The United Nations (UN) is a global intergovernmental organization that works to promote international cooperation and peacekeeping among nations. It was established on 24 October 1945 following the catastrophic effects of the Second World War, in order to prevent similar conflicts in the future. At its foundation the UN had 51 member states, but currently there are 193 members, excluding only Palestine and Vatican City. The primary mission of the United Nations since its founding has been to promote international peace and cooperation. However, now that the United Nations is much larger and better funded, with many individual organizations focusing on specific issues such as UNESCO and UNICEF, the UN mission has become much broader in relation to specific issues, such as poverty and women's rights. etc. However, the main objectives of the UN can be summarized in five general points; maintain international peace and security, promote sustainable development, protect human rights, uphold international law and provide humanitarian aid and peacekeeping support in areas of conflict or disaster. Personally, I believe that so far the United Nations has been relatively successful in working on these five main goals that it has set for itself. Compared to the League of Nations (the predecessor of the United Nations), the impact of the United Nations has come by leaps and bounds and has been more successful and is much more well-rooted globally than the League of Nations ever was. It is inevitable that conflicts will erupt, and therefore it is unrealistic for anyone to expect the United Nations to prevent all conflicts in the world (even if this is their main goal). However, this does not mean that they no longer fulfill their mission as the United Nations still has a great impact in shaping the world today, especially in developing countries. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay One of the main aspects of the United Nations mission in recent years has been the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals set in 2000 following the adoption of the United Nations Millennium Declaration. These Millennium Development Goals were eight international development goals that all 189 member states (at the time they were set) committed to and achieved by 2015. Each goal had specific individual targets set to track progress over time. The eight goals were: eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, achieve universal primary education, promote gender equality and women's empowerment, reduce infant mortality, improve maternal health, fight HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, ensure environmental sustainability and develop a global partnership for development. Clearly, not all of these goals have been achieved globally as many of these problems are still prevalent in different parts of the globe today. However, many countries have made a lot of progress in those 15 years, such as China, whose poor population dropped from 452 million to 278 million, and Brazil. In reality, progress towards these goals has been uneven across the world, as huge disparities exist between countries and continents. For example, in many parts of Africa and the Middle East there is still much work to be done, and the constant conflict in those areas has prevented much of the potential work that could have been done there to achieve the MDGs. In conclusion, although not all the Millennium Development Goals.