Russia, and South Korea.
Special UN programs, like UNICEF and the World Food Programme, get money from donations by governments, companies, and everyday people.
| Member state | Contribution (% of UN budget) |
|---|---|
| United States | |
 China | |
 Japan | |
| Germany | |
| United Kingdom | |
 France | |
| Italy | |
 Canada | |
| South Korea | |
 Australia | |
 Spain | |
| Russia | |
| Brazil | |
 Netherlands | |
 Saudi Arabia | |
 India | |
 Switzerland | |
 Turkey | |
 Mexico | |
 Poland | |
| Sweden | |
 Belgium | |
| Norway | |
| Austria | |
 Israel | |
| Other member states |
Assessments and reviews
Main articles: Reform of the United Nations and Reform of the United Nations Security Council
Studies have looked at how well the Security Council responds to wars. They found that the council usually meets more often when conflicts are serious and cause a lot of suffering. However, its actions also depend on the political interests of its members.
UN peacekeeping missions are often seen as successful. Research shows that UN-led efforts to end conflicts usually lead to long-lasting peace.
Experts have studied peacekeeping missions over many years and found they help save lives more than other military actions by countries.
A professor says UN peacekeeping works well because it focuses on talking, offering help, and using careful methods instead of fighting.
A well-known historian believes that even though the UN has faced challenges, it has brought many benefits to the world and will continue to help future generations.
In 2012, the leader of France said his country trusts the United Nations because no single country can solve big problems alone. Many leaders have spoken about how the UN helps bring people together instead of fighting.
Awards
Many people and groups linked to the United Nations have received the Nobel Peace Prize for their important work. Two leaders of the UN, Dag Hammarskjöld and Kofi Annan, received the prize, along with others like Ralph Bunche and René Cassin. In 1957, Lester B. Pearson from Canada won for helping create the UN’s first peacekeeping force.
UNICEF, the UN Peacekeeping Forces, and the International Atomic Energy Agency have also won the prize. The UN itself shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001 with Kofi Annan. In 2025, the Universities of Leuven and Louvain in Belgium gave the UN an honorary degree to António Guterres.
Criticism
Main article: Criticism of the United Nations
Some people have questioned how well the United Nations works. Leaders like former U.S. President George W. Bush worried the UN might become too weak to solve problems. Others, like former President Barack Obama, pointed out that during times of conflict, like the Cold War, the UN sometimes couldn’t act because countries disagreed too much.
The way the UN is set up has also been debated. Some say certain countries have too much power, which can stop the UN from acting. Others feel that poorer nations don’t have enough say. There have been suggestions to change how the UN makes decisions or to add more members to give more countries a voice.
People have also argued about whether the UN should focus more on helping countries work together or just on giving aid. Some feel the UN should do more, while others think it should stick to simpler tasks.
There have been concerns about whether the UN is fair to all countries. Some say it pays too much attention to certain issues while ignoring others. Others worry that big powerful countries can control what the UN does.
Finally, some criticize the UN for being slow or not managing money well. There have been calls for the UN to change how it works to be faster and more efficient. Some say the UN needs to fix these problems to better help the world.
Hymn to the United Nations
Main article: Hymn to the United Nations
To celebrate the United Nations on its 26th anniversary in 1971, a special song was performed. The famous musician Pau Casals played the music, and the poet W. H. Auden wrote the words. This song was made as a tribute to peace, inspired by the ideas in the Charter of the United Nations. Though beautiful, it was never chosen to be the official anthem of the United Nations.
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