There are four purposes, according to the UN Charter, that the United Nations is created for. They are to keep peace, to strengthen relations among nations, to solve economic problems while promoting fundamental rights for all, and to allow nations to work together harmoniously on these issue. There are further eight more specific goals that are set to end poverty by 2015, and these are called the Millennium Development Goals.
One important factor in understanding whether UN is effective in achieving it's goals is how much conflict it has prevented or reduced. The fact that a world war haven't happened since 1945 can partly be credited to the United Nations. However, many smaller conflicts, especially domestic ones, are still prevalent and ignored by UN. Some of these are the 1971 Bangladesh Atrocities, Sebrenica Massacre, and Darfur Cirsis. These genocides weren't interfered by the UN, because military force, which is usually the most effective solution, is very difficult to be legally authorized by the UN. In fact, only the Security Council has the power to send troops, and the veto power of the P5 members in the Security Council prevented many necessary military interventions.
The Second factor over UN's effectiveness will be how much it has reduced poverty, human rights abuses, and other not very politically related issues. On this side, UN is mostly successful. World Bank, which is part of the UN, has been financing on all kinds of development projects in Less Economically Developed Countries concentrated mainly in Asia and Africa. Another sub-organization, World Health Organization, combat worldwide diseases such as AIDS and recently Ebola. International Labor Organization and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees were further important organizations that helped limit human rights abuses in less developed area. United Nations acted a lot more over this issue, because there is a collective interest over these issues that makes the nations willing to sacrifice their national interest.
http://www.un.org/en/documents/charter/index.shtml
http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_the_United_Nations#Effectiveness_criticisms
http://www.un.org/en/aboutun/structure/pdfs/UN%20system%20chart_lettercolor_2013.pdf
One important factor in understanding whether UN is effective in achieving it's goals is how much conflict it has prevented or reduced. The fact that a world war haven't happened since 1945 can partly be credited to the United Nations. However, many smaller conflicts, especially domestic ones, are still prevalent and ignored by UN. Some of these are the 1971 Bangladesh Atrocities, Sebrenica Massacre, and Darfur Cirsis. These genocides weren't interfered by the UN, because military force, which is usually the most effective solution, is very difficult to be legally authorized by the UN. In fact, only the Security Council has the power to send troops, and the veto power of the P5 members in the Security Council prevented many necessary military interventions.
The Second factor over UN's effectiveness will be how much it has reduced poverty, human rights abuses, and other not very politically related issues. On this side, UN is mostly successful. World Bank, which is part of the UN, has been financing on all kinds of development projects in Less Economically Developed Countries concentrated mainly in Asia and Africa. Another sub-organization, World Health Organization, combat worldwide diseases such as AIDS and recently Ebola. International Labor Organization and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees were further important organizations that helped limit human rights abuses in less developed area. United Nations acted a lot more over this issue, because there is a collective interest over these issues that makes the nations willing to sacrifice their national interest.
http://www.un.org/en/documents/charter/index.shtml
http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_the_United_Nations#Effectiveness_criticisms
http://www.un.org/en/aboutun/structure/pdfs/UN%20system%20chart_lettercolor_2013.pdf