View of the General Assembly Hall in New York.
United Nations Organization

United Nations Day: A symbol of hope for global unity

United Nations Day (24 October) marks the anniversary of the day in 1945 when the United Nations Charter entered into force. UN Day, celebrated every year, offers the opportunity to amplify our common agenda and reaffirm the purposes and principles of the UN Charter that have guided us for the past 76 years. As the world begins gradually to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, let us reinforce the call to strengthen international cooperation in the interest of both nations and peoples, building back together for peace and prosperity.

The UN officially came into existence on 24 October 1945, when the Charter had been ratified by China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and most other signatories.
Photo:UN Photo / Cia Pak
Asylum-seekers and migrants have been transiting through Belarus in order to reach the European Union.

Conditions worsen for stranded migrants along Belarus-EU border 

22 October 2021 — At least eight people have died along the border between Belarus and the European Union, where multiple groups of asylum-seekers, refugees and migrants have been stranded for...

UNHCR is providing emergency aid to vulnerable asylum seekers and refugees affected by government security operations in Tripoli, Libya.

Libyan Government plan needed to end ‘dire situation’ of asylum seekers, refugees 

22 October 2021 — The Libyan government must immediately address the dire situation of asylum-seekers and refugees, in a humane manner, consistent with international human rights law, the UN ...

Ola Alaghbary, co-founder and chairwoman of a youth foundation in Yemen, works on empowering women to make positive changes in their communities.

Women in leadership ‘must be the norm’, Security Council hears

21 October 2021 — We can no longer exclude half of humanity from international peace and security matters, the UN chief told the Security Council on Thursday, emphasizing the need to fully address...

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 seedling

Building Resilience Through Hope

UNGA High-Level Week 2021

In addition to the General Debate, this year’s session of the UN General Assembly will kick off a series of international UN conferences in 2021, which are expected to highlight action and solutions that will ignite the transformations needed to secure healthy, peaceful and prosperous lives for all. 

Act Now

ActNow Campaign

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.

Decade of Action

Decade of Action

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.

logos of SDGs 1 and 2

Goals of the month

 

Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere

Goal 2: Zero Hunger

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.

illustration of solar powered house and electric car Energy, UNDP

Breaking up with fossil fuels: It’s not me, it’s you

The evidence is irrefutable. We cannot address the climate crisis without looking at the true cost of our addiction to oil, coal and gas. Fossil fuel subsidies are a major obstacle to our climate and sustainable development goals because they encourage investment in pollution and discourage renewable energy. Phasing out fossil fuels and taxing carbon will spur growth and innovation. The world will spend trillions of dollars to recover from COVID-19. This investment can build the green economies of tomorrow.

camp for displaced persons near Kabul Displaced Persons and Refugees, UNHCR

Kabul displaced brace for bleak winter

In Kabul, nearly 50,000 Afghans displaced from other parts of the country by recent fighting are desperate to receive aid before winter sets in. With winter fast approaching, temperatures in the capital are already reaching close to 0°C at night and may dip to as low as –25°C in mid-winter, putting those sleeping outside at risk of hypothermia. Afghanistan is facing a worsening humanitarian emergency with the economy near collapse and about half the population now reliant on aid. There are more than 3.5 million people displaced by conflict inside the country.

salt-affected soil Land, Plants, and Soil, FAO

World map of salt-affected soils launched

FAO has launched the Global Map of Salt-Affected Soils, a key tool for halting salinization and boosting productivity. The map estimates that there are more than 833 million hectares of salt-affected soils around the globe (8.7% of the planet). Most of them can be found in naturally arid or semi-arid environments in Africa, Asia and Latin America. However, the map also shows that 20 to 50 percent of irrigated soils in all continents are too salty, meaning over 1.5 billion people worldwide face significant challenges in growing food due to soil degradation.

girl's face
Children, UNICEF

What’s on your mind?

How parents can start the mental health conversation with their kids #OnMyMind

woman walking up stairs in damaged building
Women and Gender Equality, Peace and Security, UN Women

Women, Peace and Security

As governments, humanitarian actors, and peacebuilders meet at the UN to discuss the women, peace and security agenda, watch this space for news, updates and voices of women peacebuilders.

Didier Drogba holding cover with World Health Organization on it
Messengers of Peace/Goodwill Ambassadors

Drogba appointed WHO Ambassador

Football legend Didier Drogba was appointed as the World Health Organization's Goodwill Ambassador for Sport and Health. 

African filmmaker
Art, África, UNESCO

African Folktales, Reimagined

Netflix & UNESCO have launched a groundbreaking competition in Sub-Saharan Africa to find Africa’s next generation of filmmakers.

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 | Our Common Agenda

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.

Watch and Listen

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

Access to energy in Pakistan: Faryal's story

Meet Faryal - one of 135,000 children who now have a better learning environment thanks to solar-powered fans and lights in classrooms. In Pakistan, a lack of basic facilities in government schools contributes to low enrolment and high dropout rates – a problem that is especially severe in remote areas. To help improve school conditions and address low enrolment and high dropout rates, UNOPS and partners installed solar energy systems at more than ​1,200 schools across Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.

Social protection and long-term care

ILO defines long-term care (LTC) as the support that is needed by older persons with limited ability to care for themselves due to physical or mental conditions, including chronic diseases and multimorbidity. Well-adapted and high-quality long-term care can enhance older people’s well-being, dignity and rights, while also supporting their families. It is essential that better access to adequate long-term care benefits and services is provided to meet people’s needs.

What are agri-food systems?

Before food reaches our plates, it travels a long way. FAO illustrates how every stage of that journey makes up our agri-food systems. Farming, fishing, livestock-rearing, storing, transporting, selling, buying, eating, and disposing of our food are all part of these complex systems. The systems also include all the non-food products that come from agriculture, like cotton and forest products. Our actions and choices can help these systems become more sustainable.

UN Podcasts

Melissa Fleming and David Gressly in the recording studio of Awake at Night

They want me to tell their story

“I've seen horrible things. I've seen massacres. Human suffering. These are not easy sights to see. The best way I found to deal with that is just to be determined to fix it in some fashion.”

UN Humanitarian Coordinator and Resident Coordinator for Yemen David Gressly has seen some of the worst of man's inhumanity to man during a career of more than 40 years in peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance and development. In this episode, he talks with podcast host Melissa Fleming about what has driven him to devote his life to helping the most vulnerable in some of the most fragile places on earth.

With more than 20 million people in need of assistance and a seven-year ongoing war, Yemen is among the world's worst humanitarian crises. But it’s not just conflict that threatens the Yemeni people. As David explains, every three days someone is injured or even killed by landmines or unexploded ordnance. During this eye-opening conversation, David shares his concerns about the dire situation in Yemen and the likelihood of being able to sustain the humanitarian response in the year ahead. 

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 group of smiling children eat at a table.
Photo:WFP / Yuri Andrade

School feeding keeps children in class in Mozambique during crisis

Mozambique is one of the most disaster-prone places in the world. In a country where over 65 per cent of the population live in rural areas and most rely on agriculture as their source of income, the destruction caused by cyclones, droughts, floods, and pests affects millions of people. As a response to these challenges, WFP and partners have launched an Emergency School Feeding Programme in Mozambique to promotes school attendance and participation among children in crisis-affected areas, while improving their access to healthy food.

a black toucan with a yellow neck and a colourful beak on a tree branch
Photo:Adriana Dinu / UNDP

Protect and restore: showing the path to a regenerative and sustainable world

Environmental protection is frequently presented as a choice between benefits for the natural world or for humans. But the Republic of Costa Rica is showing that symbiotic relationships between environmental protection and economic development are possible. And the world is taking notice. The Government of Costa Rica was honoured with the Earthshot Prize, a Nobel-like award founded by renowned British naturalist Sir David Attenborough. UNDP values the leadership of developing countries in finding solutions that work for people and for the planet.

Main Bodies

Departments / Offices

Resources / Services

Key Documents

News and Media

Issues / Campaigns