The UN The United Nations is an international organization that was started in 1945 after World War II to replace the League of Nations. It was started to stop wars between countries, and to give a platform for discussion. It consists of 51 countries, and each of these countries were committed to assisting cooperation in economic development, social progress, international peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations, promoting social progress, human rights, promoting better living standards, and the achieving of world peace.

Main Bodies The United Nations has six different main bodies. General Assembly, Economic and Social Council, International Court of Justice, Security Council, Trusteeship Council, and Secretariat.

General Assembly Created in 1945 under the Charter of the United Nations, the General Assembly has the position as the chief deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the United Nations. Including all192 Members of the United Nations, it gives a platform for multilateral discussion of several international issues covered by the Charter. The General Assembly also plays a significant role in the process of standard- setting and the designation of international law.

Economic and Social Council ECOSOC was established under the United Nations Charter as the principal organ to coordinate economic, social, and related work of the 14 UN specialized agencies, functional commissions and five regional commissions. It is responsible for: promoting higher standards of living, full employment, and economic and social progress; identifying solutions to international economic, social and health problems Assisting international cultural and educational cooperation encouraging universal respect for human rights and essential freedoms.

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice was established in June 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations and began work in April 1946. It is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. The Court is at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands. Out of The six main organs of the United Nations, it is the only one not located in New York. The Court’s role is to settle, in unity with international law, legal disputes submitted to it by States and to give suggestive opinions on legal questions referred by authorized United Nations organs and specialized agencies. The Court is composed of 15 judges, who are elected for terms of office of nine years by the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council. It is assisted by a Registry, its administrative organ. Its official languages are English and French.

Trusteeship Council Under the Charter, the Trusteeship Council is authorized to examine and discuss reports from the Administering Authority on the political, economic, social and educational advancement of the peoples of Trust Territories and, in consultation with the Administering Authority, to examine petitions from and undertake periodic and other special missions to Trust Territories.

The Secretariat The Secretariat is an international staff working in duty stations around the world. They carry out the diverse day-to-day work of the Organization. It services the other main bodies of the United Nations and administers the programmes and policies laid down by them. The duties carried out by the Secretariat are as varied as the problems dealt with by the United Nations. These range from administering peacekeeping operations to mediating international disputes, from surveying economic and social trends and problems to preparing studies on human rights and sustainable development. Secretariat staff also inform the world's communications media about the work of the United Nations; organize international conferences on issues of worldwide concern; and interpret speeches and translate documents into the Organization's official languages.

Security Council The Security Council held its first session on 17 January 1946 at Church House, London. Since its first meeting, the Council, which is in continuous session, has traveled widely, holding meetings in many cities, such as Paris and Addis Ababa, and its home in New York City. The Security Council is responsible with the maintenance of international peace and security. There are 15 members of the Security Council, consisting of 5 veto- wielding permanent members (China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, and United States) and 10 elected non-permanent members with two-year terms. This basic structure is set out in Chapter V of the UN Charter. Security Council members must always be present at UN headquarters in New York so that the Security Council can meet at any time. This requirement of the United Nations Charter was adopted to address a weakness of the League of Nations since that organization was often unable to respond quickly to a crisis.

The United Nations Security Council 'power of veto' refers to the veto power used only by the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. These countries include China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, and United States. The veto enables them to prevent the adoption of any substantive draft Council resolution, regardless of the level of international support for the draft. The veto does not apply to procedural votes, which is significant in that the Security Council's permanent membership can vote against a 'procedural' draft resolution, without necessarily blocking its adoption by the Council. The veto is exercised when any permanent member of the P5 casts a "negative" vote on a 'substantive' draft resolution. Abstention, or absence from the vote by a permanent member does not prevent a draft resolution from being adopted.

Secretary General On 1 January 2007, Ban Ki- moon of the Republic of Korea became the eighth Secretary- General of the United Nations, bringing to his post 37 years of service both in Government and on the global stage.

Activities World Food Program WFP has developed expertise in a range of areas including Food Security Analysis, Nutrition, Food Procurement and Logistics to ensure the best solutions for the world's hungry.  In 2010, WFP aims to bring food assistance to more than 90 million people in 73 countries. WFP's strategic plan lays out five objectives and all our work is geared towards achieving them. They are: Save lives and protect livelihoods in emergencies Prepare for emergencies Restore and rebuild lives after emergencies Reduce chronic hunger and under nutrition everywhere Strengthen the capacity of countries to reduce hunger United Nations Development Fund for Women UNIFEM is the women's fund at the United Nations, dedicated to advancing women’s rights and achieving gender equality. It provides financial and technical assistance to innovative programmes and strategies that foster women's empowerment In support of this goal, UNIFEM works in the following thematic areas: enhancing women’s economic security and rights, ending violence against women, reducing the prevalence of HIV and AIDS among women and girls, and advancing gender justice in democratic governance in stable and fragile states.

My Opinion When I first started researching the UN, I already had this preconceived notion in my mind that the UN was just an apathetic, and useless organization that was trying, and failing at changing the world. I had those opinions because that is what a lot of the Media says. You really only hear the bad things, like the fail of a mission in Rwanda; and because of those things I was sure I was going to find nothing but disappointing facts about the UN. But I found so much more than that. Yes, they have had some missions that have failed, but more often than not, they have had great accomplishments. The UN does more than peacekeeping, they are changing our world for the better, and I’m really starting to believe in what they are doing. Even though I still will have some scepticism towards the way they peacekeep, I’ve learned this lesson to have an open mind when it comes to the UN, because they really are doing great things. They are bringing hope to the world. Helping us believe that more can, and will be done to fix what has been broken in our world -- Carmen Halliday