The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organisation established on 24 October 1945 to promote international cooperation. A replacement for the ineffective League of Nations, the organisation was created following World War II to prevent another such conflict. At its founding, the UN had 51 member states; there are now 193. The UN Headquarters resides in international territory in New York City, with further main offices in Geneva, Nairobi, and Vienna. The organisation is financed by assessed and voluntary contributions from its member states. Its objectives include maintaining international peace and security, promoting human rights, fostering social and economic development, protecting the environment, and providing humanitarian aid in cases of famine, natural disaster, and armed conflict.  Read more..

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "United_Nations", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.