A girl smiles while taking vaccine
Children, UNICEF

UNICEF launches World’s Children Report 2023

A red alert for children’s health: Routine immunization coverage dropped sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic. The latest edition of The State of the World’s Children report launched today explores the causes and the steps we must take to make sure that no child is left behind. As the flagship publication of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the report was first published in 1980, focusing each year on a key issue affecting children. These have ranged from children with disabilities, conflict and war, child labour, urbanization, and early childhood development. 

The State of the World's Children provides the most comprehensive analysis of global trends affecting children.
Photo:UNICEF / Hayyan
A child is vaccinated at a health centre in East Java Province, Indonesia during the COVID pandemic in 2021.

Millions of children deprived of life-saving vaccinations amid COVID pandemic, misinformation surge

20 April 2023 — Some 67 million children worldwide missed out on one or more essential vaccinations between 2019 and 2021, due to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and armed conflict,...

Sudanese refugees arrive in Chad following an outbreak of violence in Darfur, Sudan.

UN, African and Arab leaders to hold virtual talks on Sudan crisis

19 April 2023 — UN Secretary-General António Guterres continues efforts towards ensuring an end to the hostilities in Sudan, his Spokesperson said on Wednesday, amid reports of a new ceasefire...

A woman sells food at a market in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

End ‘alarmist narratives’ on population growth and recognize women’s rights: UNFPA

19 April 2023 — Women’s bodies must not be held captive to government policies or “alarmist narratives” concerning population growth, the UN sexual and reproductive health agency (UNFPA) said in...

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.

Act Now

ActNow Campaign

ActNow is the United Nations campaign for individual action on climate change. Every one of us can help take care of our planet. Learn what you can do to be part of the solution and influence change. To log your actions, download the app.

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.

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.

Partnerships for the Goals

Goal of the month

 

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.

people on a crosswalk against the sun at sunset Finance, IMF

Global economy still rocky as it recovers

The global economy’s gradual recovery from both the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine remains on track. China’s reopened economy is rebounding strongly. Supply chain disruptions are unwinding, while dislocations to energy and food markets caused by the war are receding. Simultaneously, the massive and synchronized tightening of monetary policy by most central banks should start to bear fruit, with inflation moving back towards targets. The IMF forecasts in the World Economic Outlook that growth will bottom out at 2.8 percent this year before rising modestly to 3 percent next year.

Two men on the ground planting a tree. Natural Resources and the Environment, FAO

More trees, less water stress in El Salvador

The is the Central American Dry Corridor is a 1,600-kilometre-long expanse through Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama – home to 11.5 million rural people, who largely depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. Known for its erratic rainfall patterns, the Dry Corridor is one of the world’s most exposed and vulnerable regions to climate change. FAO’s RECLIMA project aims to restore degraded ecosystems in El Salvador and the Dry Corridor in general to regenerate the land and replenish water sources that people depend on for their food, income and well-being.

A woman walks along an orchard harvesting fruit. Human Rights, OHCHR

Economies centred on people’s human rights

According to UN Human Rights, a human rights economy places people and the planet at the heart of economic policies, investment, decisions consumer choices, and business models, with the goal of enhancing the enjoyment of human rights for all. To ensure human rights is at the core of sustainable development, UN Human Rights created the Surge Initiative in response to rising inequalities, the slow implementation of the SDGs and increasing social unrest. The mission is to step up engagement on economic, social, and cultural rights and strengthen the link between human rights and economics.

Portrait of Nemonte Nenquimo
Indigenous Peoples, UNEP

Indigenous people fight for forests

Nenquimo, a UNEP advocate, fronted a lawsuit that banned resource extraction on 500,000 acres of her ancestral lands. The victory of that court case has brought new hope to Indigenous communities.

Portrait of the two sisters
Refugees, UNHCR

Bring refugee aspirations into focus

Portrait of a Stranger, a creative multimedia collaboration between world-renowned photographer and storyteller Platon and UNHCR debuts in partnership with a human rights film festival in The Hague.

Three people on traditional fishing boats collecting the catch from cages in the water.
Culture, UNESCO

35 years of dialogue along the Silk Roads

The Silk Roads Programme, one of UNESCO’s flagship initiatives, has served for more than three decades as a valuable tool for understanding how cultures and societies interact and enrich each other.

Two women in lab coats collecting samples.
Atomic Energy, IAEA

Detecting nuclear material smaller than a pin

The IAEA brings together experts to verify that nuclear material and technology are only used for peaceful purposes - including the collection and analysis of samples from nuclear and other sites.

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

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.

A young girl holds a smiling infant at the Zaatari Refugee Camp

Our Common Agenda

Following up on a pledge made by UN Member States at the UN’s 75th anniversary, the report Our Common Agenda looks ahead to the next 25 years and represents the Secretary-General’s vision on the future of global cooperation. It calls for inclusive, networked, and effective multilateralism to better respond to humanity’s most pressing challenges.

Watch and Listen

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

8 Billion Lives, Infinite Possibilities

Ours is a world of hope and possibility, a world where the human family is larger than ever before. 8 Billion strong. UNFPA highlights why it's making a case for reproductive rights and choices.  

Kyrgyzstan: design workshops for workers with disabilities

ILO presents Design Thinking Workshop which allows to identify needs of persons with disabilities for supporting the design of social protection benefits enabling inclusion into labour market. 

Promoting cultural heritage is sharing humanity

UNESCO celebrates our shared heritage, because culture is a global public good.

UN Podcasts

Candles on a table

Every time I talk about it, I cry

Henriette Mutegwaraba heard the call that the start of 100 days of genocide that left more than one million people dead over the radio. 

“Every time I talk about it, I cry,” she told UN News, describing how propaganda spread messages of hate that sparked a deadly wave of unspeakable violence. She lost 60 family members and friends in the genocide. 

Ahead of the UN General Assembly’s commemoration of the International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, Ms. Mutegwaraba spoke with UN News about hate speech in the digital age, the 6 January attack on the United States capitol, how she survived the genocide, and how she explained what happened to her daughter.

Photo Credit: UN Photo/Violaine Martin

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.

Two boys on a river
Photo:WFP/Alessandro Abbonizio

Historic floods engulf South Sudan

Unprecedented floods have swallowed large swathes of South Sudan, while other parts are grappling with devastating drought. The climate crisis is also compounding existing challenges in the country, such as conflict, poverty, and rising food and energy prices. This has left almost 8 million people facing crisis levels of hunger. The dyke rehabilitation by WFP is just one of many initiatives that they are rolling out to tackle the climate crisis, improve food security and develop rural economies in South Sudan. Families who had fled their towns when the dykes broke, are returning eager to rebuild their way of life.

Photo:UNICEF

Ukraine’s generator-powered maternity hospitals

Katia’s son Myron was born under two lamps powered by a generator provided by UNICEF. Ukraine unstable situation presents an anxious moment for pregnant women. Constant blackouts means hospitals are not equipped to handle emergency conditions for mother in labor. UNICEF and partners are working to expand programmes to save the lives of children and their families in Ukraine. In addition to items, such as clothing, boots, and blankets, they are providing about 300 generators to children's hospitals, maternity hospitals and other medical facilities.

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