The United Nations is the only global international organization that serves multiple functions in international relations. The UN was designed to ensure international peace and security, and its founders realized that peace and security could not be achieved without attention to issues of rights—including political, legal, economic, social, environmental, and individual.

The purposes, principles, and organization of the United Nations are outlined in the Charter. The essential principles underlying the purposes and functions of the organization are listed in Article 2 and include the following: the UN is based on the sovereign equality of its members; disputes are to be settled by peaceful means; members are to ...

During the Cold War the Soviet Union and the countries of eastern Europe formed one of the most cohesive blocs, and another bloc comprised the United States and its Western allies. The admission of new countries of the Southern Hemisphere in the 1960s and ’70s and the dissipation of Cold War tensions after 1989 contributed to the formation of blocs based on “North-South” …

The United Nations, like the League of Nations, has played a major role in defining, codifying, and expanding the realm of international law. The International Law Commission, established by the General Assembly in 1947, is the primary institution responsible for these activities. The Legal Committee of the General Assembly receives the commission’s reports and debates its …

By The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica | View Edit History. The United Nations was founded on October 24, 1945, and has worldwide scope and membership, though not all countries are members of the UN, and the admission of some members has sometimes sparked political controversy. New members are admitted to the UN on the recommendation of the ...

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations (UN) organization formed in 1965 to help countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable human development, an approach to economic growth that emphasizes improving the quality of life of all citizens while conserving the environment and natural resources for future generations. The largest UN …