UNITED NATIONS

At the end of World War I (1914–1918), President Woodrow Wilson (1913–1921) advocated the League of Nations to the American public. An international organization devised to foster international cooperation and the peaceful resolution of conflict, the League of Nations was a centrally weak but well-meaning organization. Its successor, the United Nations (UN), is substantially stronger. Created in 1945 after World War II (1939–1945), the UN began with 50 members. Among them were the United States, the Soviet Union, Great Britain, France, and China.

With a purpose to promote international harmony, peace, and cooperation between the world's nations, the United Nations is involved in many issues, including economic, social, cultural, health, and human rights matters. Its actions are divided between six main bodies: the General Assembly, a deliberative group to which all UN members belong; the Security Council, which attempts to maintain peace through economic sanctions or military action; the International Court of Justice, established to issue advice and settle disputes within its jurisdiction; the Economic and Social Council, to advise on economic and social issues; the Trusteeship Council, which administers non-self-governing territories; and the Secretariat.

The Secretariat is the UN's main administrative body and is headed by a secretary-general. It settles disputes, carries out peace-keeping activities, gathers information regarding political and economic trends, and oversees the activities of the organization's specialized agencies. The Secretariat is in charge of directing all bodies of the UN in fulfilling its goals.

There are many agencies within the organization that carry out specific tasks. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is among them. It stabilizes the exchange rates between countries and may also play a role in lending money to nations. The World Bank lends funds for infrastructure projects. To deal with health problems on both an international and a local scale, the UN operates the World Health Organization. To specifically administer to the health and welfare of children worldwide, the UN directs projects through the United Nations' Children's Fund (UNICEF), one of its most well-known agencies.

While UNICEF may be the organization's most popular agency, the Security Council is one of the UN's most controversial. Through the Security Council, the UN deploys peacekeeping forces and administers economic sanctions. Since it was created in 1945, the UN has sent peacekeeping forces to India and Pakistan (1948, 1965), Korea (1950), Cyprus (1964), Israel and Syria (1974), Lebanon (1978), Angola (1988), Iraq and Kuwait (1991), Western Sahara (1991), and the former Yugoslavia (1993). Not all of these ventures were successful in keeping the peace. Support for actions like these is not always unanimous within the organization.

The United Nations is funded by member fees, which are based on per capita income, national income, and ability to meet obligations. Fifty years after its founding in 1945, the United Nations has grown to be a larger organization (184 members as of 1994), stronger than its predecessor, the League of Nations, and a prominent participant in world affairs.