Abstract
The United Nations is not the first international organization to be established to help in settling conflicts peacefully and preventing future conflicts. In 1899, the Hague Convention for the Settlement of International Disputes was established. "The conference was convened at the initiative of Czar Nicolas II of Russia "with the object of seeking the most objective means of ensuring to all peoples the benefits of a real and lasting peace, and above all, of limiting the progressive development of existing armaments.""1. "The Hague Convention set up the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which was the first global mechanism for the settlement of inter-state disputes"1. There was also the League of Nations established in 1919 by Woodrow Wilson. However, these organizations proved to be ineffective due to a lack of credibility and legitimacy. Therefore, I shall look at the United Nations' effectiveness as a system by looking at what is has done so far, and by examining just how legitimate and credible it really is.
"The United Nations was established in the aftermath of World War II to help in stabilizing international relations and give peace a secure foundation."2. In 1945, when the United Nations was first set-up, it had 51 member states, now, 58 years on, it has nearly quadrupled in terms of member states with presently 191 countries. The United Nations has been engaged in a total of 53 peace keeping missions since its formation although obviously not all of them have been successful
