The United Nations (UN) is one of the main international organizations and actors in international law. The UN was founded in June 26, 1945 following WWII with the express purpose of guarding peace and preventing war. The principal constitutive document of the UN is the United Nations Charter. In its nearly 80-year history, the UN has evolved into a complex bureaucracy, with a great number of subsidiary structures and organizations. The five principal organs of the UN (formerly six, the UN Trusteeship Council suspended operations in 1994) are:
- United Nations General Assembly;
- United Nations Security Council;
- UN Economic and Social Council;
- UN Secretariat;
- International Court of Justice
These five organizations, and related international organizations, are collectively known as the United Nations System. The best resource for information on the United Nations is the United Nations website (https://www.un.org/).
[Last updated in July of 2024 by the Wex Definitions Team]