Young people carrying Members States’ flags during a ceremony at UN Headquarters.

Spotlight on Youth

The UN defines “youth” as persons between the ages of 15 and 24. Today, there are 1.2 billion young people, accounting for 16 per cent of the global population. Connected to one another like never before, young people want to, and are already contributing to the resilience of their communities, proposing innovative solutions, driving social progress, and inspiring political change. As Secretary-General António Guterres emphasized, “the world needs young people to keep speaking out. Keep thinking big. Keep pushing boundaries. And keep up the pressure.”

Young people carrying Members States’ flags during a ceremony at UN Headquarters.
Photo:UN Photo/Amanda Voisard
A girl runs outside a small community school in Korioume, Mali, where children lack basic equipment, including notepads and pens. Parts of the school have been attacked and in 2013 the village was a Jihadist stronghold.

‘Unprecedented terrorist violence’ in West Africa, Sahel region

8 January 2020 — The top UN official in West Africa and the Sahel updated the Security Council on Wednesday, describing an “unprecedented" rise in terrorist violence across the region.

A girl runs outside a small community school in Korioume, Mali, where children lack basic equipment, including notepads and pens. Parts of the school have been attacked and in 2013 the village was a Jihadist stronghold.

‘Unprecedented terrorist violence’ in West Africa, Sahel region

8 January 2020 — The top UN official in West Africa and the Sahel updated the Security Council on Wednesday, describing an “unprecedented" rise in terrorist violence across the region.

The UN Secretary-General António Guterres calls for a de-escalation of geopolitical tensions at a press conference at UN Headquarters on 6 January, 2020.

Iran-US attack in Iraq: Guterres pledges ‘active engagement’ in further de-escalation efforts

8 January 2020 — In the wake of an Iranian ballistic missile attack on air bases which house US forces in Iraq, the UN Secretary-General said on Wednesday that he would “continue his active...

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.

Elyx

ActNow Climate Campaign

The ActNow Climate Campaign aims to trigger individual action on the defining issue of our time. People around the world will be engaged 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.

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.

Icons of all 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

Decade of Action

The Sustainable Development Goals are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and improve the lives and prospects of everyone, everywhere. Today, progress is being made in many places, but, overall, action to meet the Goals is not yet advancing at the speed or scale required. 2020 needs to usher in a decade of ambitious action to deliver the Goals by 2030. 

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.

the first meeting of the UN General Assembly

UN in History: the General Assembly holds its inaugural meeting

The first General Assembly, with 51 nations represented opened in Central Hall, Westminster, London on 10 January 1946. 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. Decisions on important questions, such as those on peace and security, admission of new members and budgetary matters, require a two-thirds majority of the General Assembly. Decisions on other questions are by simple majority.  The General Assembly, each year, elects a GA President to serve a one-year term of office.

Children in indigenous dress holding up posters of the Sustainable Development Goals.

A Decade of Action for the SDGs

With only ten years left to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, world leaders at the SDG Summit in September 2019 called for a decade of action and delivery for sustainable development, and pledged to mobilize financing, enhance national implementation and strengthen institutions to achieve the Goals by the target date of 2030, leaving no one behind. The UN Secretary-General called on all sectors of society to mobilize for a decade of action on three levels: global action to secure greater leadership, more resources and smarter solutions for the SDGs; local action embedding the needed transitions in the policies, budgets, institutions and regulatory frameworks; and people action, including by youth, civil society, the media, the private sector, unions, and academia.

collage of women's achievements in 2019

15 defining moments for women in 2019

From the first all-woman spacewalk to Sudanese women leading the country’s revolution, the last 12 months have seen some incredible achievements by and for women. Next year, 2020, is expected to be an even bigger year for women’s rights worldwide. It will mark several milestones, such as the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action, the most progressive global agenda for women’s rights adopted by 189 countries in 1995, and five years since the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals, among others. Women’s rights can’t wait, won’t wait. As 2019 comes to an end, we’re taking a look back at some of the memorable moments for gender equality and women’s rights around the world.

urban roof with solar panels

Deadline 2030

World leaders called for a decade of action to deliver the SDGs by 2030 and announced more than 100 ‘accelerated actions’—voluntary undertakings to speed up progress. Who’s doing what?

Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, meets young Rohingya refugee students in Kutupalong refugee settlement, Bangladesh.

Stepping Up: Refugee Education in Crisis

This report tells the stories of some of the world’s 7.1 million refugee children of school age under UNHCR’s mandate. 

smiling girl

Everyone Counts: Play Your Part

In this quiz, you are the leader of a country which is about to become home to a large number of refugees. What kind of leader are you?

no smoking sign

Global tobacco use trends

By 2020, WHO projects there will be 10 million fewer tobacco users, male and female, compared to 2018, and another 27 million fewer by 2025.

migrants in the Mediterranean

Global Migrant Deaths Decline, but Tragedies Continue Worldwide

As 2019 drew to a close, the International Organization for Migration reported that there has been a sharp decline in the number of migrants dying while attempting to cross international borders. Despite this, the trends identified by IOM in 2019 remain stark for migrants and for refugees. You can see the data at Missing Migrants.

family planning in Iraq

A look back at the 2010s: A decade of voices and choices

The world has seen both peril and promise in the last 10 years. But it is worth looking back at the gains humanity has made – especially in addressing gender inequality. Here are four changes that have helped define the last 10 years as a decade of growing voices and choices for women and girls. 

A man carries a small child in Syria

2019: Final year of a deadly decade for children

Armed conflicts are devastating for everyone, but they are particularly brutal for children. From Afghanistan, to Syria, to Yemen and elsewhere, the past 12 months looked little different than the year before for millions of children forced to suffer through the devastating impact of violence. Since the start of the decade, the United Nations has verified more than 170,000 grave violations against children in conflict. 

evergreen forest

Environment stories of 2019

2019 has been a huge year for global discussion and momentum on climate; the climate emergency and the unprecedented youth demands for action captured headlines, but that’s not all. See a recap of the UN Enironment Programme's most read stories.

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: 2020 and Beyond

In 2020, the United Nations turns 75. UN75 aims to build a global vision for the year 2045, the UN's centenary; to increase understanding of the threats to that future; and to drive collective action to realize that vision.  #Join the Conversation #Be the Change

Did you know?

As the world’s only truly universal global organization, the United Nations has become the foremost forum to address issues that transcend national boundaries and cannot be resolved by any one country acting alone.

Watch and Listen

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

Durable Solutions for Displacement Communities in North Darfur

Abdulqader, a school principal in North Darfur, tells the story of how he returned to the village and re-opened the school, after several years of displacement. Sarafaya in North Darfur, Sudan has been severely affected by conflict since 2016, resulting in more than 20,000 people fleeing to camps or neighboring countries such as Chad. As stability in North Darfur increased, the lack of access to basic services prevented people from returning and heightened tension over scarce resources. Through a multi-sectoral, integrated approach focused on fostering social cohesion, IOM supported community members to identify and prioritize areas for intervention including a health center, water health and sanitation facilities, livelihood activities and primary education as key interventions. More than 54,300 individuals benefited from the program, including communities in neighboring villages. Since IOMs intervention, over 19,000 people have settled back in Sarafaya.

Year in Review: 2019 OCHA in Action

Want to know why 2019 was worse than expected? Find out here, and see what we did to help save and improve millions of lives with the support of donors, partners and affected communities.

2019 Champions of the Earth

From grassroots champions and corporate leaders to political pioneers, we celebrate champions taking bold action for our world. Now is the time to step up. We need heroes to champion change.

UN Podcasts

interview

THE LID IS ON: The dignity of work, Louisiana style

A photography project to document the ‘humanity, and quiet dignity’ of workers in the United States has been launched by the UN’s specialized agency, the International Labour Organization (ILO).  The aim of the project, which comes as ILO celebrates its 100th birthday, is to look at the working lives of Americans across the country and listen to their hopes and fears for the future. For this edition of our flagship podcast show, The Lid is On, Daniel Dickinson joined ILO on the road as it reached the southern US state of Louisiana.   

Music credit: Audiobinger, Rise and Shine 

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Live Now

United Nations meetings, events, and press conferences live and on demand

The United Nations in Pictures

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

mother and baby in Sudan
Photo:WFP/Gabriela Vivacqua

Humanity vs sovereignty

At the International Criminal Court, representatives of its 122 state parties voted unanimously to extend the Court’s jurisdiction to the use of starvation as a weapon of war — a recognized war crime — in non-international conflicts. The majority of the world’s hungry — some 821 million people — live in countries at war. In many cases, these conflicts are non-international in nature. Until the recent statute amendment, however, the ICC could only prosecute individuals who committed the crime in international conflicts. One place where this could enhance WFP’s ability to reach people in need is South Sudan. 

six-year-old Anton at home
Photo:UNICEF Ukraine/Filippov

As 2019 ends, hope and survival on Ukraine’s frontline

Six-year-old Anton is one of three children in Grade 1, and one of only 15 students in the whole school in the mining settlement of Zolote 3, on the frontline of east Ukraine’s nearly 6-year old conflict. Nearly 70 were in classes before the conflict started. The school is a branch of a larger one in the town of Zolote 5 that is now separated by the contact line. “The school is the only place for normal life, it’s a sanctuary,” explains Antonina, the acting Deputy Headmistress. UNICEF Ukraine is asking for nearly US$10 million to respond to the urgent needs of 800,000 children and their families on both sides of the contact line.

 

migrant in Paris
Photo:UNDP/Lena Mucha

New approaches to address forced displacement

UNDP’s Scaling Fences report highlights some of the many reasons why people leave their country. It is often to escape conflict, violence, natural disasters or persecution. To end forced displacement and prevent it from occurring in the first place, the underlying factors must be addressed. Over the last two years, UNDP has supported refugees and host communities through its partnership with UNHCR on the rule of law and local governance.

Henrietta Fore, Executive Director of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), speaks with David Beckham, Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF.
Photo:UN Photo/Mark Garten

General Assembly Celebrates 30th Anniversary of Convention on Rights of Child

Henrietta Fore, Executive Director of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), speaks with David Beckham, Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF, at the high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the occasion of the thirtieth anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (20 November 2019). See more of UN Photo's best shots of 2019.

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