Peace, dignity and equality
The shadow cast by chemical weapons over modern history has claimed countless victims, both civilians and soldiers across the globe. On the Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare (30 November), the OPCW honours the memory of the victims of these attacks through its mission to eliminate these weapons, offering hope that they will be the last to experience the horror of chemical warfare. The OPCW’s mission is to implement the Chemical Weapons Convention to achieve a world free of chemical weapons in which chemistry is used for peace, progress, and prosperity.
30 November 2021 — The early years of the HIV/AIDS epidemic were “plagued by confusion, fear, isolation, and discrimination” against those infected or at high risk, the President of the UN General...
30 November 2021 — Global trade is expected to be worth about $28 trillion this year - an increase of 23 per cent compared with 2020 - but the outlook for 2022 remains very uncertain, UN...
29 November 2021 — The emergence of the threatening new Omicron variant shows how important it is for the world to end the current “cycle of panic and neglect” over the COVID-19 pandemic, said the...
The Sustainable Development Goals are a call for action by all countries — poor, rich and middle-income — to promote prosperity while protecting the planet.
COP 26: UN Climate Change Summit
The latest round of global climate talks take place from 31 October to 12 November 2021 in Glasgow, United Kingdom. Thousands of government delegates and people from civil society, business and the media will gather to advance climate action.
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.
With just 10 years to go, an ambitious global effort is underway to deliver the 2030 promise—by mobilizing more governments, civil society, businesses and calling on all people to make the Global Goals their own.
Featured stories from across the United Nations and our world-wide family of agencies, funds, and programmes.
Pollution and Waste, UNEP
Even the planet's most remote and inaccessible environments, such as the Mariana trench and Mount Everest, contain tiny pieces of plastic from human activities miles away. Plastics are the largest, most harmful, and persistent fraction of marine litter, accounting for at least 85 per cent of total marine waste. UNEP’s global assessment: From Pollution to Solution, shows that there is a growing threat in all ecosystems from source to sea. Without urgent action, the estimated 11 million metric tons of plastic currently entering the ocean annually will triple in the next twenty years.
Éducation, UNESCO
Liverpool striker Mo Salah gave children at Al Farooq Omar school in Cairo a day to remember when he paid a surprise virtual visit to share his views on the benefits of digital learning. Salah, is an Ambassador for Instant Network Schools. The initiative, set up in 2013 by UNHCR and partners, works in some of the most marginalized communities in Africa to give young refugees, local communities and teachers access to digital learning content and the internet. To date, INS supports 56 schools across six African countries, benefitting 129,000 students. Eighteen of the schools are in Egypt.
Women and Gender Equality, UNFPA
Just as gender-based violence takes on many insidious forms, so does digital gender-based violence: image-based abuse aka non-consensual sharing of intimate images or “revenge porn”, cyberstalking, online harassment, sextortion, online trafficking, doxxing. The perpetrator could be a stranger on another continent or someone next door targeting sexuality against her. Marginalized groups, including people with disabilities and LGBTQI individuals, may be even more vulnerable. UNFPA presents the stories of survivors during the 16-days of activism against gender-based violence campaign.
Submit your original short films on health! The WHO invites all independent filmmakers, production companies, public institutions, NGOs, communities, students, and film schools to submit entries - deadline 30 January 2022.
The General Conference, the highest policymaking organ of UNIDO, is being held as a hybrid event in Vienna on 29 November to 3 December 2021. Follow the agenda and visit the virtual exhibit.
An overview of the many forms of violence, along with other commonly used terms, that any gender equality activist should have in their vocabulary toolkit is provided by UN Women.
An Atlas describing the classification system for clouds and meteorological phenomena used by all WMO Members. Classifications also describe meteorological meteors: hydrometeors, lithometeors, photometeors, and electrometeors.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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Video and audio from across the United Nations and our world-wide family of agencies, funds, and programmes.
The United Nations has proclaimed 2022 as the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA 2022), with the FAO serving as the lead agency. IYAFA 2022 will be an opportunity to celebrate the diversity of small-scale artisanal fisheries and aquaculture, including women and youth; to share the current and potential contributions to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and highlight related innovation; and to build and strengthen related support and partnerships at all levels.
Senior Programme Officer in Turkey, Nejat Kocabay, explains how an ILO project is helping to eliminate the worst forms of child labour in seasonal agriculture in Turkey, including hazelnut harvesting.
At the end of 2020, around 7 million people in 104 countries and territories were living in displacement as a result of disasters that happened not only in 2020, but also in previous years.
If news headlines get you down sometimes, I’ve got the antidote: it’s youth activist Gitanjali Rao.
At just 15, Miss Rao was Time Magazine’s first Kid of the Year in 2021 – in recognition of her success in solving problems through science.
She was in Geneva for the Youth Activists Summit, which is where UN News’s Daniel Johnson caught up with her.
Images from across the United Nations and our world-wide family of agencies, funds, and programmes.
Exhibition "The UNESCO Adventure"
UNESCO marked its 75th anniversary this month. The history of UNESCO is a journey into often titanic projects with the aim to nurture reconciliation and unite people around a common heritage. This exhibition tells the story of UNESCO’s endeavors to understand, preserve and convey the best of our shared humanity: the common thread that joins us in our efforts to transform of the world.
WMO has shortlisted 60 photos, based on technical and artistic merit, and published them on Facebook and Instagram, where you can vote for your favourites. They show the amazing power and beauty of our weather and our natural surrounds and illustrate the theme of World Meteorological Day 2022, Early Warning and Early Action. Winning entries will feature in the WMO 2022 online calendar.
