An astronaut with their eyes fixed on the vastness of space.
Outer Space

The beginning of the space era for mankind

12 April 1961 was the date of the first human space flight, carried out by Yuri Gagarin, a Soviet citizen. This historic event opened the way for space exploration for the benefit of all humanity. Each year, the International Day of Human Space Flight (12 April) is observed worldwide to commemorate the beginning of the space era for mankind. The Day reaffirms the vital role of space science and technology in advancing sustainable development goals, enhancing the well-being of nations and peoples, and upholding the commitment to maintain outer space for peaceful purposes.

From the very beginning of the Space Age, the United Nations recognized that outer space added a new dimension to humanity's existence.
Photo:Adobe Stock/ Sergey Nivens
Edem Wosornu (left), Director of OCHA's Crisis Response Division, on her visit to Haiti in March 2026.

Haiti’s freefall demands urgent global action as millions face hunger and violence

10 April 2026 — Haiti is facing “one of the most severe and rapidly deteriorating humanitarian crises in the Western Hemisphere,” a senior UN aid official warned on Friday, underscoring the need...

A Beirut neighbourhood lies in ruins following overnight attacks.

MIDDLE EAST LIVE 10 April: Fear and uncertainty grow in Lebanon as conflict grinds on

10 April 2026 — Fighting continues across parts of the Middle East, with renewed exchanges between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Humanitarian needs are deepening, with rising civilian...

Living conditions at the Abu Al Naja camp in Sudan.

Sudan: 14 million displaced; hunger and attacks on health continue as war enters fourth year

10 April 2026 — As Sudan approaches the third anniversary of a brutal civil war, millions remain displaced and hungry while the health system lies in ruins, with no end to the violence in sight,...

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.

Partnerships for the Goals

Goal of the month 17

 

Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals

Revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development

 

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.

A nurse attending a woman in a medical facility. UN Women, Health

Six uncomfortable truths about women’s health

Women are living longer, but they are not living better. An explainer by UN Women lays out how deep‑rooted gender bias in healthcare continues to undermine women’s health worldwide. Women are more likely to have their pain dismissed, symptoms misread and conditions diagnosed too late, reflecting medical systems built without women in mind. From outdated examination tools to male‑centric data driving diagnosis and treatment, inequality is embedded in everyday care. These systemic gaps have lasting consequences for women’s health, safety and quality of life, prompting calls for research, services and systems that deliver dignity, accuracy and respect for all women and girls.

A close-up portrait of a woman leaning her head slightly to the left. IOM, Children

A mother’s long walk to find care for her children

Under intense heat at the Sudan–South Sudan border, Marida, a 35‑year‑old Sudanese mother of four, walks an hour to reach the area’s only health clinic, carrying her youngest child. With no job and little access to care near her home, the clinic is her lifeline. As she waits in the shade, she braids her daughter’s hair and shares water, calm despite exhaustion. Serving conflict‑affected families in a harsh, remote landscape, the clinic offers rare care close to home. That day a clinician assessed Marida and prescribed medication. Having already lost one son at age four, she makes the journey whenever her children, aged 13, 10, 8 and 4, need care—and will walk it again for follow‑up.

A farmer's field school session is being carried out by two women and a man. FAO, Agriculture and Food

Where there is water there’s a way

Rita once began each morning with a three‑kilometers walk to fetch water, balancing farming with caring for her children as drought and limited irrigation threatened crops and food security. That routine changed when a new dam created a reservoir for her community. Built by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) with the government of Angola and European Union funding, the dam is part of FAO’s FRESAN (Strengthening Resilience and Food and Nutrition Security in Angola) programme to strengthen water and food resilience in southern Angola. With year‑round irrigation, Rita now grows staples and vegetables, sells surplus produce to help cover school fees, and applies new techniques learned through FAO Farmer Field Schools with her children.

A young girl, looking sad, carried by her mother.
Peace and Security, Children, UNICEF

Children under fire

Escalating violence in Tehran and Beirut is exposing children to trauma, fear, displacement, and disrupted safety, education, and daily life.

A shipping yard.
Humanitarian Aid, Peace and Security, WFP

Turbulent waters

Global shipping disruptions, including closures of the Strait of Hormuz and rerouting via the Cape of Good Hope, are delaying food aid, raising costs, and reducing assistance.

An illustration of people and the environment.
SDG 13: Climate Action, UNDP

Third-Generation NDCs

Third-generation NDCs are national climate plans under the Paris Agreement that strengthen emissions targets, adaptation measures, and implementation pathways.

A ship yard of containers.
Trade and Commerce, UNCTAD

Global trade faces uncertainty

Global trade grew strongly in 2025, but geopolitical tensions, rising costs, and uneven gains are slowing growth and increasing risks for developing economies.

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

Podium of the General Assembly Hall seen from below with the gold wall and the golden UN logo behind

Selecting the next Secretary-General

On 25 November 2025, the President of the General Assembly and the President of the Security Council initiated the process of selecting and appointing the next Secretary-General. Candidates are nominated by a Member State or a group of Member States. Learn more about the multi-step selection and appointment process of the next United Nations Secretary-General.

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.

Together for health. Stand with science.

Every life saved. Every disease prevented. Every child who grows up healthy. It all starts with science. On World Health Day 2026, WHO celebrates the discoveries, the public health research network, and the communities — all standing behind the evidence that protects us all. Because when we stand together, science gives us something no one can take away: a future we can believe in.

Religious leaders in Benin are breaking taboos around sexual health

In voodoo ceremonies, in mosques and in churches, religious leaders across Benin are talking about sex. From consent to preventing the spread of HIV and AIDS, UNFPA is helping them provide sexual health education.

Youth are innovating, uniting and transforming, shaping the road to 2030

From 14 to 16 April 2026, young people will take center stage at the United Nations Headquarters in New York during the ECOSOC Youth Forum, considered the UN’s largest annual gathering of young people.

UN Podcasts

the UN Secretariat building with a sign in lights: Thank you NY

A city with a global vision: New York, the United Nations, and the post-war dream of peace

The post Second World war dream of global peace which brought countries from around the world together at the United Nations continues to resonate as the UN marks 80 years of its existence in New York City.

It was never set in stone that the organization would find its permanent home in New York as it was competing with other locations in the United States to host the world body.

The UN eventually opened in Manhattan in the early 1950s but a number of locations in and around New York were retrofitted to provide temporary facilities.

UN News' Daniel Dickinson tells the story of the UN in New York.

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.

children learning in a shelter
Photo:© UNOCHA

Displaced in Lebanon: Communities lifting themselves up 

In Lebanon, where classrooms have become shelters and daily life has been abruptly upended, families displaced by escalating violence are navigating a fragile new reality. Forced to flee with little warning, they now live in crowded spaces, holding onto routines and relationships that offer a sense of stability amid uncertainty. Children find moments of play, parents search for ways to provide, and aid workers work tirelessly to respond to growing needs. This photo story by the UN humanitarian office, offers a close look at lives interrupted—revealing not only the scale of displacement, but the quiet resilience of those determined to endure and rebuild.

three women holding toddlers
Photo:©UNOPS/Maung Nyan for Access to Health

From Uncertainty to Care: Building lifelines in Myanmar’s Shan State

In Myanmar’s remote and conflict-affected Shan State, accessing basic healthcare has long meant long journeys, unreliable facilities and difficult conditions. Today, that reality is changing. Through community-focused design and investment, new and upgraded health centres are bringing safe, dignified care within reach for thousands. Equipped with reliable power, clean water and inclusive spaces, these facilities are more than buildings—they are trusted lifelines. By strengthening local health systems and supporting frontline workers, the initiative is helping ensure that even in the most challenging environments, families have a dependable place to turn when it matters most.

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