What Does the United Nations Do?

When and why was the United Nations founded?

Delegates of fifty nations met in San Francisco between April 25 and June 26, 1945 and agreed on the Charter of the United Nations, which they signed on June 26, 1945.^[2] Poland, which had no delegation at the conference, signed on October 15, 1945 and became one of the original 51 members.^[2]

The United Nations came into existence on October 24, 1945, once China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and a majority of the other signatories had ratified it.^[2] The new organization was designed to end war and to promote peace, justice and better living for all.^[2]

The first purpose listed in the Charter is to maintain international peace and security.^[1] Its other purposes include friendly relations among nations, cooperation on economic, social, cultural and humanitarian problems, and respect for human rights for all.^[1] Membership has grown from 51 states in 1945 to 193 member states, the current total given by the UN.^[3]

What are the six main organs of the UN?

The Charter created six principal organs, all established when the organization was founded in 1945.^[1][4]

In the General Assembly, every member has one vote.^[1] Important questions, such as peace and security, admitting new members and the budget, need a two-thirds majority, while other questions are decided by simple majority.^[4] The Assembly makes recommendations in the form of resolutions.^[6]

The Secretary-General is the UN's chief administrative officer, appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council for a five-year term that can be renewed.^[4] António Guterres of Portugal, the ninth person to hold the post, took office on January 1, 2017 and was reappointed for a second term on June 18, 2021.^[3] He is due to leave office when his successor's five-year term begins in January 2027.^[11] On October 1, 2026, the Security Council's president for the month announced several planned straw polls and called October the month to "make progress or even agree on" a new Secretary-General.^[12]

The Trusteeship Council was set up to supervise 11 Trust Territories run by seven member states and to prepare them for self-government or independence.^[4] All of them had reached that goal by 1994, and the council suspended operation on November 1, 1994.^[4]

The International Court of Justice sits at the Peace Palace in The Hague, making it the only principal organ not based in New York.^[4] It settles legal disputes submitted by states and gives advisory opinions to authorized UN bodies.^[4]

How does the Security Council veto work?

The Security Council has five permanent members and ten non-permanent members, which the General Assembly elects for two-year terms.^[1][4] The permanent members are China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States.^[5] The Charter itself still names the Soviet Union, which the Security Council says was succeeded by the Russian Federation.^[1][5]

Procedural decisions need nine votes in favor, and all other decisions need nine votes including the concurring votes of the permanent members.^[1] This is known as the right to veto: if any permanent member votes against a resolution, it is not approved.^[5] A permanent member that disagrees but does not want to block a text can abstain instead, and the resolution can still pass with nine votes in favor.^[5] All five permanent members have used the veto at one time or another.^[5]

Under the Charter, member states agree to accept and carry out the Council's decisions.^[1] The Council can call on parties to settle a dispute peacefully, and in some cases it can impose sanctions or authorize the use of force.^[4]

What does the UN do in practice?

Peacekeeping. Peacekeeping operations get their mandates from the Security Council, and their troops and police are contributed by member states.^[6] As of October 2026, the UN's figures list 11 operations currently deployed and 71 deployed since 1948.^[6] The UN has no military forces of its own: countries volunteer military and police personnel, and soldiers are paid by their own governments.^[7]

Humanitarian aid and development. The wider UN system includes many funds, programs and specialized agencies, each with its own area of work, leadership and budget.^[9] The World Food Programme helps almost 100 million people in about 88 countries every year.^[9] UNICEF works in 190 countries and territories, and the UN Development Programme works in nearly 170 to help reduce poverty and inequality.^[9]

Human rights. The General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.^[8] The Human Rights Council, set up in 2006, meets in Geneva and is the main intergovernmental UN body for human rights.^[8] The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights leads the UN's work to promote and protect human rights.^[8]

How is the United Nations funded?

The Charter says the General Assembly approves the budget and that member states pay the organization's expenses as the Assembly divides them.^[1] For 2026, the Assembly approved a regular budget of $3.45 billion, about 7 percent lower than the approved 2025 budget.^[10] Peacekeeping has a separate budget that runs from July 1 to June 30.^[10]

Every member state is legally obliged to pay its share of peacekeeping costs.^[7] These are divided under a special scale that takes account of each country's relative wealth, with the five permanent members paying a larger share.^[7] A member whose unpaid dues equal or exceed what it owed for the previous two full years loses its vote in the General Assembly, although the Assembly may still let it vote if it is satisfied that the failure to pay is due to conditions beyond the member's control.^[1]

Not all UN work is paid for by assessed contributions: the UN's funds and programs are financed through voluntary contributions, while the specialized agencies receive both voluntary and assessed contributions.^[9]