The UN is not just the Security Council or the General Assembly, and it is not now and never was meant to be a "World Government" as some anti-UN people like to accuse it of, that was never it's purpose. And when some people try to downplay the importance of the UN as "nothing more than a Debating Society," well that's wrong too.
Here's a very simplified list of the parts that make up the UN and links to more info: <
http://www.un.org/geninfo/ir/index.asp?id=110#q7>
The United Nations System at a GlanceThe UN System Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB) is chaired by the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Its members include the heads of the following organizations:
* Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
* International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
* International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
* International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
* International Labour Organization (ILO)
* International Maritime Organization (IMO)
* International Monetary Fund (IMF)
* International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
* United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
* United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
* United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
* United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
* United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
* United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
* United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat)
* United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)
* United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
* United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
* United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)
* Universal Postal Union (UPU)
* The World Bank Group
* World Food Programme (WFP)
* World Health Organization (WHO)
* World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
* World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
* World Tourism Organization (WTO)
* World Trade Organization (WTO)
<
http://www.un.org/geninfo/ir/index.asp?id=110#q7>
Yes, one part of the UN is a "Debating Society," so what? Is that a bad thing? Before you answer you should consider that, the UN was formed after WW2, which ended over 60 years ago and, so far, is the last European War and last major World War. Now Sixty years might not sound like much time, until you compare it to the rest of the History of Warfare in Europe. Think about it, the time between WW1 and WW2 was less than 20 years and before that, you won't find many periods of more that 20 years between European wars.
And think about this, The UN was formed almost 10 years before the first Trans-Atlantic Telephone Cable! <
http://www.answers.com/topic/transatlantic-telephone-cable>
And I doubt it's been more than 25 years since you could make a Telephone call any person in any town in the world, so having a central neutral location where all the world's governments can meet and debate problems, I think, is a good thing.