Two young people sit with illustrations of innovative ideas around them.
Intellectual and Cultural Property

Gen Z and Millennials: the creators of tomorrow

The youth of today are an incredible and largely untapped source of creativity and ingenuity. There are around 1.8 billion young people in the world today. Young people, as natural agents of change, are stepping up to innovation challenges, using their energy and ingenuity, their curiosity and creativity towards a better future. World Intellectual Property Day 2022 is an opportunity for young people to find out how IP rights can support their goals, help transform their ideas into reality, generate income, create jobs and make a positive impact on the world around them.

This year the theme of World Intellectual Property Day is “IP and Youth: Innovating for a Better Future” and celebrates youth-led innovation and creativity.
Photo:WIPO
The UN Secretary-General António Guterres and his delegation (left) meet the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow.

Russia agrees ‘in principle’ to UN and Red Cross involvement in evacuations from Mariupol

26 April 2022 — Russia has agreed “in principle” to UN involvement in the evacuation of citizens from the last remaining holdout in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, following a meeting between...

Qalandia checkpoint between East Jerusalem and Ramallah in the West Bank.

Middle East: ‘No justification’ for terrorism or violence against civilians, Security Council hears 

25 April 2022 — Recent violence in the occupied West Bank and terror attacks in Israel have killed and injured scores of civilians, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process...

The village of Novoselivka, near Chernihiv in Ukraine has been bombed in the conflict with Russia.

Humanitarians seek $2.25 billion for Ukraine response

25 April 2022 — Humanitarians have launched a renewed appeal for war-ravaged Ukraine that calls for $2.25 billion to provide assistance and protection to nearly nine million people, the UN...

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

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.

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.

SDG 15: Life on Land

Goal of the month

 

Goal 15: Life on Land

Sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, halt biodiversity loss

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.

Climate, Youth

"The health of our people and our environment are all interconnected"

Climate activist Ashley Lashley leads a movement called the HEY (Health and Environment-friendly Youth) Campaign - where she works with young people across the Caribbean to help to foster sustainable lifestyles and understand the impacts of climate change on our health - and the health of our planet. "I believe that the wealth of our nation depends on the health of our environment, and our people,” says the 22-year-old, who became a UNICEF Youth Advocate, to promote social development issues, such as health and the environment, among children and young people.

children in boats among houses on water Natural Resources and the Environment, UNDP

There’s no place like home

There are about 100 billion planets in our Milky Way galaxy, according to NASA. But other than Earth, few, if any, have the conditions necessary to support human life. It’s taken billions of years of transformation for Earth to reach conditions that are just right, including a stable climate that is not too cold and not too hot. Its magical features include liquid water and an atmosphere full of oxygen that allow our complex biosphere to flourish. A home looks different from one culture and geographic location to another, but we all share the same ocean, air and climate.

coral reef and fish Oceans and Marine Life, UNESCO

UNESCO launches emergency plan to boost World Heritage-listed reefs’ resilience

UNESCO World Heritage coral reefs cover over half a million km2 worldwide – the equivalent of the size of France – exhibiting exceptional biodiversity. They play a critical role in absorbing carbon emissions and protect coastlines from storms and erosion. Over a hundred indigenous communities are directly dependent on them for their subsistence. But the scientific data concerning these coral reefs is now very alarming. Reefs are bleaching far more rapidly than the initial science suggested, making them highly vulnerable to starvation and disease.

roti bread for sale
Agriculture and Food, World Bank

Four paths to respond to the food price crisis

 Global and domestic food prices were already close to all-time highs before the war in Ukraine, and a large question mark looms over the next seasons’ harvests worldwide.

mother and daughter wading in water
Climate, IMF

Poor and vulnerable countries need support to adapt to climate change

These countries will suffer the most devastating impacts of climate change even though they’re not responsible for causing it.

health worker holding up condom package
Health Interventions, UNFPA

Risk of sexual violence, unintended pregnancy soar in crisis settings

During a humanitarian crisis, the conditions that erode women’s ability to exercise bodily autonomy and reproductive choice increase catastrophically, multiplying the risks of unintended pregnancy.

smiling woman
Health

What is vaccination?

World Immunization Week, celebrated in the last week of April, aims to highlight the collective action needed and to promote the use of vaccines to protect people of all ages against disease. Find out more about these life-saving medicines.

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.

Let’s learn about global goals! | United Nations in Action

In the small coastal Japanese city of Hakui, elementary students visit local shops to learn how the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are incorporated in their businesses. They are making “SDG newspapers” for their school and the city. The SDGs, also known as the Global Goals, were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity.

The oceans economy story

The Blue Connection film tells an inspiring story of unity, support, and multilateral collaboration between three countries - Barbados, Belize, and Costa Rica - and their collective efforts to sustainably develop their coastal communities in the wake of the global pandemic. The story shares an intimate perspective of the daily lives and challenges faced by people working in the blue economy through an UNCTAD  project.

Wangari Maathai tribute film

To honour and commemorate the impact of the late Kenyan environmentalist, who championed forest issues across the globe, the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) launched the first Wangari Maathai Award in 2012. Maathai was the first African woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace in 2004. Her legacy lives on with the CPF Wangari Maathai Forest Champions.

UN Podcasts

A woman sits in front of her computer with a map of Ukraine on the wall behind her

No-one should have to live through Ukraine horrors

Resilience among ordinary Ukrainians is remarkable but if the war goes on much longer, it threatens 20 years of development gains, the UN Development Programme (UNDP), has warned.

From Lviv in western Ukraine, here’s Manal Fouani, UNDP lead in the country, describing to UN News’s Daniel Johnson the many and varied challenges that the country faces, seven weeks since the Russian invasion began.

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 woman carrying a baby on her back kicks a container of water
Photo:UN OCHA / Jane Kiiru

Drought In Kenya

People in Kenya’s arid and semi-arid lands are facing one of the most acute droughts they have ever endured. The dire situation—also ravaging communities across Ethiopia and Somalia—is forcing families to take desperate measures to survive. Hunger, displacement, disease outbreaks, conflict over scarce resources, and increased abuse and exploitation of children and women are just some of the consequences of this fast-deteriorating humanitarian crisis. UN OCHA in Kenya ramps up their response to support people affected by the drought.

A girl lays with a doll and a teddy bear.
Photo:UNICEF/Tajikistan/2022/M. Ruziev

‘Baby Homes’ become family-based support centres

It’s early morning and mothers and their children are arriving at the Family and Child Support Centre for young children from vulnerable families. Waiting inside are social workers who are getting ready to welcome the children. The centre in Istaravshan is one of four converted residential childcare institutions, known as Baby Homes in Tajikistan. With UNICEF’s support, the spaces have been transformed into family centres where vulnerable children can access community and family-based support without being institutionalized.

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