INTRODUCTION

The United Nations is an international organization founded in

1945. It is currently made up of 193 Member States. The mission
and work of the United Nations are guided by the purposes and
principles contained in its founding Charter. Due to the powers
vested in its Charter and its unique international character, the
United Nations can take action on the issues confronting
humanity in the 21st century, such as peace and security, climate
change, sustainable development, human rights, disarmament,
terrorism, humanitarian and health emergencies, gender equality,
governance, food production, and more.

The UN also provides a forum for its members to express their

views in the General Assembly, the Security Council, the
Economic and Social Council, and other bodies and committees.
By enabling dialogue between its members, and by hosting
negotiations, the Organization has become a mechanism for
governments to find areas of agreement and solve problems
together. The Charter of the United Nations comprises a preamble
and 19 chapters divided into 111 articles. The charter sets forth
the purposes of the UN as: the maintenance of international
peace and security; the development of friendly relations among
states; and the achievement of cooperation in solving
international economic, social, cultural, and humanitarian
problems. It expresses a strong hope for the equality of all people
and the expansion of basic freedoms.

ORIGINS
The earliest concrete plan for the formation of a new world
organization was begun under the aegis of the U.S. State
Department late in 1939. The name United Nations was coined by
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1941 to describe the

countries fighting against the Axis. It was first used officially on

Jan. 1, 1942, when 26 states joined in the Declaration by the
United Nations, pledging themselves to continue their joint war
effort and not to make peace separately. The need for an
international organization to replace the League of Nations was
first stated officially on Oct. 30, 1943, in the Moscow Declaration,
issued by China, Great Britain, the United States, and the USSR.
At the Dumbarton Oaks Conference (Aug.Oct., 1944), those four
countries drafted specific proposals for a charter for the new
organization, and at the Yalta Conference (Feb., 1945) further
agreement was reached. All the states that had ultimately
adhered to the 1942 declaration and had declared war on
Germany or Japan by Mar. 1, 1945, were called to the founding
conference held in San Francisco (Apr. 25June 26, 1945). Drafted
at San Francisco, the UN charter was signed on June 26 and
ratified by the required number of states on Oct. 24 (officially
United Nations Day). The General Assembly first met in London on
Jan. 10, 1946. It was decided to locate the UN headquarters in the
United States.

EFFORTS OF UNITED NATIONS

United Nations play vital role worldwide in every field which is in
the welfare of mankind:
Maintain International Peace and Security
The United Nations came into being in 1945, following the
devastation of the Second World War, with one central mission:
the maintenance of international peace and security. The UN does
this by working to prevent conflict; helping parties in conflict
make peace; peacekeeping; and creating the conditions to allow
peace to hold and flourish. These activities often overlap and
should reinforce one another, to be effective. The UN Security
Council has the primary responsibility for international peace and

security. The General Assembly and the Secretary-General play

major, important, and complementary roles, along with other UN
offices and bodies.
Promote Sustainable Development
From the start in 1945, one of the main priorities of the United
Nations was to achieve international co-operation in solving
international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or
humanitarian character and in promoting and encouraging
respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all
without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.
Improving peoples well-being continues to be one of the main
focuses of the UN. The global understanding of development has
changed over the years, and countries now have agreed that
sustainable development development that promotes prosperity
and economic opportunity, greater social well-being, and
protection of the environment offers the best path forward for
improving the lives of people everywhere.
Protect Human Rights
The term human rights was mentioned seven times in the UN's
founding Charter, making the promotion and protection of human
rights a key purpose and guiding principle of the Organization. In
1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights brought human
rights into the realm of international law. Since then, the
Organization has diligently protected human rights through legal
instruments and on-the-ground activities.
Uphold International Law
The UN Charter, in its Preamble, set an objective: "to establish
conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations
arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be
maintained". Ever since, the development of, and respect for
international law has been a key part of the work of the

Organization. This work is carried out in many ways - by courts,

tribunals, multilateral treaties - and by the Security Council, which
can approve peacekeeping missions, impose sanctions, or
authorize the use of force when there is a threat to international
peace and security, if it deems this necessary. These powers are
given to it by the UN Charter, which is considered an international
treaty. As such, it is an instrument of international law, and UN
Member States are bound by it. The UN Charter codifies the
major principles of international relations, from sovereign equality
of States to the prohibition of the use of force in international
relations.
Deliver Humanitarian Aid
One of the purposes of the United Nations, as stated in its
Charter, is "to achieve international co-operation in solving
international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or
humanitarian character." The UN first did this in the aftermath of
the Second World War on the devastated continent of Europe,
which it helped to rebuild. The Organization is now relied upon by
the international community to coordinate humanitarian relief
operations due to natural and man-made disasters in areas
beyond the relief capacity of national authorities alone.

SUCCESS OF UN IN PEACE MAKING

-The First and foremost it has prevented the occurrence of any
further world -wars. Instrumental in the maintenance of
international balance of power.
-It played a Significant role in disarming the world and making it
nuclear free. Various treaty negotiations like 'Partial Test Ban
Treaty' and 'Nuclear non-proliferation treaty' have been signed
under UN.
-Demise of colonialism and imperialism on one hand and
apartheid on the other had UN sanctions behind them.

-Since 1945, the UN has been credited with negotiating 172

peaceful settlements that have ended regional conflicts.
-A number of peace missions in Africa has done reasonably well to
control the situation.
UNITED NATIONS WORKED IN THE REGION OF AFRICA FOR
MAINTAINENCE AND REASSURANCE OF PEACE
Srebrenica
On July 11, 1995, towards the end of Bosnia's 1992-95 war,
Bosnian Serb forces swept into the eastern Srebrenica enclave
and executed 8,000 Muslim men and boys in the days that
followed, dumping their bodies into pits. It was the worst
massacre in post-Second World War European history. The UN had
previously declared the town one of the safe areas, to be "free
from any armed attack or any other hostile act". 600 Dutch
infantry were supposed to be protecting thousands of civilians
who had taken refuge from earlier Serb offensives in northeastern Bosnia.
As Serb forces began shelling Srebrenica, Bosnian Muslim fighters
in the town asked for the return of weapons they had surrendered
to the UN peacekeepers but their request was refused. The Dutch
peacekeepers were obliged to watch as the killings began. The
failure led in part to the creation of the United Nations
Peacebuilding Commission and set the West on a new course of
'liberal interventionism'.
Rwanda
Another major failing of the UN peacekeeping organisation was
not doing more to prevent the 1994 Rwandan genocide that left
up to one million people dead. A 1999 inquiry found that the UN
ignored evidence that the genocide was planned and refused to
act once it had started. More than 2,500 UN peacekeepers were
withdrawn after the murder of ten Belgian soldiers. In one case,

the peacekeeping forces deserted a school where Tutsis were

taking shelter hundreds of people inside were immediately
massacred.
Kofi Annan, who was then head of UN peacekeeping forces was
accused of failing to pass on warnings of the massacre. UN
soldiers did not return to Rwanda until June, by which time
hundreds of thousands of people were dead. The UN was accused
of leaving Rwanda to its fate.
Somalia
The UN operation was the first time the peacekeeping force had
been used for humanitarian intervention. However, the
peacekeepers were met with a hostile reception in Mogadishu.
Several of them were killed and the bodies of dead US soldiers
were paraded through the streets on the orders of the Somali
warlords.
When an American Black Hawk helicopter was shot down as part
of the Battle of Mogadishu, the US withdrew its troops. In 1995
the UN withdrew all peacekeeping troops. It was described at the
time by one UN official as "the greatest failure of the UN in our
lifetime".
Sierra Leone
The UN peacekeeping force that operated in Sierra Leone from
1999 to 2005 is hailed as a success. It was created to help
implement a peace agreement after the countrys devastating
civil war.
Mr Ban officially closed the UN offices in Freetown in 2014,
declaring a successful conclusion to the organisations work in
helping to bring peace to the country, calling it a triumph for the
people of Sierra Leone after what had been a decade of warfare.
Our blue helmets disarmed more than 75 000 ex-fighters,
including hundreds of child soldiers. The UN destroyed more than

42,000 weapons and 1.2 million rounds of ammunition a

potentially deadly arsenal that is now itself dead, Mr Ban
declared.
Burundi
Burundi is also frequently cited as a success story for the UN
peacekeeping operation, helping it recover from decades of ethnic
war. Ban Ki-moon, UN secretary-general, hailed Burundi's
substantial progress, overcoming formidable challenges since
the end of the civil war. But in 2014 he extended the
peacekeeping mission for a year to help the country through
elections, that took place earlier in July, and cautioned that the
gains made under the UNs watch were not irreversible.

CONCLUSION
The Security Council has primary responsibility, under the United
Nations Charter, for the maintenance of international peace and
security.It is for the Security Council to determine when and
where a UN Peacekeeping operation should be deployed. The
Security Council responds to crises around the world on a caseby-case basis and it has a range of options at its disposal. It takes
many different factors into account when considering the
establishment of new peacekeeping operation, including:

Whether there is a ceasefire in place and 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 UN operation can be formulated;

Whether the safety and security of UN personnel can be

reasonably ensured, including in particular whether reasonable
guarantees can be obtained from the main parties or factions
regarding the safety and security of UN personnel.
The Security Council establishes a peacekeeping operation by
adopting a Security Council resolution. The resolution sets out
that missions mandate and size.

The Security Council monitors the work of UN Peacekeeping

operations on an ongoing basis, including through periodic reports
from the Secretary-General and by holding dedicated Security
Council sessions to discuss the work of specific operations.

The Security Council can vote to extend, amend or end mission

mandates as it deems appropriate.

Under Article 25 of the Charter, all UN members agree to accept

and carry out the decisions of the Security Council. While other
organs of the UN make recommendations to Member States, the
Council alone has the power to take decisions which Member
States are obligated to implement.