Basic principles behind the structure and operation of the UN

The UN Charter Chapter I, Article 2 lists basic principles that the organization and member states agree to respect. Some of these are designed to limit the power of the organization, other principles emphasize the use of peaceful means for settling disputes.

The fundamental principles of the United Nations are:

• sovereign equality of all its members. This means that each member nation is equal and has one vote in the General Assembly.
• non-intervention. This means that the UN will intervene only in international problems, not in the domestic problems of a country.

Other principles emphasize the use of peaceful means for settling disputes. They require that nations avoid threatening other nations with force or actually using force. Member nations are also asked to support the UN in peacekeeping operations.

And they are asked to do nothing to interfere with the activities of the organization. The UN also tries to prevent non-members from doing anything to disturb the peace.