With its influence discredited and its budget in tatters, the United Nations is weathering a firestorm of criticism as it celebrates its 80th anniversary -- and tries to convince a polarized and conflict-wracked world it is more vital than ever.

The UN's 193 member states will mark Thursday the signing of the organization's foundational treaty, the UN Charter, on June 26, 1945 in San Francisco. After ratification, the United Nations came into being on October 24.

The anniversary comes as the world body faces a multi-faceted crisis that has raised questions about its future.

"Since the end of the Cold War, we have seen the organization struggle in cases from the Rwandan genocide to the Iraq war," Richard Gowan, an analyst at the International Crisis Group, told AFP.

"When each big crisis comes, commentators announce that the UN is finished. And yet it still survives," he added.

"That said, this is an especially bad moment," Gowan acknowledged, pointing to numerous countries that are "deeply frustrated" by the UN Security Council's failure to act on major conflicts like........

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