What is the United Nation's purpose today?

The United Nations, as a whole, is used as a forum for international discussion on topics affecting the entire world. Beyond that, there are many committees in the UN who focus on different topics. For example, UNICEF is used to improve children's education worldwide. There are committes for humans rights, environmental protection, women's rights, refugees, and many other things. Originally, the UN was founded as a forum for global peace, and while this is definitely a focus, the different UN committees focus on different things. The Charter for the UN, found on the official UN site, says this, " WE THE PEOPLES OF THE UNITED NATIONS DETERMINED * to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and * to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, and * to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained, and * to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom, " This is the official charter of the UN: http://www.un.org/en/documents/charter/preamble.shtml Hope this helps!