A seriously injured Palestinian girl playing cards.
Peace and Security

Crisis in Gaza worsens as humanitarian emergency deepens

Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip continue, causing significant Palestinian casualties and widespread devastation. Overwhelmed hospitals are struggling with shortages; evacuation mandates have uprooted more than a million residents, leaving humanitarian organizations unable to provide vital assistance amid escalating food insecurity, restricted distribution channels, and mounting water and sanitation challenges. At the same time, violence continues in the West Bank, where escalating Israeli military actions and settler attacks contribute to numerous Palestinian casualties.

Shaimaa, eight years old, was playing cards with her friends in her home in Gaza, when a neighbouring house was shelled. She suffered severe injuries, losing her leg and her hand.
Photo:UNICEF/UNI488752/UNI488754/UNI488744/Zaqout
A mother cares for her daughter at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in the south of Gaza.

Nearly 600 attacks on healthcare in Gaza and West Bank since war began: WHO

5 January 2024 — Hospitals and other vital medical infrastructure in Gaza and the West Bank have been attacked nearly 600 times since war erupted in the enclave in response to the Hamas-led terror...

Prices at the Osh Bazaar in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic are rising due to inflation.

Flagship economic report highlights why global cooperation is key

4 January 2024 — The UN’s World Economic Situation and Prospects report for 2024 projects a slowdown in global growth from an estimated 2.7 per cent in 2023 to 2.4 per cent in 2024.

...

A delivery of 4,000 blankets to two hospitals in southern Gaza last December (file).

Gaza crisis deepens as UN aid convoys face delays and obstacles

4 January 2024 — Amid reports of continued Israeli airstrikes overnight in southern and central Gaza and more rocket fire into Israel from the enclave, UN teams said on Thursday they have been...

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.

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.

Act Now

ActNow Campaign

ActNow is the United Nations campaign to inspire people to act for the Sustainable Development Goals. The SDGs can improve life for all of us and everyone can join the global movement for change. To log your actions, download the app.

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.

Three girls riding on the same bicycle in Timor Leste. Social Development

Amidst the chaos of the world, here are some positive highlights

It can be difficult to ignore the negative news that surrounds us every day. We see evidence of a planet that is warming too quickly, conflicts and inequality that persist despite our best efforts. However, the United Nations Development Programme reminds us that despite these challenges, there are still reasons for hope and optimism. In 2023, there was a significant drop in the deforestation rate in the Amazon compared to the previous year. Additionally, the world made progress towards a global treaty to end plastic pollution on both land and in the ocean. Alternative energy, particularly solar, is finding its place in the sun, even in the remotest communities.

A man shows his Covid-19 vaccination card in Serra Leone. Health, WHO

Global health achievements in 2023

Despite multiple health crises, there were many reasons for hope in 2023. The World Health Organization notes that it was a record year for disease elimination, with several countries eliminating infectious diseases thanks to dedicated national efforts and collaboration between countries and health partners. At the same time, 72% of people worldwide had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, preventing severe illness and hospitalizations for millions of people. The year began with WHO responding to a major earthquake in Türkiye and Syria and ended with the horrific war in Gaza. In between, the world faced many other crises and conflicts, as well as the continuing threat of disease outbreaks and climate change.

A woman weaves the wire mesh that holds together the stones that protect her ancient village from flash floods and soil erosion. FAO, Economic Development

Afghan woman improves her family's economic situation through wire weaving

Cheshma Shirin is a village in Afghanistan where Fatema and her three children live. She weaves wire mesh for gabions to protect the village from flooding and erosion. It is a necessary skill in an area that has suffered from increasingly extreme weather, with floods and droughts affecting the villages. Fatema learned this skill through an Emergency Food Security project funded by the World Bank and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which provides essential livelihood support, health services, and food assistance to the people of Afghanistan. The project complements other FAO programmes aimed at long-term recovery and resilience-building.

Rehabilitated Wadi Arfat Health Centre in Ta'iz, Yemen
Health Interventions, IOM

Bringing hope to Ta’iz, Yemen

IOM’s newly rehabilitated Wadi Arafat health centre in Ta’iz is serving over 15,000 internally displaced people, after total collapse of Yemen's health infrastructure due to years of conflict.

A landscape of a town.
SDG 13: Climate Action, UNEP

What’s next after COP28

Closing the climate adaptation finance gap requires a reform of the global financial architecture and better international cooperation.

A collage of young human rights champions.
Youth, Human Rights, OHCHR

Empowering young people

The stories of these young human rights champions serve as a source of inspiration, motivating others to take action and educate their communities on the importance of human rights.

Doctors inspecting a worm
Health Interventions, WHO

Angola interrupts dracunculiasis transmission

World Health Organization is raising awareness of the Guinea-worm disease through community sensitization and prevention methods to stop any further spread.

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.

How the unsound management of chemicals poisons children

Children under the age of 5 undergo rapid brain development, making them particularly susceptible to the long-term consequences of exposure to harmful substances. It is imperative to take immediate action to shield our children from environmental pollutants, as each instance of poisoning represents a loss to our collective future. Every child deserves the right to grow up in a healthy environment.

Will the world get to grips with AI in 2024?

Conor Lennon from UN News asks Carme Artigas, Spain’s first-ever Secretary of State for Digitalization and AI, and co-chair of the UN’s AI Advisory Body, if 2023 was the year the world finally woke up to the need to regulate the technology.

Migration is a gender equality issue

Approximately half of the world's 281 million international migrants are women and girls, but this demographic faces significant hazards during migration, including the risk of exploitation in domestic employment and increased vulnerability to violence.

UN Podcasts

Cindy walks with several others infront of a helicopter marked with the acronym WFP

Help and Hope for the Hungry

“Our job is to give hope and help by giving food to those who really need it most. And that's what we do.”

World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director Cindy McCain has many pressing reasons to lie awake at night. As Head of WFP, it is her job to make sure the millions of vulnerable people around the world who are relying on UN food assistance – from Gaza to Sudan to Afghanistan – don’t starve. In this episode, recorded four weeks into the war in Gaza, Cindy McCain reflects on finding hope in desperate situations, and raising her voice for the world’s forgotten millions.

Hunger is still one of the biggest – and most solvable – problems globally, causing 783 million people around the world to go to bed on an empty stomach every night.

“[Donation gaps mean] I'm taking food from hungry people and giving it to starving people. That's a heck of a decision to have to make.”

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.

A health counselor visits a woman who has recently given birth.
Photo:© UNFPA Sudan

2023 in Pictures: A Challenging Year for Women's and Girls' Rights

In the year 2023, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) encountered a range of crises, including natural disasters, climate change, and man-made disasters. Despite these challenges, women and girls affected by those situations achieved significant milestones. They released fashion collections, asserted their economic and bodily autonomy, and found innovative ways to help girls complete their education. Additionally, the health agency provided safe delivery of babies on land and sea and delivered aid to women in crisis. UNFPA is urging donors to support women and girls in humanitarian responses. Investing in them means investing in a better future.

A Woman shows a book on healthy dietary practices for babies.
Photo:: WFP/Myrline Sanogo-Mathieu

Mali: WFP empowers women with resilience-building tools

In the village of Dotembougou in central Mali, Atoumata Nimaga, a mother of three, is now a local volunteer leader who teaches other village women about healthy eating. Not so long ago, Atoumata faced hunger so severe that it threatened her unborn child. With the help of the World Food Programme, she was able to receive nutritious rations during her pregnancy. She is now part of a joint programme that helps families offset the negative effects of climate shocks and humanitarian disasters. The programme aims to put more than 38,000 women at the center of the development process, giving them the knowledge and tools to address the challenges many face.

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