Abstract
Peace and security of lives and property cannot be overemphasized, as the world is grappled with insecurities, terrorism and vices. Peace and security of citizens is one of the fundamental directive principles of many national constitutions of the world. Peace and security often do not thrive where there is conflict, so nations of the world in collaboration with international institutions, endeavour to maintain and sustain peace and security. The main international institution saddled with the responsibility of maintaining international peace and security is the United Nations and its Security Council. The main purpose of the United Nations inter alia is to maintain international peace and security. There are several mechanisms provided in UN Charter and tools put in place by the Security Council to ensure international peace and security is attained. Consequently, this article will discuss these mechanisms and tools used by the UN, assess their effectiveness, the challenges faced by the UN in other to maintain peace and provide necessary recommendations.
Keywords: Peace, Security, Mechanisms, Tools, Effectiveness, Challenges