logistics and transportation centre with a container cargo ship, shipping containers and a crane bridge in shipyard at sunrise
Trade and Commerce, UNCTAD

Shaping the future: 16th Conference on Trade and Development

The 16th UN Conference on Trade and Development is being held from 20 - 23 October 2025 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva under the theme “Shaping the future: Driving economic transformation for equitable, inclusive and sustainable development”. Hosted by Switzerland and UNCTAD, the conference brings together governments, Nobel Laureates, international organizations, civil society and renowned experts to discuss global trends and policy perspectives on trade, investment, development and digital economy. Check the programme and follow the conference on UN Web TV. 

Key issues at the conference include digital transformation, international investment for development, and building trade resilience.
Photo:Adobe Stock/Travel Mania
A truck carrying aid passes through the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza.

‘Overwhelming’ demand for food aid in Gaza as fragile ceasefire holds

21 October 2025 — In Gaza, the ceasefire is enabling UN humanitarians to reach more desperate people with life-saving food – but greater access is needed to contain the spread of famine.

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Much of Gaza lies in ruins after two years of war.

Gaza: Aid efforts continue as UN teams start clearing up to 60 million tonnes of debris

20 October 2025 — The UN on Monday said it was encouraged by renewed Gaza ceasefire commitments, warning that recent violence risked undermining fragile progress, as recovery efforts – including a...

Women in Sudan get together to discuss peace and human rights..

Women still largely excluded from peace processes

20 October 2025 — Around 676 million women lived within 50 kilometres of deadly conflict last year – the highest figure since the 1990s. 

Read the...

UN Sustainable Development Goals

17 Goals to transform our world

The Sustainable Development Goals are a call for action by all countries — poor, rich and middle-income — to promote prosperity while protecting the planet.

hands holding megaphone and speech bubble

ActNow Campaign

The Goals can improve life for all of us. Cleaner air. Safer cities. Equality. Better jobs. These issues matter to everyone. But progress is too slow. We have to act, urgently, to accelerate changes that add up to better lives on a healthier planet. Find new inspiring actions on the app and at un.org/actnow.

Act Now for a Peaceful World

Today, half the world is under 30, and this generation is a powerful force for peace. The UN "Hear Us. Act Now for a Peaceful World" campaign, launched on the International Day of Peace, aims to include, invest in, and partner with young people to build lasting peace. 

children holding up books

SDG Book Club

Reading and learning are essential to children’s growth and development; stories can fuel their imagination and raise awareness of new possibilities. The SDG Book Club aims to encourage them to learn about the Goals in a fun, engaging way, empowering them to make a difference.

Goal 2: Zero Hunger

Goal of the Month 2

 
Zero Hunger

End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.

More about the UN Sustainable Development Goals

More from the
United Nations

Featured stories from across the United Nations and our world-wide family of agencies, funds, and programmes.

An outdoor scene featuring a woman dressed in a red that covers both their head and body. Migrants, Natural Resources and the Environment

A village in Somalia learns to live with the rain

In a small village in Somalia's Middle Shabelle region, fear gripped the community as storm clouds loomed. For years, erratic rains led to devastating floods that destroyed homes and fields, followed by harsh dry seasons and sandstorms that worsened land degradation. However, residents now believe they have broken this destructive cycle through intentional actions. With support from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the local non-profit Shaqadoon, the community of Harqabobe has focused on building defenses that work with the water, rather than against it, fostering resilience in the face of climate challenges.

A woman entrepreneur standing inside her grocery store. Economic Development, ILO

Between Spain and Morocco, I built my independence

Fatima Laanieg has always been drawn to hands-on work. After taking care of her home and children, she sought to contribute financially. Four years ago, she became a seasonal agricultural worker in Spain, which went well. Fatima dreamed of starting her own business but lacked resources. In 2022, she joined WAFIRA, an International Labour Organization (ILO) programme for women run by Morocco’s National Agency for the Promotion of Employment and Skills, where she expressed her desire to open a grocery shop. With training and support from her husband, she gained confidence. Her dream is to expand her small shop into a supermarket and inspire her son to learn the trade. Fatima is committed to growing her project step by step.

A woman with curly hair standing in an outdoor setting with beehives in the background. Economic Development, FAO

Buzz-worthy opportunities

Züleyha Ceylan, a 22-year-old in Düzce, Türkiye, drives her blue truck to tend to her beehives. Adorned in a canary-yellow beekeeping suit, she calmly inspects her hives, finding joy and energy in the buzzing bees. Despite skepticism from her community about her choice, Züleyha’s parents supported her passion for beekeeping. With high local demand for honey and minimal land required, she produced 100 kilograms of honey this year, selling it through friends and social media. Züleyha aims to expand her business to include products like royal jelly and create jobs for others, bolstered by training from the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO).

A refugee woman cooking in an open space, surrounded by fellow women.
Humanitarian Aid, WFP

Aid cuts endanger millions’ survival

New WFP findings reveal that deep humanitarian aid cuts threaten millions with hunger and loss of lifesaving support, putting six critical operations at highest risk.

A portrait of Anais
SDG 4: Quality Education, Mental health and wellbeing, UNESCO

Strengthening education in rural Peru

UNESCO’s Horizontes programme reimagines rural secondary education in Peru, helping adolescents like Anaís complete their studies, build socioemotional skills, and build brighter futures.

A speeding delivery man on a motorbike.
Natural Resources and the Environment, UNEP

Delivering change with zero emissions

The Deliver-E Coalition unites major global food and grocery delivery platforms to accelerate the shift to zero-emission two- and three-wheeler vehicles, aiming to reduce emissions, and improve urban air quality.

An picture of a strapped iPod.
Music, Artificial Intelligence, WIPO

AI and the future of music

As legal battles over AI training and copyrighted material unfold globally, the music industry faces a pivotal moment to balance innovation with fair compensation, while enabling AI’s growth.

What we do

Due to the powers vested in its Charter and its unique international character, the United Nations can take action on the issues confronting humanity in the 21st century, including:

A UNIFIL peacekeeper from Spain on a regular patrol in the vicinity of Al Wazzani, south-eastern Lebanon as the sun sets in the horizon. Since 1948, more than a million women and men have served as UN peacekeepers.

Maintain International Peace and Security

The United Nations came into being in 1945, following the devastation of the Second World War, with one central mission: the maintenance of international peace and security. The UN does this by working to prevent conflict; helping parties in conflict make peace; peacekeeping; and creating the conditions to allow peace to hold and flourish. These activities often overlap and should reinforce one another, to be effective. The UN Security Council has the primary responsibility for international peace and security. The General Assembly and the Secretary-General play major, important, and complementary roles, along with other UN offices and bodies.

Students at Butkhak High School in Kabul, Afghanistan, cheer in unison on the last day of Global Action Week, an international campaign advocating free, quality education for all.

Protect Human Rights

The term “human rights” was mentioned seven times in the UN's founding Charter, making the promotion and protection of human rights a key purpose and guiding principle of the Organization.  In 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights brought human rights into the realm of international law.  Since then, the Organization has diligently protected human rights through legal instruments and on-the-ground activities.

A child has a meal at a food distribution centre in the Rwanda camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs), near Tawila, North Darfur. More than 8,000 women and children living in the camp benefit from nutrition programmes run by the World Food Programme

Deliver Humanitarian Aid

One of the purposes of the United Nations, as stated in its Charter, is "to achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character."  The UN first did this in the aftermath of the Second World War on the devastated continent of Europe, which it helped to rebuild.  The Organization is now relied upon by the international community to coordinate humanitarian relief operations due to natural and man-made disasters in areas beyond the relief capacity of national authorities alone.

Grace, a farmer from Kipilat village, and a leading member of the forest community in Ainabkoi, Kenya, planting a tree in 2012.

Promote Sustainable Development

From the start in 1945, one of the main priorities of the United Nations was to “achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.”  Improving people’s well-being continues to be one of the main focuses of the UN. The global understanding of development has changed over the years, and countries now have agreed that sustainable development offers the best path forward for improving the lives of people everywhere.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivers its order on the request for the indication of provisional measures filed by Nicaragua on 11 October 2013 in the case concerning Construction of a Road in Costa Rica along the San Juan River.

Uphold International Law

The UN Charter, in its Preamble, set an objective: "to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained."  Ever since, the development of, and respect for international law has been a key part of the work of the Organization.  This work is carried out in many ways - by courts, tribunals, multilateral treaties - and by the Security Council, which can approve peacekeeping missions, impose sanctions, or authorize the use of force when there is a threat to international peace and security, if it deems this necessary.  These powers are given to it by the UN Charter, which is considered an international treaty.  As such, it is an instrument of international law, and UN Member States are bound by it.  The UN Charter codifies the major principles of international relations, from sovereign equality of States to the prohibition of the use of force in international relations.

Structure of the
United Nations

The main parts of the UN structure are the General Assembly, the
Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council, the International Court of Justice, and the UN Secretariat. All were established in 1945 when the UN was founded.

General Assembly

The General Assembly is the main deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the UN. All 193 Member States of the UN are represented in the General Assembly, making it the only UN body with universal representation.

Security Council

The Security Council has primary responsibility, under the UN Charter, for the maintenance of international peace and security. It has 15 Members (5 permanent and 10 non-permanent members). Each Member has one vote. Under the Charter, all Member States are obligated to comply with Council decisions.

Economic and Social Council

The Economic and Social Council is the principal body for coordination, policy review, policy dialogue and recommendations on economic, social and environmental issues, as well as implementation of internationally agreed development goals.

Trusteeship Council

The Trusteeship Council was established in 1945 by the UN Charter, under Chapter XIII, to provide international supervision for 11 Trust Territories that had been placed under the administration of seven Member States, and ensure that adequate steps were taken to prepare the Territories for self-government and independence.

International Court of Justice

The International Court of Justice is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. Its seat is at the Peace Palace in the Hague (Netherlands). It is the only one of the six principal organs of the United Nations not located in New York (United States of America).

Secretariat

The Secretariat comprises the Secretary-General and tens of thousands of international UN staff members who carry out the day-to-day work of the UN as mandated by the General Assembly and the Organization's other principal organs.

More about the structure of the United Nations

Learn more

General Assembly hall with the Secretary-General at the podium

The Essential UN

The United Nations is the only place on Earth where all the world's nations come together to discuss common problems and find shared solutions that benefit all of humanity. Learn about the main areas of the UN’s activities; how it makes a difference to the world’s people; and how every citizen can get involved and make a contribution. 

Climate Change

Climate change is the defining issue of our time and now is the defining moment to do something about it. There is still time to tackle climate change, but it will require an unprecedented effort from all sectors of society.

Women at UN CSW63 Side Event - “Take the Hot Seat”. Photo: UN Women/Ryan Brown

Gender Equality

Women and girls represent half of the world’s population and, therefore, also half of its potential. Gender equality, besides being a fundamental human right, is essential to achieve peaceful societies, with full human potential and sustainable development.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres is greeted on his visit to the Central African Republic

Ending Poverty

While global poverty rates have been cut by more than half since 2000, one in ten people in developing regions still lives on less than US$1.90 a day — the internationally agreed poverty line, and millions of others live on slightly more than this daily amount.

Watch and Listen

Video and audio from across the United Nations and our world-wide family of agencies, funds, and programmes.

The UN at 80: What Has It Achieved?

As the UN marks its 80th anniversary, this video reflects on how the Organization has shaped international peace, security, development, and human rights - and what it means for the future.

Ghotul: Spark conversations that our society has long silenced

The short film Ghotul highlights the importance of safe, culturally rooted spaces for young people to learn about love, consent, and sexuality, emphasizing that open conversations protect young women. Ghotuls were real institutions within Muria and Gond tribes of India. They were youth dormitories where unmarried boys and girls lived and learned about social customs and sexuality in a culturally sanctioned setting.

UNAIDS uses this story to advocate for comprehensive sexuality education, which is crucial in reducing HIV risks and empowering adolescent girls worldwide.

Documenting the truth - Ukraine

Danielle Bell explains why documenting human rights in Ukraine’s conflict is crucial for justice and accountability amid ongoing violence.

UN Podcasts

Five women outdoors. Four of them are seated on blue plastic chairs while one stands in front of them.

Why investing in rural women is a trillion-dollar opportunity

Rural women are the innovators, leaders and changemakers at the core of our planet’s food systems. That’s why supporting them is essential to building a sustainable future.  In honour of the International Day of Rural Women, we’re celebrating their vital contributions. In a new episode of IFAD’s Farms.Food.Future podcast, we explore how empowering women through training, access to resources, and leadership opportunities creates stronger rural communities and leads to measurable improvements in income, food security, and resilience. 

Latest Audio from UN News

The United Nations in Pictures

Images from across the United Nations and our world-wide family of agencies, funds, and programmes.

Four girls standing in line, smiling at the camera in a youth centre.
Photo:UNFPA Bangladesh/Ferdous Alka

Girls in refugee camps lead the fight for dignity and change

Life in refugee camps is harsh for girls, marked by overcrowding, lack of privacy, and limited access to food and basic necessities. They face heightened risks such as sexual violence and child marriage, alongside disrupted health services and education. Despite these challenges, girls are advocating for change, using their experiences to combat harmful practices and promote a future filled with peace and dignity. The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) empowers these girls and helps them build a more hopeful future.

A cactus with multiple arms and sharp spines stands in a dry desert landscape. Mountains rise in the background.
Photo:UNDP

Gardens of resistance

In Brazil's Pajeú region, marked by inequality and historical struggles like the cangaço movement- groups of bandits who challenged the entrenched power of large landowners-, women played vital roles in resistance and community resilience despite being marginalized. Environmental challenges, especially water scarcity due to the degraded Pajeú river basin, compounded their difficulties. To combat these issues, the Community Association of Women from Bom Sucesso, with support from the GEF Small Grants Programme and UNDP, launched a project to empower women through sustainable agriculture and political participation. They constructed cisterns for rainwater harvesting, promoting female leadership and agroecological practices in their semi-arid environment.

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