One of the most remarkable buildings in New York's skyline
The United Nations was founded in 1945 in San Francisco as the successor organization of the League of Nations in order to secure world peace and to promote international cooperation. The UN headquarters are in New York, and in addition there are other “UN cities” such as Geneva and Vienna.
The main organizations are the General Assembly (UNGA; it meets once a year from mid-September, but cannot pass any laws); the Security Council (UNSC) with the five permanent members USA, Russia, People's Republic of China, Great Britain and France, and ten other members from the General Assembly who are elected for two years; the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC); the International Court of Justice (IJC) with its seat in The Hague (Netherlands); and the Secretariat (UNSG) headed by the Secretary General. The original 51 states have now become 191 member states. On 24 October, the official founding day, the “Day of the United Nations” is celebrated.
