A collage of past and current photos.
Human Rights

Memory, dignity and justice

In 2022, the theme guiding the United Nations Holocaust remembrance and education is “Memory, Dignity and Justice”. Holocaust commemoration and education is a global imperative in the third decade of the 21st century. The writing of history and the act of remembering brings dignity and justice to those whom the perpetrators of the Holocaust intended to obliterate. Safeguarding the historical record, remembering the victims, challenging the distortion of history often expressed in contemporary antisemitism, are critical aspects of claiming justice after atrocity crimes.

Holocaust survivors Vered Kater (2022), Rabbi Arthur Schneier (2021), Ella Blumenthal (1938), Pinchas Gutter (2021), Vered Kater (age 4), Ella Blumenthal (2022).
Photo:Ricardo Wolokita, Nathan Beriro, Courtesy of Ella Blumenthal, Nathan Beriro, Courtesy of Vered Kater, Sean O’Sullivan.
The World Food Programme is distributing food to vulnerable familes during the harsh winter in Kabul, Afghanistan.

‘We cannot abandon the people of Afghanistan’ Guterres tells Security Council

26 January 2022 — With Afghanistan “hanging by a thread” six months after the Taliban takeover, the world cannot abandon the country now – for the sake of its people and overall global security,...

Secretary-General António Guterres (right) is greeted by Arthur Schneier, Senior Rabbi at Park East Synagogue, alongside Cardinal Timothy Dolan, at a 2018 interfaith ceremony following the deadly mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh.

Pledge to ‘never forget’ the Holocaust, Guterres tells synagogue ceremony

25 January 2022 — People everywhere must stand firm against hate, amid rising antisemitism and other forms of religious bigotry, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Tuesday. 

...

Collapsed buildings following Israeli air strikes in Gaza, Palestine.

More than 50 million worldwide hit by urban conflict

25 January 2022 — Opening a Security Council debate on how to protect civilians caught up in urban conflict,the UN Secretary-General on Tuesday said that more than 50 million people are currently ...

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.

SDG wheel at Expo 2020 Dubai

SDG Media Zone @ Expo 2020 Dubai

The SDG Media Zone at the Dubai Expo takes place from 16–20 January 2022 at the UN Hub. Hosted by the United Nations in collaboration with the PVBLIC Foundation and media partners, the SDG Media Zone aims to take the conversation on advancing the Sustainable Development Goals out of the policy sphere and into the public discourse.

Act Now

ActNow Campaign

The ActNow campaign aims to trigger individual action on the defining issue of our time. People around the world have joined to make a difference in all facets of their lives, from the food they eat to the clothes they wear.

Thomas the Tank engine

Student Resources on the SDGs

Learn more about the Sustainable Development Goals! On our student resources page you will find plenty of materials for young people and adults alike. Share with your family and friends to help achieve a better world for all.

goal 1: no poverty icon with silhouettes of people with children

Goal of the month

 
Goal 1: No Poverty

End poverty in all its forms everywhere.

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.

World map showing climate change WMO, Climate Change

2021 one of the seven warmest years on record 

Although average global temperatures were temporarily cooled by the 2020-2022 La Niña events, 2021 was still one of the seven warmest years on record, according to six leading international datasets consolidated by the WMO.  Global warming and other long-term climate change trends are expected to continue as a result of record levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The average global temperature in 2021 was about 1.11°C above the pre-industrial (1850-1900) levels. 2021 is the 7th consecutive year global temperature has been over 1°C above pre-industrial levels.

 

A World Environment Day 2021 billboard at Times Square, New York, that reads "This is our moment" UNEP, Natural Resources and the Environment

2022: Emergency mode for the environment 

2022 could prove to be a seminal year for the environment, with high-level events and conferences scheduled, which are hoped to re-energize international cooperation and collective action. UNEP is going into 2022 with a new “Medium-Term Strategy” featuring seven interlinked subprogrammes for action. Unsustainable patterns of consumption and production are fuelling the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste. Several global events in 2022 aim to encourage dialogue and influence policy decisions to address the triple crisis.

woman wearing a facemask at a sewing machine ILO, Employment

ILO downgrades labour market recovery forecast for 2022

ILO has downgraded its forecast for labour market recovery in 2022, projecting a deficit in hours worked globally equivalent to 52 million full-time jobs, relative to the fourth quarter of 2019. The previous full-year estimate in May 2021 projected a deficit of 26 million full-time equivalent jobs. While this latest projection is an improvement on the situation in 2021, it remains almost two per cent below the number of global hours worked pre-pandemic, according ILO’s WESO Trends 2022. Global unemployment is expected to remain above pre-COVID-19 levels until at least 2023.

Illustration of cases of economic activity in harmony with the environment
FAO, Agriculture and Food

Tracking progress on food and agriculture

The pandemic has already shaken the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as it continues, FAO reports that progress towards the achievement of the SDGs is still to be determined.

a group of people congregate to edit video
UNAIDS, Health

Love and condoms

Telling the Truth, a live broadcast devoted to the use of condoms and the link to the HIV epidemic, airs in eastern Europe and central Asia through a UNAIDS-UNESCO education project.

A woman wearing a facemask at a check-in kiosk at the airport.
UNWTO, Tourism

Tourism grows 4% in 2021 yet still below pre-pandemic

Global tourism experienced a 4% upturn in 2021, compared to 2020. However, international tourist arrivals were still 72% below pre-pandemic levels according to estimates by UNWTO.

Women in orange uniforms, work with machinery on the street.
UNFPA, Women and Gender Equality

A fresh start for women sanitation workers in India 

The UNFPA initiative aims to eliminate the degrading and hazardous practice of manual cleaning of public sewer systems and help the women employed gain financial independence. 

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

The Middelgrunden Off Shore Windturbines located in the Øresund Straight separating Denmark and Sweden. UN Photo

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.

young children smiling at camera

UN75 | Our Common Agenda

The UN’s 75th anniversary in 2020 arrived at a time of great upheaval and peril. To secure a world where everyone can thrive in peace, dignity and equality on a healthy planet we need a multilateral system that is inclusive, networked and effective. "Our Common Agenda" builds on the 12 commitments contained in the UN75 Declaration.

Watch and Listen

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

Building a sensory room for children with developmental disabilities in Serbia

In Tutin, one of the poorest and least developed municipalities in Serbia, children with developmental or behavioural disorders cannot fully enjoy their childhood and develop their potential because of the lack of a suitable environment in the preschool educational system. “The main reason behind this is the lack of financial means and professional staff,“ says Mila Hadzic, a defectologist and speech therapist. To remedy this situation, UNDP Serbia, in partnership with the Municipality of Tutin, is supporting the Kindergarten launch and equipping a sensory room through a crowdfunding campaign.

Addressing online #HateSpeech to protect human rights

Some people use messages that violate other people's rights to dignity, equality and safety. When does free speech become criminal 'hate speech' and how do we best respond to it? Navigating that fine line isn't easy. But, in the interests of protecting human rights for all we can - and must- work together more intensively to address the problem. Learn more about how UNESCO protects freedom of expression and the safety of journalists.

When a woman becomes boss in a man’s world

Problems always arise when a woman forces her way into a man’s world. Men will wonder “what is she doing here, why doesn’t she cook or sew?” Entrepreneur, Takhmina Bakhronova, broke into the male-dominated taxi business in Tajikistan’s capital, Dushanbe – introducing innovations that have left her competitors standing. See the full multimedia story on ILO's Voices - a platform with first person perspectives on the world of work.

UN Podcasts

Hibakusha exhibit

Exhibition provides ‘strong, powerful’ argument for nuclear disarmament

A powerful and haunting exhibition featuring the Hibakusha – the Japanese survivors of the nuclear bombs that devastated Hiroshima and Nagasaki more than three-quarters of a century ago – has just been staged at UN Headquarters in New York.

It’s not the first exhibit dedicated to the issue of nuclear disarmament that Japanese art director Erico Platt has created for the UN, and although she is far too young to be a hibakusha, she is proud to amplify their voices against the horrors of nuclear weapons.

Ms. Platt explained to Liz Scaffidi, how her studies in Japan linked her to the right people, who, in turn, helped highlight again the urgency of banning nuclear weapons in what she describes as a “strong, powerful” and also beautiful exhibition, that’s the best she’s done…

Photo: UNODA/Diane Barnes

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The United Nations in Pictures

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

a child's plush toy amid rubble
Photo:© UNICEF/UN0464395/Abu Aseer

25th anniversary of the Children and Armed Conflict mandate

At an event to mark the occasion and to launch the 25th anniversary study, UNICEF's Executive Director, Henrietta Fore, said the mandate has achieved concrete results for children: "For example, since 2000, at least 170,000 children have been released from armed forces and armed groups, many having survived multiple violations – including abduction or sexual violence." The UN should continue to prioritize helping these children, who have suffered terrible violence, she added. "We should seize all opportunities to increase visibility and awareness of the terrible impact of conflict on children. We should be courageous in taking steps to end impunity and advance accountability for children in situations of armed conflict."

woman on bare floor with kettle
Photo:© WFP/Jon Dumont

Drought, economic collapse and hunger push Afghanistan to brink of famine

Almost overnight, Asia’s most fragile economy has collapsed, leaving people jobless or with unpaid salaries and without access to their savings. Prior to that, 11 million Afghans were already food insecure due to years of drought, conflict and COVID-19. Now almost 23 million people, more than half the country, don’t know where their next meal is coming from and we see clinics filling up with severely malnourished children. It is the unveiling of a tragedy in real time. WFP has scrambled to pre-position food in rural areas before the imminent winter snows make the roads impassable. But rather like outrunning an avalanche, the surge in hunger threatens to overcome the convoys of trucks snaking up mountain paths loaded with food. 

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