Millions of people wish for peace every day. If people in today's world cannot experience peace, they want to avoid all forms of violence. Canada is a very good example of a peaceful way of life. Unfortunately, this situation is not common to all countries. In 1945, an international organization called the United Nations was created to try to solve this kind of problem in the world. This is done by intervening in several countries in order to bring peace. Many of these interventions took place on the African continent: Sudan, South Africa, Sierra Leone and Somalia are some examples of countries that have benefited from United Nations assistance. What determines the final decision of the United Nations whether or not to intervene in African conflicts and what actions follow from this? Two major conflicts can provide a partial answer. In the South African conflict, the United Nations decided to intervene for the security of the country's inhabitants. However, in the Rwanda conflict, the United Nations decided to ignore the massacres for the safety of its own soldiers. A brief summary of the history of the United Nations is necessary before elaborating on the conflicts. The United Nations (UN) was originally established by 51 countries (including the United States) at the end of World War II in 1945. This international organization replaced the League of Nations. (Swisher: 1997, p.6) In other words, it is a better version of the old organization. The total number of countries involved in this organization is 192. This number remains the same since Montenegro was the last to join in 2006. (Department of Public Information: 2006) One of the organs of the UN is called the Security Council and its role is "maintaining...... middle of paper ...... April 23, 2011, from http://www.un.org/News/Press/ docs/2006/org1469.doc.htmDepartment of Public Information (2007). Lessons from Rwanda: The United Nations and the Prevention of Genocide. Accessed April 23, 2011 at http://www.un.org/preventgenocide. /rwanda/infokit.shtmlDepartment of Public Information (2010). The United Nations: partner in the fight against apartheid. Accessed April 23, 2011 at http://www.un.org/en/events/. mandeladay/apartheid.shtml Kressel, Neil J. (1996). Apartheid and the United Nations. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 354, pp.135-144. Retrieved April 23, 2011 from JSTOR.Swisher, Karin L. (1997). The United Nations. San Diego, CA: Greenhaven Press.