"Recovery from the pandemic — with a bold plan to vaccinate every person, everywhere.
Recovery for our economies — with wealthier countries supporting the developing world with financing, investment and debt relief.
Recovery from mistrust and division — with a new emphasis on science, facts and reason.
Recovery from conflicts — with a renewed spirit of dialogue, compromise and reconciliation.
And recovery for our planet — with climate commitments that match the scale and urgency of the crisis."

- United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres

The COVID-19 pandemic has served as a wakeup call. With the climate crisis also looming, we are at an inflection point in history. Humanity faces a stark and urgent choice: breakdown or breakthrough. The choices we make today could result in further breakdown and a future of perpetual crises. Conversely, we aim for a breakthrough to a better, more sustainable, peaceful future for our people and planet. Our Common Agenda is an agenda of action, designed to strengthen and accelerate multilateral agreements – particularly the 2030 Agenda – and make a tangible difference in people’s lives.

The Secretary-General’s Guidance Note on Behavioural Science encourages all UN colleagues to apply behavioural science to enhance policy development, programme implementation and simplify processes. A corner stone of the Secretary-General’s agenda to reform the UN, behavioural science refers to an evidence-based study of how people behave, make decisions and respond to programmes, policies and incentives. The launch also marks the opening of the UN Behavioural Science Week. Join the UN Behavioural Science Group to learn more, connect and collaborate with colleagues from across the UN system.

“In life, things wouldn’t always go as you wanted to but you have to learn how to roll with the punches,” frontline worker Peaches Dinnoo tells United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres in their one-on-one conversation about the challenges she faces raising children, working at home and coping with the COVID-19 pandemic. Ms. Dinnoo talks about how balance is the key as she raises two children in online school while also working in their shared space.

Action for Peacekeeping, launched by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres in 2018, reaches its third anniversary.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world has been teetering on the brink of a global debt crisis. One year on from the Secretary-General’s policy brief on debt, he is launching a second policy brief, entitled Liquidity and Debt Solutions to Invest in the SDGs: The Time to Act is Now. The brief provides an overview of the still unfolding crisis, steps taken to date, and the additional measures that are needed. It calls for the creation of a new debt architecture, based on transparency, sustainability, responsible borrowing and lending, and fair burden sharing. A high-level virtual meeting underscores the urgency of this initiative.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres addressed the opening of the High-level segment of the 46th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, with a call to do even more to bring to life the Call to Action for Human Rights. The Call to Action is the Secretary-General’s transformative vision for human rights. Underpinning the work of the entire UN system, human rights are essential to addressing the broad causes and impacts of all complex crises, and to building sustainable, safe, and peaceful societies.

Chun Jie Kuai Le! [春节快乐！Happy Lunar New Year!] I send my best wishes to everyone celebrating the Lunar New Year. This year is the Year of the Ox – the same sign as the year of my birth. The ox symbolizes energy, strength, and courage.

With a year full of ‘trials, tragedies and tears’ behind us, UN Secretary-General António Guterres reflects on our common struggle and achievements. In his New Year’s message, he says the past year also brought forth ‘rays of hope’ in the form of people and countries working together to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic and to prevent a climate catastrophe. The Secretary-General sets a lofty target for the United Nations to build a global coalition to achieve carbon neutrality, or zero net emissions, by 2050. He calls for 2021 to be a year of healing: “Healing from the impact of a deadly virus. Healing broken economies and societies. Healing divisions. And starting to heal the planet.” 

Since March, the United Nations system has focused on helping countries avoid the worst impacts of the pandemic, while working for a strong recovery. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has repeatedly emphasized that the pandemic has hit the poorest and most vulnerable in our societies the hardest. He has called for a COVID-19 vaccine to be a global public good available to everyone, everywhere. As this difficult year draws to a close, Mr. Guterres encourages governments to meet the expectations of those we serve with unity, solidarity and coordinated multilateral global action.

On March 23rd, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued an urgent appeal for a global ceasefire to all corners of the world to focus together on defeating COVID-19. He repeated the call at the start of the 75th UN General Assembly session in September, to achieve the ceasefire by the end of the year. Since March, some 180 countries, the Security Council, regional organizations, civil society groups, peace advocates and millions of global citizens have endorsed the Secretary-General’s call. The clock is ticking and there is no time to waste.  Get involved and sign the urgent call to support!

On March 23rd, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued an urgent appeal for a global ceasefire in all corners of the world to focus together on the true fight – defeating COVID-19. He repeated the call at the start of the 75th UN General Assembly session in September. He called for the global ceasefire to become a reality by the end of the year. Since March, 180 countries, the Security Council, regional organizations, civil society groups, peace advocates and millions of global citizens have endorsed the Secretary-General’s ceasefire call. Get involved and sign the urgent call to support!

On 23 March, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued an urgent appeal for a global ceasefire in all corners of the world to focus together on the true fight – defeating COVID-19. He repeated the call at the start of the 75th UN General Assembly session in September. He called for the global ceasefire to become a reality by the end of the year. Silencing the guns can not only support the fight against COVID-19, but also create opportunities for life-saving aid, open windows for diplomacy and bring hope to people suffering in conflict zones who are particularly vulnerable to the pandemic. 

"In 2020, as the United Nations celebrates 75 years since the Charter’s signing, we have an opportunity to reflect on our shared progress, as well as our common future."

While the digital era and new technologies have brought societies many benefits, we also face challenges such as growing digital divides, cyber threats, and human rights violations online. This report lays out a roadmap in which all stakeholders play a role in advancing a safer, more equitable digital world.