ABSTRACT
For civilians thrashed about by armed conflicts and natural disasters, the universal membership and cosmopolitan values of the United Nations bring it immediately to mind as a source of succor and protection. The focus here is on contemporary UN efforts to come to the rescue in wars, the bulk of today’s emergencies, whose politics are considerably more fraught than those resulting from nature’s calamities. While the world organization’s profile makes it a natural choice, it is not one without problems. This chapter examines key definitions before spelling out the essential components of the UN system. The most acute problems are followed by a discussion of how to attenuate them.1
