United Nations (UN) - An organization of sovereign nations whose primary objective is the maintenance of international peace and security (United Nations, 1982). The UN was founded in 1945, during the final weeks of the Second World War. According to the United Nations Charter, this organization was created based on popular sentiment towards war and does not want future generations to suffer the unspeakable pain that comes with it (United Nations, 1987). Initially, UN peacekeeping missions, managed by the Security Council, were limited to maintaining ceasefires between nations. These ceasefires have been maintained through light military activity and limited peace agreements. As time passed, their peacekeeping missions involved more rigorous military activity, but this strategy did not prevent the outbreak of the Cold War. The Cold War required a much more thoughtful strategy since there was no real “military war”. After 66 years since the formation of the United Nations, the peacekeeping situation has moved away from the promise that future generations would not go through the atmosphere of war during the early and mid-1900s. Nothing as catastrophic as the two world wars, but there were events after the formation of the United Nations that could have been handled better. These events were a major reason why they were not a successful peacekeeping organization. Events that reflect UN peacekeeping failures include the conflicts between India and Pakistan that still rage today with multiple bombings in India, the Rwandan genocide in which more than 800,000 people died in 1994 in Rwanda following the killing of their president, and the Congo crisis followed by Congo's independence from Belgium.India gai...... middle of paper....... (1982). New York: Department of Public Information, United Nations. Basic facts about the United Nations. (1977). New York: United Nations, Office of Public Information. Genocide in Rwanda. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.unitedhumanrights.org/genocide/genocide_in_rwanda.htmOn. (2006, July 11). Terror strikes Mumbai again with series of explosions - cnn. Retrieved from http://articles.cnn.com/2011-07-13/world/india.blasts_1_mumbai-prithviraj-chavan-zaveri-bazaar?_s=PM:WORLDAbdullah. (2003, April). Kashmir. Retrieved from http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/kashmir.htmMatthew, B.J. (n.d.). plebiscite - definition of plebiscite from the free online dictionary, synonyms and encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/plebisciteAlbert, K. (n.d.). A. Retrieved from http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/united_nations_congo.htm