United Nations

The United Nations (UN) is a massive intergovernmental organization founded after the end of World War II to foster healthy diplomacy; maintain global peace and stability; and facilitate international cooperation.

Based in New York with branches all over the world, the UN is the world's largest international organization.

It consists of six principal organs:

  1. The General Assembly, which consists of all UN member states, which votes to admit new members, adopts the budget, and elects members to other organs in the organization.
  2. The Security Council, which adopts compulsory resolutions and is responsible for maintaining international peace and security.
  3. The Economic and Social Council, which helps facilitate economic and social cooperation between different nations and between the UN and other organizations.
  4. The Secretariat, the UN's administrative organization led by the UN secretary-general.
  5. The International Court of Justice, which settles legal disputes between member nations.
  6. The Trusteeship Council, which dealt with colonial possessions but which has been defunct since 1994.

The UN also consists of several smaller agencies, such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The UN overall is led by the secretary-general, who is currently Antonio Guterres. 

Paying for the 'day after': Who will fund Gaza’s reconstruction? - opinion

The donors likely to finance Egypt’s plan include a mix of international and regional actors.

 A general view shows destruction in North Gaza, as seen from Israel, May 27, 2025.
 YITZHAK TREISTER

The New Zealand-Zionist connection: How one family helped shape Israel’s birth

 Demonstrators protest against the United States joining with Israel in attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities, as Marines stand guard at a federal building in Los Angeles, California, US, June 22, 2025.

The cause of hatred: Backlash against Israel's survival against Iran - opinion

 KIKAR YONI, Yoni Square in Jerusalem, is named for the heroic Netanyahu brother who fell in the 1976 raid on Entebbe.

This week in Jewish history: Yoni and Entebbe raid, Law of Return passed


Due to Iran safety concerns, UN pulls nuclear inspectors out - report

Grossi "reiterated the crucial importance of the IAEA discussing with Iran modalities for resuming its indispensable monitoring and verification activities in Iran as soon as possible."

 IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi against backdrop of an Iranian missile.

UN's Albanese urges states cut Israel trade ties over 'apocalyptic' Gaza situation

UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese calls for arms embargo and end of trade, financial ties with Israel over "genocidal campaign" in Gaza.

 UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025.

UN calls on UK to stop proscribing Palestine Action as a terror group

“According to international standards, acts of protest that damage property, but are not intended to kill or injure people, should not be treated as terrorism," the UN said.

 MEMBERS OF the Palestine Action Group gather in Sydney, in May.

Iran enacts law halting all cooperation with nuclear watchdog IAEA

The bill, titled ‘Suspension of the Islamic Republic's Cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency with a Two-Urgency Requirement,’ was originally put forward in parliament last month.

 IAEA's Grossi and Iran's FM Abbas Araghchi appear before an illustrative image of a US-struck Iranian nuclear site

Trump administration accuses UN Palestinian rights envoy of ‘virulent antisemitism'

The administration’s warning comes on the heels of a new report by Albanese titled “From Economy of Occupation to Economy of Genocide.”

 UN Special Rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese gives a press conference at the UN City in Copenhagen, Denmark February 5, 2025.

Over 170 charities call for end to Gaza aid distribution system

The charities called for countries to press Israel to halt the GHF scheme and reinstate aid coordinated through the United Nations.

 Palestinians collect aid supplies from the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 9, 2025.

IDF securing GHF sites critical for stifling Hamas control of population in Gaza

This comes amid fierce allegations and footage of live bullets shot at Palestinians at the GHF sites, which the UN has called a humanitarian catastrophe, where hundreds have been reportedly killed.

 Palestinians approach to collect aid supplies from the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, May 29, 2025.

Iranian newspaper calls to arrest and execute IAEA chief, European nations condemn

Grossi has not directly responded to the newspaper's allegations. He has said his top priority is ensuring IAEA inspectors can return to nuclear sites in Iran as soon as possible.

 An Iranian man holds a newspaper with a cover photo of Iran and US flags on a street in Tehran, Iran, April 19, 2025

IAEA cooperation cannot continue due to 'security concerns,' Iran says

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi on Sunday said that Iran could be producing enriched uranium within a few months, raising doubts about the impacts of US strikes.

 Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, said US strikes on Sunday had caused significant damage to nuclear facilities.

IAEA chief: Despite strikes on nuclear sites, Iran may enrich uranium within months

Iran could be producing enriched uranium in a few months, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog Rafael Grossi said, raising doubts about how effective US strikes in Iran have been.

 IRANIAN FLAGS fly as fire and smoke rise from an Israeli attack on the Sharan oil depot in Tehran on Sunday. The world watches as Israel exercises the most basic right of any sovereign state: the right of self-defense, says the writer.

Geneva branch of Gaza Humanitarian Foundation could face court action

A legal document posted on the Commercial Register of the Swiss Canton of Geneva dated Thursday said the GHF affiliate had "deficiencies in the organization that are mandatory by law."

 Palestinians gather to collect what remains of relief supplies from the distribution center of the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 5, 2025.