The United Nations (UN) is a diplomatic and political[2] international organization with the intended purpose of maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations and countries, achieving international cooperation, and serving as a center for coordinating the actions of member states.[3] It is widely recognised as the world's largest international organization.[4] The UN is headquartered in New York City, in international territory with certain privileges extraterritorial to the United States, and the UN has other offices in Geneva, Nairobi, Vienna, and The Hague, where the International Court of Justice is headquartered at the Peace Palace.
The UN was established after World War II with the aim of preventing future world wars, and succeeded the League of Nations, which was characterized as being ineffective.[5] On 25 April 1945, 50 nations assembled in San Francisco, California, for a conference and initialised the drafting of the UN Charter, which was adopted on 25 June 1945. The charter took effect on 24 October 1945, when the UN began operations. The UN's objectives, as outlined by its charter, include maintaining international peace and security, protecting human rights, delivering humanitarian aid, promoting sustainable development, and upholding international law.[6] At its founding, the UN had 51 member states; as of 2024, it has 193 sovereign states, nearly all of the world's recognized sovereign states.[7]
