An illustration that conveys themes of urban innovation and sustainability with a large globe with a light bulb base, symbolizing global ideas and innovation.
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

World Cities Day champions human-centred smart cities

World Cities Day (31 October) shines a spotlight on how data-driven decision-making, technology, and artificial intelligence can improve urban life and support recovery from ongoing shocks and crises. This year’s theme centers on promoting people-centred smart cities, emphasizing the importance of placing human needs at the core of urban innovation. The observance provides a global platform for cities to exchange best practices, share experiences, and explore strategies for advancing people-focused smart city initiatives, while fostering international cooperation and cross-sector partnerships.

World Cities Day brings Urban October to an end on 31 October each year and was first celebrated in 2014.
Photo:UN/AI-assisted illustration by Sadek Ahmed
A woman prepares a meal for her family in El Fasher, North Darfur where people are trapped due to fighting

Tens of thousands fleeing on foot amid atrocities in Sudan’s El Fasher

31 October 2025 — More details continued to emerge on Friday of atrocities committed during and after the fall of El Fasher to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia in Sudan’s Darfur region....

Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

US strikes in Caribbean and Pacific breach international law, says UN rights chief

31 October 2025 — Airstrikes carried out by the United States against alleged drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean and Pacific drew sharp criticism from the UN High Commissioner for Human...

Firefighters tackle a blaze at a building hosting a kindergarten in Kharkiv, Ukraine.

Ukraine: Russian attacks on energy could trigger major ‘crisis within crisis’

31 October 2025 — The UN’s top aid official in Ukraine expressed concern on Friday about “continuous attacks” on energy production sites and distribution facilities.

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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. 

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.

Goal 2: Zero Hunger

Goal of the Month 2

 
Zero Hunger

End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.

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.

A young mangrove plant growing in sandy soil, positioned in the foreground. Climate Change, UNEP

Slow climate adaptation threatening lives and economies

As climate impacts accelerate, the 2025 Adaptation Gap Report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) sounds a global alarm: developing nations are staring down a staggering annual shortfall of over US$310 billion in adaptation finance by 2035—twelve times current international flows. This gap threatens vulnerable populations facing climate impacts like rising seas and deadly storms. Although many countries have made strides in adaptation planning, outdated policies and insufficient finance remain challenges. The report urges a global push for increased public and private funding, emphasizing that adaptation is vital for climate justice and economic resilience.

A woman seated on a bright red plastic chair outdoor. Migrants, IOM

From migrant worker to family farmer

Mok, once a jewellery factory worker in Thailand, recalls her longing for home during her three years abroad. In Laos, nearly one in five families depend on remittances from migrant workers like her, who take on tough jobs to support their families. Forced to leave for better income, Mok felt a deep duty to provide for her loved ones. Now, she has transformed her life by cultivating mushrooms at home, earning a steady income while being present for her family. She sells her produce locally and cherishes the moments spent watching her children grow and sharing meals together.

A striking volcanic landscape with dark, ash-covered soil arranged in a series of semicircular stone enclosures. Agriculture and Food

Lanzarote’s volcanic miracle

Lanzarote’s volcanic terrain seems barren, yet farmers grow crops like grapes, sweet potatoes, and strawberries using traditional methods. After eruptions from 1730–1736 buried farmland, locals adapted with ash-mulch and sand-mulch techniques that conserve moisture and enrich soil. In La Geria, grapevines thrive in volcanic hollows protected by stone walls. These practices, covering 12,000+ hectares, earned Lanzarote recognition in 2025 by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations for sustainable agriculture and biodiversity.

Map detailing Hurricane Mellisa path through the Carribean Islands
Disaster Relief, WFP

Hurricane Melissa devastates

The World Food Programme is racing to support Jamaica as Category 5 Hurricane Melissa approaches, threatening catastrophic flooding, landslides, and widespread destruction across the island.

Close-up portrait of Angela Nguku
Health Interventions, Human Rights, OHCHR

When giving life costs lives

Preventable maternal deaths remain a global injustice rooted in gender inequality and systemic failure, with advocates like Angela Nguku urging a human rights-based approach to ensure no woman dies while giving life.

A rhythmic group of African dancers
África, Literature, UNESCO

Africa tells Its story

UNESCO’s General History of Africa project is reshaping global understanding by telling the continent’s story from an African perspective and bringing it into classrooms and digital learning tools worldwide.

A young girl taking in a drink of piped water
SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation, UNOPS

Dry grounds to new beginnings

In drought-stricken Honduras, UNOPS and SANAA are transforming lives by building sustainable water systems that provide clean, reliable access to people in remote communities.

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

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. 

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.

Watch and Listen

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

UN@80 Photo Exhibit: Shared Lives, Shared Future

The United Nations, now celebrating its 80th anniversary, touches our daily lives everywhere, from peace and security to human rights and development, showing how global cooperation benefits us all. The exhibition features over 200 stories from 193 countries, highlighting the UN’s impact and is showcased both at UN Headquarters in New York and around the world.

Freedom through childcare

Natalia Cebanu from Moldova shares how access to childcare support gave her greater freedom and equal opportunities as a working mother of two.

A bedtime story

Once upon a time, in a land not so far away, there lived a silent creature named polio...

UN Podcasts

A graphic design with a light blue background patterned with geometric shapes—circles, semicircles, and triangles in varying shades of blue. At the center-left, there is the International Labour Organization (ILO) logo in blue and the Second World Summit

Social development: progress made and promises to be fulfilled

Ahead of the World Summit for Social Development (Doha, 4-6 November), the International Labour Organization (ILO)  is launching a special podcast series. In this first episode, Sabina Alkire of Oxford University and ILO’s Manuela Tomei discuss progress and gaps since the 1995 commitment to advance social development for all.

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.

woman holding newborn
Photo:UNFPA

Portrait of a midwife in Sudan: When work becomes family 

Hager Zakaaraya is more than a midwife. For years she has opened her doors to women in her community as an advocate, mentor and friend. She has been working as a midwife since 1997, first at clinics and hospitals in Gedaref state in eastern Sudan and now from her home, which she has converted into a clinic, in the northeastern city of Hai Sawakin. Women line up to see her, thanks to her reputation for skilled care and camaraderie. UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, supports her work, providing medicines and supplies, such as fetal heart monitors, that are essential to saving the lives of women and their newborns. Hager’s home has always been busy, filled with her own children as well as with women and their children who need her help at any given time, such as those displaced by conflict. The kids play together while the women cook, chat and build friendships and support systems through the most challenging of times.

mother with an infant and toddler on a hospital bed
Photo:UNOCHA/Chima Onwe

A mother’s fight for her children’s survival

Fatima Mohammed, 24, sits quietly beside her daughters, Hauwa and Yagana, at the stabilization centre in Mashamari,  in Nigeria’s Borno State. The girls, aged two and one, are recovering from severe acute malnutrition. Their frail bodies are slowly regaining strength, thanks to the care provided at the centre, which is run by the International Rescue Committee with support from the Nigeria Humanitarian Fund. Fatima’s story is common across Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe  states, where millions of internally displaced persons face a worsening food and nutrition crisis. In May 2025, the Nigerian government and the United Nations jointly launched a US$159.3 million appeal to combat severe food insecurity and malnutrition, but just under half has been funded. Given the sharp decline in humanitarian funding, the food and nutrition commodity pipelines for WFP and UNICEF, the two leading humanitarian providers, are going to face a breakdown by the end of December 2025. Fatima’s experience is a stark reminder of the human cost of the humanitarian funding crisis.

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