United Nations: A Research Guide

The United Nations (UN) is an international organization, founded after World War II, for the purposes of maintaining international peace and security.  The Charter of the United Nations states:

WE THE PEOPLES OF THE UNITED NATIONS DETERMINED...

• to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and
• to regain faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, and
• to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained, and
• to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom...

According to its website,  the UN's four main goals are:

• To keep peace throughout the world,
• To develop friendly relations among nations,
• To promote better living standards,
• And to act as the central location for enacting these goals. 

The UN is comprised of a number of different member states.  Florida International University's Green Library is one of a handful of official UN Depository Libraries and contains a number of excellent primary source materials concerning a wide variety of subjects within international relations.

To learn more, click here for a more detailed information regarding the United Nations.