Valley of Flowers National Park in Uttarakhand, India. Photo Credit: Rohit Sharma via Wikimedia Commons
Himani Usha Tripathi

Migration in the Mountains: Why “Progress” in Uttarakhand Is Pushing People Away

Across valleys once alive with terraced fields, festivals and village schools, families are leaving for towns and plains – not out of choice but because they must.

Barcelona, Spain. Credit: Adobe Stock
Stephen Wyber

A Realistic Goal? Culture in the Sustainable Development Agenda

Far from being restricted to those Sustainable Development Goals that explicitly touch on culture, governments are highlighting connections to culture across the 2030 Agenda.

Diabetes patients exercising early in the morning in a public space in Mumbai, India. WHO
Bianca Hemmingsen, Sanjana Marpadga and Alarcos Cieza

Diabetes across Life Stages: A Growing Global Challenge

A life-course approach is foundational for implementation of the World Health Organization Global Diabetes Compact. Every stage of life presents unique risks, needs and opportunities for intervention.

A deep-sea octopus on the seabead in Hudson Canyon, located off the Atlantic Coast of the United States. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Ocean (NOAA) Exploration and Research
Carlos García-Soto

Rebuilding Trust in Multilateral Governance: Lessons from the Seabed to COP 30

Whether on climate, biodiversity or the deep ocean, public confidence in how global institutions make decisions has become as important as the decisions themselves.

Children attending school in Mirpur Khas in Sindh district, Pakistan, 2023. UNOCHA Pakistan/Christiane Buck
Li Junhua

The Second World Summit for Social Development: It’s Time to Deliver Solutions

With the expected adoption of the Doha Political Declaration, the Second World Summit for Social Development offers a chance to accelerate implementation of the 2030 Agenda and address today’s social challenges.

Secretary-General António Guterres (centre) speaks during the Interactive Dialogue of the Economic and Social Council on Operational Activities for Development Segment. At left is Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe
Max-Otto Baumann and Sebastian Haug

United Nations Development Work Should Engage All Member States

Established North–South dynamics have been explicitly challenged by the 2030 Agenda, which sets out the Sustainable Development Goals as a framework for "developed and developing countries alike”.

Paul Heslop and Sonia Pabley

The Lasting Promise of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention

The Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (APMBC) has established a global norm rejecting anti-personnel mines as indiscriminate weapons with no place in modern warfare.

© Adobe Stock
Tawfik Jelassi

Access to Information: A Cornerstone of Sustainable Development, Human Rights and Environmental Resilience

Access to information is the bridge that allows citizens to demand justice, journalists to expose corruption, and communities to secure basic services.

Secretary-General António Guterres (at right) and Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón, President of Spain (at left), brief reporters at the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4), 30 June 2025. UN Photo/J.J Guillén
Mauricio Escanero

Financing for Development and the Spirit of Monterrey: A Beacon of Multilateralism for Improving Global Economic Governance

With the Monterrey process, we opened a path for the United Nations to fulfil its potential as the spearhead for improved global economic governance that fully supports equitable and sustainable development.

The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) connects the work of the United Nations with the global parliamentary community, helping to bridge the gap between international commitments and their implementation at the national level. © IPU/Pierre Albouy
Tulia Ackson

Protecting Our Democratic Systems through Dialogue, Justice and Delivery

By protecting and enhancing democratic institutions, we increase the chances of justice, peace and equitable development.

Radionuclide station RN49, Spitzbergen, Norway
Robert Floyd

The International Day Against Nuclear Tests 2025: Remembering the Legacy, Renewing Our Commitment to a Nuclear-Test Ban

By prohibiting nuclear test explosions, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty transformed decades of aspiration into a shared commitment.

Fishing boat at sunrise on Lake Malawi in Africa. Adobe Stock/beautyness
Inger Andersen

Lakes: Hidden Giants in the Global Hydrological Cycle

Protecting freshwater ecosystems like lakes is central to biodiversity, water, energy and food security, and offers climate resilience.

Students participating in a "sustainability accelerator" exercise though the 1 Million for 1 Billion (1M1B) Foundation. Photo credit: 1M1B
Manasa Pidatala and Swati Subodh

Future Forward: Universalizing Climate Action to Bend the Curve of Climate Change for Global Sustainability

When sustainability is incorporated into the learning journey, it cultivates leadership, empathy and innovation – essential traits for climate-resilient citizenship.

The Budi Lukmanto Foundation, a grassroots, nonprofit organization, conducting hepatitis B screening for children at Vincentius Putra Orphanage in Jakarta, Indonesia. Photo Credit: Edhie Purwanto
John W. Ward

World Hepatitis Day and Every Day: Advancing Global Solidarity to Eliminate Hepatitis

This World Hepatitis Day, let us celebrate our successes in fighting the disease and reaffirm our global commitment to ending hepatitis as a public health threat. 

Giza Pyramids. ELG21/Enrique@Pixabay
Celeste Saulo

Collaboration Is Key to Combating Sand and Dust Storms

Dust and sand storms can have far-reaching impacts on our health and quality of life, on air and ground transport, on agriculture and the environment, and on solar energy production.