The Role of United Nations in International Relations (Essay Sample)

The Role of United Nations in International Relations
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The Role of United Nations in International Relations

The United Nations is the most influential intergovernmental organization in the world. It is headquartered in New York and has 193 member states. Formed immediately after the end of the second world war after the failure of its predecessor, the League of Nations, the United Nations has become the most significant actor in international relations (United Nations, 2020). The organization performs many international relations roles, such as maintaining international peace and security, protecting and promoting human rights, and providing humanitarian assistance.

The maintenance of world peace and security is the primary role of the United Nations in international relations. Member states voluntarily provide peacekeeping personnel since the organization does not have its army. Since 1947, the United Nations has been involved in at least 70 peacekeeping missions, and two out of every three missions have been successful (United Nations, 2020). The United Nations maintains global security through the Security Council resolutions. For example, these resolutions have eliminated national atomic weapon armaments and all other weapons that can be used for mass destruction (United Nations, 2020). Besides, the United Nations has been involved in global countercriticism efforts in the recent past, reducing its threat to member states. Therefore, the United Nations has effectively played its peacekeeping and security role in the international system.
Another primary role of the United Nations in international relations is promoting and protecting human rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the document that provides the framework that guides this role. This document proclaims the fundamental rights of all human beings, and member states have made separate and joint actions to promote and protect these rights (United Nations, 2020). The United Nations has other human rights-based conventions such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of all For