kids seated on a desk in a rural school
Natural Resources and the Environment

The Tropics: Home to biodiversity, people and opportunity

The tropics are among the planet’s most vital regions. They are home to around 80% of global biodiversity, nearly half of the world’s forests, and a rapidly growing young population. Yet this extraordinary richness is accompanied by significant challenges, including climate change, biodiversity loss, poverty, and water stress. Combined with the heightened risk of extreme weather events associated with El Niño, these pressures make tropical regions particularly vulnerable without timely anticipatory action. Learn more about the potential and challenges of the tropics.

Children in a classroom in Lomanikoro, Bua, Fiji, supported by UNICEF after tropical Cyclone Yasa hit the archipelago in December 2020.
Photo:© UNICEF/Allan Stephen/Infinity Images
UNICEF staff and firefighters walk towards a heavily damaged building during a rescue operation in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Ukraine: Rescuers work to save trapped residents after wave of Russian attacks

2 July 2026 — Aid agencies in Ukraine on Thursday rushed to respond to a massive uptick in deadly strikes by Russia, including one of the largest attacks on Kyiv to date.

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A female nurse in a blue uniform checks medical equipment in a children's hospital room decorated with colorful animal and butterfly wall art.

Venezuela's earthquake-hit hospitals pushed to the brink as disease risk grows

2 July 2026 — A week after earthquakes tore through northern Venezuela, hospitals in La Guaira are buckling under the weight of the disaster – and the risk of disease outbreaks in shelters is...

UN Secretary-General speaks at a podium during a UN Security Council meeting in New York.

UN scraps rule forcing it to repay money it never received

30 June 2026 — The United Nations has overhauled a decades-old “Kafkaesque financial rule” that requires it to return unspent funds to Member States - even when those funds had never 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.

hands holding megaphone and speech bubble

ActNow Campaign

The Goals can improve life for all of us. Cleaner air. Safer cities. Equality. Better jobs. These issues matter to everyone. But progress is too slow. We have to act, urgently, to accelerate changes that add up to better lives on a healthier planet. Find new inspiring actions on the app and at un.org/actnow.

Act Now for a Peaceful World

Today, half the world is under 30, and this generation is a powerful force for peace. The UN "Hear Us. Act Now for a Peaceful World" campaign, launched on the International Day of Peace, aims to include, invest in, and partner with young people to build lasting peace. 

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.

17 SDG goals

GOAL OF THE MONTH

Ten years after their adoption, the Sustainable Development Goals remain a universal call to action for all countries – developed and developing. Progress is being made, yet major challenges remain. At the High-level Political Forum, countries focus on accelerating action on five critical goals.

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.

woman in headscarf Human Rights, Employment

Lawyers reclaim their calling

After fleeing Sudan's conflict, many lawyers found themselves unable to practice in refugee camps in eastern Chad despite their skills and experience. A UNHCR-supported training programme, delivered with the Chadian Bar Association, is helping them learn Chadian law, earn certification, and resume legal work. Graduates now provide legal aid, raise awareness of refugee rights, and help fellow refugees navigate unfamiliar legal systems. For participants such as Amira, Mohamed and Amni, the programme restores purpose, dignity, livelihoods, and the ability to support their communities while rebuilding their own lives in exile.

women displaying bunches of dates under tree Agriculture and Food, FAO

Turning dates into opportunity

Inspired by the date-growing traditions of southern Tunisia, agricultural scientist Kaouther Aounallah returned to her hometown to launch Sweet Jana, a bakery creating nutritious, date-based products. With support from the FAO Agri-Accelerator programme, she strengthened her business through coaching, funding, and technical guidance, expanding its economic, social, and environmental impact. Her enterprise promotes healthier snacks, preserves local traditions, creates jobs, and empowers women and young people in a region where opportunities are limited. Kaouther's journey shows how innovation rooted in local heritage can drive sustainable rural development and strengthen communities.

group of women in the forest with jars of honey Natural Resources and the Environment, Indigenous Peoples, UNESCO

Guardians of the Amazon's pollinators

In Peru's Oxapampa–Asháninka–Yánesha Biosphere Reserve, Indigenous and rural women are protecting native stingless bees while strengthening biodiversity, food security, and local livelihoods. Through UNESCO and Guerlain's Women for Bees project, participants receive training and resources to practice sustainable meliponiculture, combining traditional knowledge with modern techniques. The initiative empowers women with new skills, income opportunities, and leadership roles while helping conserve vital pollinators threatened by habitat loss, pesticides, and climate change. 

A child looking a phone.
Artificial Intelligence, Child and Youth Safety Online, UNICEF

AI and children

As AI becomes a growing part of our lives, the upcoming Global Dialogue on AI Governance will address stronger protections for children.

Shakira's performance at the opening of World Cup 2026.
Music, Intellectual and Cultural Property, WIPO

Inside music rights

Shakira and Burna Boy’s Dai Dai, FIFA World Cup 2026’s official song, showcases music’s global reach through intellectual property rights.

Picture of the earth with temperatures rising.
Climate, WMO

Understanding extreme heat

As extreme heat intensifies worldwide, stronger monitoring, early warnings, and preparedness are essential to protect health and vulnerable communities.

City hit by a heatwave.
Climate Change, UNEP

Rising heat risks

The planet is sending signals we cannot ignore as emissions and urban heat effects intensify extreme heat, threatening lives worldwide.

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

Podium of the General Assembly Hall seen from below with the gold wall and the golden UN logo behind

Selecting the next Secretary-General

The United Nations process to appoint the next Secretary‑General continues with interactive dialogues guided by the principles of transparency and inclusivity. Watch the dialogues with the candidates: Michelle Bachelet Jeria (21 April), Rafael Mariano Grossi (21 April), Rebeca Grynspan Mayufis (22 April), Macky Sall (22 April), María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés (15 June) and Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett (18 June).

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A group of people carrying their few belongings, walking in front of buildings in ruins, at sunset.

The Spotlight series

This series shines a light on communities facing conflict, displacement, public health emergencies and other humanitarian challenges around the world. Drawing on reporting from across the UN system, it amplifies voices from countries including Haiti, Gaza, DR Congo, Yemen, Afghanistan and Myanmar, to foster understanding, encourage engagement, and help mobilize support, assistance, and protection for the most vulnerable people.

Climate Change

Climate Change is one of the defining issues of our time and we are at a pivotal moment. From shifting weather patterns that threaten food production, to rising sea levels that increase the risk of catastrophic flooding, the impacts of climate change are global in scope and unprecedented in scale. Taking decisive action today will make adapting to these impacts in the future more effective and less costly.

General Assembly hall with the Secretary-General at the podium

The Essential UN

The United Nations is the only place on Earth where all the world's nations come together to discuss common problems and find shared solutions that benefit all of humanity. Learn about the main areas of the UN’s activities; how it makes a difference to the world’s people; and how every citizen can get involved and make a contribution. 

Watch and Listen

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

The smartest investment in peace

Peacebuilding is increasingly urgent as conflict levels remain high, with thousands of lives lost to violence each month worldwide. The Peacebuilding Fund has invested over USD 2 billion across more than 75 countries, supporting efforts to address root causes of conflict.

Through partnerships with UN entities and civil society organizations, it helps strengthen institutions and protect fragile peace in post-conflict settings.

Sport uniting human rights

From football captains to grassroots activists, voices worldwide are uniting through the Global Alliance for Human Rights to defend dignity, equality, and justice for all.

Fighting cybercrime

In this episode, criminal justice actors and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime's Global Programme on Cybercrime showcase real cases and international cooperation against digital crime.

UN Podcasts

Elpida turns to face the camera as she ascends a staircase into a small aircraft

Overcoming trauma in the service of peace (AAN: S13-E3)

"We always focus on ‘We the Peoples’. But the verb the preamble of the UN Charter uses is determined … It's not thinking, we may try, right? It's not aspire

Elpida Rouka’s first name means hope in Greek, a feeling that can sometimes be elusive when serving in the most troubled places on earth. Currently a senior political affairs officer in Geneva, she is a survivor of the 2003 Baghdad Canal Hotel bombing, the deadliest attack in UN history.

“First you feel the shake, and the light, and then the blast, the sound comes. I blacked out between exiting the building, but when I was out, there was just a scene of a massacre. The only thing I recall after that was being thrown a phone and told: ‘Call your parents, now.’”

Humanitarian workers are routinely exposed to primary and secondary trauma. Yet stigma and survivor’s guilt can prevent aid workers seeking timely help for post-traumatic stress. In this episode, Elpida Rouka reflects on grief, loss, and mental and physical scars, and shares why the exact wording of the preamble of the UN Charter has helped give her the strength to heal.

Photo: ©UNAMI/Rick Bajornas

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.

man sitting on rubble of building
Photo:© UNDP

Clearing the path to recovery

The UN Development Programme (UNDP) estimates that the earthquakes in Venezuela's La Guaira region generated around 1.2 million tonnes of debris, creating a major obstacle to rescue, recovery, and reconstruction efforts. Clearing the rubble is essential to restore access to communities, reopen hospitals, schools, and other critical services, and allow displaced families to begin rebuilding their lives. UNDP is supporting authorities with technical expertise, debris management planning, and sustainable recovery strategies that prioritize recycling materials where possible and reducing environmental impacts. The assessment highlights the scale of the disaster and the importance of coordinated action to accelerate recovery.

Amber Valetta in a fabric warehouse
Photo:UNEP/Justin Jin

The true cost of your jeans

A single pair of jeans carries a surprisingly large environmental footprint, consuming thousands of litres of water, generating greenhouse gas emissions, and contributing to chemical pollution and textile waste throughout its life cycle. As demand for fast fashion grows, these impacts are placing increasing pressure on natural resources and ecosystems. In a new UNEP documentary, supermodel and UNEP Goodwill Ambassador Amber Valletta travels to Tunisia to explore the hidden environmental cost of making jeans—and the innovations helping transform the denim industry. Valletta highlights how sustainable production, greater transparency, and informed consumer choices can help reshape fashion into a more responsible and circular industry.

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