INTRODUCTION

The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization established 24 October 1945

to promote international co-operation. A replacement for the ineffective League of Nations,
the organization was created following the Second World War to prevent another such
conflict. At its founding, the UN had 51 member states; there are now 193. The headquarters
of the United Nations is in Manhattan, New York City, and enjoys extraterritoriality. Further
main offices are situated in Geneva, Nairobi and Vienna. The organization is financed by
assessed and voluntary contributions from its member states. Its objectives include
maintaining international peace and security, promoting human rights, fostering social and
economic development, protecting the environment, and providing humanitarian aid in cases
of famine, natural disaster, and armed conflict.

During the Second World War, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt initiated talks on a
successor agency to the League of Nations, and the United Nations Charter was drafted at a
conference in April–June 1945; this charter took effect 24 October 1945, and the UN began
operation. The UN's mission to preserve world peace was complicated in its early decades by
the Cold War between the US and Soviet Union and their respective allies. The organization
participated in major actions in Korea and the Congo, as well as approving the creation of the
state of Israel in 1947. The organization's membership grew significantly following
widespread decolonization in the 1960s, and by the 1970s its budget for economic and social
development programmes far outstripped its spending on peacekeeping. After the end of the
Cold War, the UN took on major military and peacekeeping missions across the world with
varying degrees of success.

The UN has six principal organs: the General Assembly (the main deliberative assembly); the
Security Council (for deciding certain resolutions for peace and security); the Economic and
Social Council (ECOSOC) (for promoting international economic and social co-operation
and development); the Secretariat (for providing studies, information, and facilities needed by
the UN); the International Court of Justice (the primary judicial organ); and the United
Nations Trusteeship Council (inactive since 1994). UN System agencies include the World
Bank Group, the World Health Organization, the World Food Programme, UNESCO, and
UNICEF. The UN's most prominent officer is the Secretary-General, an office held by South
Korean Ban Ki-moon since 2007. Non-governmental organizations may be granted
consultative status with ECOSOC and other agencies to participate in the UN's work.

The organization won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001, and a number of its officers and
agencies have also been awarded the prize. Other evaluations of the UN's effectiveness have
been mixed. Some commentators believe the organization to be an important force for peace
and human development, while others have called the organization ineffective, corrupt, or
biased

Main Organs
The main organs of the UN are the General Assembly, the Security
Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council,
the International Court of Justice, and the UN Secretariat.   All were
established in 1945 when the UN was founded. 

UN Photo/Amanda Voisard

The UN General Assembly Hall during a vote in November 2014 to elect

four judges to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

General Assembly
The General Assembly is the main deliberative, policymaking and
representative organ of the UN. All 193 Member States of the UN are
represented in the General Assembly, making it the only UN body with
universal representation.  Each year, in September, the full UN
membership meets in the General Assembly Hall in New York for the
annual General Assembly session, and general debate, which many
heads of state attend and address. Decisions on important questions,
such as those on peace and security, admission of new members and
budgetary matters, require a two-thirds majority of the General
Assembly. Decisions on other questions are by simple majority.  The
General Assembly, each year, elects a GA President to serve a one-year
term of office.
Security Council
The Security Council has primary responsibility, under the UN Charter, for
the maintenance of international peace and security.  It has 15 Members
(5 permanent and 10 non-permanent members). Each Member has one
vote. Under the Charter, all Member States are obligated to comply with
Council decisions. The Security Council takes the lead in determining the
existence of a threat to the peace or act of aggression. It calls upon the
parties to a dispute to settle it by peaceful means and recommends
methods of adjustment or terms of settlement. In some cases, the
Security Council can resort to imposing sanctions or even authorize the
use of force to maintain or restore international peace and security.  The
Security Council has a Presidency, which rotates, and changes, every
month.

 Daily programme of work of the Security Council

 Subsidiary organs of the Security Council

Economic and Social Council

The Economic and Social Council is the principal body for coordination,
policy review, policy dialogue and recommendations on economic, social
and environmental issues, as well as implementation of internationally
agreed development goals. It serves as the central mechanism for
activities of the UN system and its specialized agencies in the economic,
social and environmental fields, supervising subsidiary and expert
bodies.  It has 54 Members, elected by the General Assembly for
overlapping three-year terms. It is the United Nations’ central platform
for reflection, debate, and innovative thinking on sustainable
development.

Trusteeship Council
The Trusteeship Council was established in 1945 by the UN Charter,
under Chapter XIII, to provide international supervision for 11 Trust
Territories that had been placed under the administration of 7 Member
States, and ensure that adequate steps were taken to prepare the
Territories for self-government and independence. By 1994, all Trust
Territories had attained self-government or independence.  The
Trusteeship Council suspended operation on 1 November 1994. By a
resolution adopted on 25 May 1994, the Council amended its rules of
procedure to drop the obligation to meet annually and agreed to meet as
occasion required -- by its decision or the decision of its President, or at
the request of a majority of its members or the General Assembly or the
Security Council.

International Court of Justice

The International Court of Justice is the principal judicial organ of the
United Nations. Its seat is at the Peace Palace in the Hague
(Netherlands). It is the only one of the six principal organs of the United
Nations not located in New York (United States of America). The Court’s
role is to settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes
submitted to it by States and to give advisory opinions on legal
questions referred to it by authorized United Nations organs and
specialized agencies.

Secretariat
The Secretariat comprises the Secretary-General and tens of thousands
of international UN staff members who carry out the day-to-day work of
the UN as mandated by the General Assembly and the Organization's
other principal organs.  The Secretary-General is chief administrative
officer of the Organization, appointed by the General Assembly on the
recommendation of the Security Council for a five-year, renewable term.
UN staff members are recruited internationally and locally, and work in
duty stations and on peacekeeping missions all around the world.  But
serving the cause of peace in a violent world is a dangerous occupation.
Since the founding of the United Nations, hundreds of brave men and
women have given their lives in its service.

The ROLE OF UNITED NATION IN

MAINTAINING WORLD PEACE
By the very act of joining the UN, all members "confer on the Security Council primary
responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security and agree that in
carrying out its duties under this responsibility the Security Council acts on their behalf"
(italics added). They also consent "to accept and carry out" the decisions of the council on
any peacekeeping action that may be required. Under Article 39 of the charter, the Security
Council's powers to take such enforceable decisions come into effect only when a definite
"threat to the peace," an actual "breach of the peace," or a particular "act of aggression" has
occurred. Only if the council decides that one of these circumstances
that constitutes a legally binding commitment on all UN members. With regard to disputes
between states that, in the opinion of the council, have not yet led to a definite threat to the
peace or do not constitute an actual breach of the peace or an act of aggression, it may simply
recommend measures for a peaceful settlement.

Peaceful Settlement of Disputes

Under Chapter VI of the charter, the parties to any dispute "the continuance of which
is likely to endanger the maintenance of international peace and security" are
enjoined to seek a settlement of their own accord by peaceful means, including
"negotiation, enquiry, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement, or
resort to regional agencies or arrangements…."When can the Security Council itself
intervene? On this point, the charter is as unrestrictive as possible. By no means does
every "situation" of conflicting interests lead to an actual dispute. Yet the council
need not wait until a situation has given rise to friction before taking action. It may
take the initiative of investigating any dispute, or any situation that might lead to
international friction or give rise to a dispute, in order to determine whether the
continuance of the dispute or situation is likely to endanger the maintenance of
international peace and security. Moreover, any nation, whether a member of the UN
or not, has the right to bring any dispute or threatening situation before the Security
Council (or before the General Assembly). Should the parties to a dispute fail to settle
their differences by peaceful means of their own choice, they are bound under the
terms of the charter to refer the problem to the council.

Threats to the Peace, Breaches of the Peace, and Acts of

Aggression

The Security Council is empowered by the charter to call upon the parties to comply
with any provisional measures that it deems necessary or desirable. Such immediate
instructions to the quarreling states are intended, without prejudice to the rights of
the parties, to prevent an aggravation of the conflict. For example, the council may
demand the immediate cessation of hostilities and withdrawal of the forces from the
invaded territory. If either or both parties do not comply with these demands, the
council "shall duly take account" of the failure to comply. In this event, the farthest-
reaching prerogative of the Security Council can come into play—namely, its right to
institute sanctions against the recalcitrant state or states.

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Armed Forces for the UN

Although the charter contains provisions to equip the Security Council with armed
forces in case of need (the Covenant of the League of Nations contained no such
provisions), these requirements have not been implemented. Under the charter, all
UN members "undertake to make available to the Security Council, on its call and in
accordance with a special agreement or agreements, armed forces, assistance, and
facilities, including rights of passage, necessary for the purpose of maintaining
international peace and security." These agreements were to determine the number
and types of military forces to be provided by the nations, their degree of readiness,
their location, and so on, and they were to come into effect only after ratification by
the countries concerned according to their respective constitutional requirements.
(With this provision in mind, the United States Congress in December 1945 passed
the "UN Participation Act," authorizing the president of the United States to
negotiate a special agreement with the Security Council on the detailed provision of
United States forces; the agreement would then require approval by legislative
enactment or joint resolution of the United States Congress.) The troops and
weapons would remain part

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PEACE KEEPING
In response to this analysis, on 3 May 1994, the Security Council issued a statement
setting forth factors to be considered in establishing UN peacekeeping operations.
The factors to be considered in the establishment of new peacekeeping operations
included:

 whether a situation exists that presents a threat to international peace and security;
 whether regional or subregional organizations already exist and can assist in
resolving the situation;
 whether a cease-fire exists and whether the parties have committed themselves to a
peace process intended to reach a political settlement;
 whether a clear political goal exists and whether it can be reflected in the mandate;
 whether a precise mandate for a United Nations operation can be formulated; and
 whether the safety and security of UN personnel can be reasonably insured; in
particular, whether the parties to a dispute offer reasonable guarantees of safety to
UN personnel.

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Acknowledgement

I  would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to my teacher (Name of the teacher) as
well as our principal (Name of the principal)who gave me the golden opportunity to do this
wonderful project on the topic (Write the topic name), which also helped me in doing a lot of
Research and i came to know about so many new things I am really thankful to them.
Secondly i would also like to thank my parents and friends who helped me a lot in finalizing
this project within the limited time frame

conclusion
We have, built up an impressive record of peacekeeping achievements over more
than 60 years of our existence, including winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

Since 1948, the UN has helped end conflicts and foster reconciliation by conducting
successful peacekeeping operations in dozens of countries, including Cambodia, El
Salvador, Guatemala, Mozambique, Namibia and Tajikistan.

UN peacekeeping has also made a real difference in other places with recently
completed or on-going operations such as Sierra Leone, Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire,
Timor-Leste, Liberia, Haiti and Kosovo. By providing basic security guarantees and
responding to crises, these UN operations have supported political transitions and
helped buttress fragile new state institutions. They have helped countries to close
the chapter of conflict and open a path to normal development, even if major
peacebuilding challenges remain