The United Nations (UN) was established in 1945. Article 1 of the UN Charter sets out its purposes which include the maintenance of international peace and security and the achievement of international co-operation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character.

The Charter established six principal organs of the United Nations: the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council, the International Court of Justice and the Secretariat. The United Nations system includes a number of other specialised agencies as well as several programmes and bodies.

The Dag Hammarskjöld Library website is a good place to start any UN-related research project, as it provides links to subject guides, landmark documents and research guides.

The United Nations system has 15 specialised agencies including: