Daily Junction.mobi portalWorld · July 4, 2026 · Liam Chen · 9 min
The UN has 193 member states and aims to maintain peace, but the Security Council veto means it often cannot act — here's how it works and why it matters.
The United Nations (UN) is the world's most important international organisation, with 193 member states and a mission to maintain peace, promote human rights, and coordinate global action on issues like climate change, poverty, and disease. It was created in 1945 after World War II to prevent another global conflict, and it has been credited with preventing World War III. But the UN is also deeply flawed: the Security Council veto means that any of the five permanent members (USA, UK, France, Russia, China) can block UN action, rendering it powerless in many conflicts. The UN has failed to stop wars in Syria, Yemen, Gaza, and Ukraine, and critics say it is outdated, ineffective, and dominated by great powers. Here is everything you need to know about the UN — how it works, what it does, and why it so often fails.
The United Nations is an international organisation founded in 1945 to:
The UN replaced the League of Nations, which failed to prevent World War II.
The UN was created by the UN Charter, signed by 51 countries in San Francisco on 26 June 1945. The Charter came into force on 24 October 1945 (now celebrated as UN Day).
The founding members were the Allied powers of World War II, led by the USA, UK, Soviet Union, China, and France (the "Big Five").
The UN now has 193 member states — almost every country in the world. The most recent members are South Sudan (2011) and Montenegro (2006).
Non-members:
The UN has six main organs:
The General Assembly is the UN's main deliberative body, where all 193 member states have one vote. It meets annually in New York (September–December) to debate and pass resolutions on international issues.
What it does:
Limitations:
The Security Council is the UN's most powerful body, responsible for maintaining international peace and security. It has 15 members:
What it does:
The veto:
Each of the five permanent members has veto power, meaning they can block any Security Council resolution. If one permanent member votes "no," the resolution fails, even if the other 14 members vote "yes."
The veto has been used over 290 times since 1945:
The veto is the UN's biggest weakness. It means the UN cannot act when one of the P5 opposes action, which is often the case in major conflicts.
The Secretariat is the UN's administrative body, led by the Secretary-General (currently António Guterres, Portugal, elected 2017).
The Secretary-General is the UN's chief diplomat and spokesperson, and can bring issues to the Security Council's attention. But the role is largely symbolic — the Secretary-General has no power to enforce decisions.
The Secretariat employs 44,000 staff worldwide, working on peacekeeping, humanitarian aid, development, and administration.
ECOSOC coordinates the UN's economic, social, and environmental work. It has 54 members (elected by the General Assembly) and works with UN agencies like the WHO, UNICEF, and UNESCO.
The ICJ (also called the World Court) is the UN's judicial body, based in The Hague, Netherlands. It settles disputes between countries and gives advisory opinions on legal questions.
The ICJ has 15 judges (elected by the General Assembly and Security Council) and hears cases on issues like border disputes, war crimes, and treaty violations.
Limitations:
The Trusteeship Council oversaw the decolonisation of former colonies after World War II. It suspended operations in 1994 after the last trust territory (Palau) gained independence.
The UN deploys peacekeeping missions to conflict zones to monitor ceasefires, protect civilians, and support peace processes. Peacekeepers (known as Blue Helmets) are soldiers, police, and civilians contributed by member states.
Current missions (2024): 12 active peacekeeping missions, with 87,000 personnel deployed in countries including:
Cost: $6.5 billion per year (2024)
Successes: UN peacekeeping has helped end conflicts in Cambodia, Mozambique, El Salvador, and Liberia.
Failures: UN peacekeepers failed to prevent genocides in Rwanda (1994) and Srebrenica (1995), and have been accused of sexual abuse and exploitation in several missions.
The UN coordinates humanitarian aid through agencies like:
The UN provides aid to over 100 million people per year, including refugees, victims of natural disasters, and people in conflict zones.
The UN promotes economic and social development through:
The UN promotes human rights through:
The UN coordinates global action on climate change through:
The Security Council veto means the UN cannot act when one of the P5 opposes action. This has paralysed the UN in major conflicts:
The veto is the UN's biggest weakness, and there is no realistic way to reform it (because the P5 would veto any reform).
The UN has no army and cannot force countries to comply with its decisions. It relies on member states to enforce resolutions, which they often do not do.
For example, the ICJ ruled that Russia's invasion of Ukraine was illegal, but Russia ignored the ruling.
The UN is dominated by the P5, who use the veto to protect their interests and those of their allies. Smaller countries have little power, and the General Assembly (where all countries have one vote) is largely symbolic.
The UN is a large, bureaucratic organisation with 44,000 staff and dozens of agencies. Decision-making is slow, and coordination between agencies is poor.
The UN's regular budget is $3.4 billion per year (2024), funded by member contributions. The USA is the largest contributor (22%), followed by China (15%) and Japan (8%).
But the budget is small compared to the UN's responsibilities, and many countries do not pay their contributions on time.
Despite its flaws, the UN has achieved a lot:
The UN has provided a forum for dialogue between great powers, preventing direct conflict between the USA and Soviet Union/Russia during the Cold War and beyond.
UN peacekeeping has helped end conflicts in Cambodia, Mozambique, El Salvador, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.
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