The United Nations, established after World War Two, aims to prevent future conflicts by offering a platform for countries to communicate and make agreements, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
It oversees over 560 multilateral treaties and runs various projects through its agencies, addressing issues from child literacy to sustainable farming. Despite criticisms of being expensive and slow due to disagreements among nations, the UN has successfully resolved international disputes and supported countries in gaining independence.
Vocabulary:
• Organisation - a group of people working together for a specific purpose.
• Horrors - very frightening or shocking things.
• Platform - a place or opportunity for discussion or action.
• Agreements - arrangements or promises made between parties.
• Treaties - formal agreements between countries.
• Bureaucratic - involving a lot of rules and procedures that can be complex or slow.
• Independence - freedom from control or influence by others.
Source: BBC Learning English