The United Nations is an organization of about 200 countries. This is according to the latest figures. The purpose of the United Nations Organization is to maintain international peace and promote international cooperation among nations. Its headquarters is in the United States, in New York City, but there are branches of the U.N. in Paris, in Rome and in Geneva. .
It was back in 1944 that the United Nations was first planned. The charter of the U.N. was formally signed by fifty countries in October of 1945 in San Francisco, California. .
In 1950 John D. Rockefeller, Jr, the well-known millionaire and philanthropist, gave the United Nations Organization a section of land in New York City. Today, the U.N. occupies 73 hectares in the centre of the city. The United Nations budget now totals more than $900 million per year. .
When a country joins the U.N., it promises to settle any dispute or disagreement it has with another country peacefully. This is a promise that's not always easy to keep, but it's certainly one that is so vital, so really necessary, in this day of world-wide nuclear weapons. The six main organs of the United Nations are: the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council, the International Court of Justice and the Secretariat. The biggest UN organ is the General Assembly, which is composed of representatives of all the member nations. Each nation may send not more than five representatives to each session. Each nation is entitled to one vote.
Besides, the most impotent organ is the Security Council as the measures it prescribes are compulsory, whereas the General Assembly resolutions are of the advisable character.
The Security Council consists of 15 members, 5 with permanent seats. The remaining 10 are elected for 2-year terms by the General Assembly, they are not eligible for immediate re-election. .
Permanent members of the Council: China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.