A top view of healthy food on a plate, accompanied by a stethoscope and a diabetes control machine, against a dark background.
WHO, Health

Act early on diabetes

This World Diabetes Day (14 November) join the call to reach the more than 40% of people living with diabetes who remain undiagnosed. Learn to recognize the symptoms, including increased thirst, frequent urination, tiredness and blurred vision, and seek medical advice if you notice them. Together, let’s challenge stigma and ensure that everyone has access to affordable treatment, quality care and ongoing support. Start the conversation today and help build a healthier future for people living with diabetes.

Diabetes diagnosis can only improve outcomes when it is followed by access to timely, affordable care and ongoing support.
Photo:Adobe Stock/ Siam
A red emergency truck drives past a partially collapsed Deir al_Balah, Gaza, while residents and responders gather near tents beside damaged buildings under a cloudy sky.

Six killed in Israeli airstrike on Gaza’s Nasser Hospital

12 November 2026 — An Israeli airstrike on Gaza’s Nasser Hospital on Wednesday night killed six people, injured 27 others and caused extensive damage. 

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WFP food distribution in Daba Nayra Camp, North Darfur, Sudan. People gather near World Food Programme trucks as boxes of food supplies are stacked on the dusty ground.

Aid is the ‘only hope’ for millions in Sudan, WFP chief warns, as funding cuts deepen hunger crisis

12 November 2026 — The World Food Programme’s (WFP) new Executive Director has warned that funding cuts are worsening Sudan’s hunger crisis following his first field mission to the country, where...

Aerial view of Bosco Verticale, a tree-covered residential tower in Milan, surrounded by urban buildings and railway tracks.

COP31: Cities rise up the climate agenda as leaders face demands for action

12 November 2026 — From flooded homes to melting Himalayan glaciers, the human cost of climate change took centre stage at COP31 on Thursday, as world leaders turned their attention to protecting...

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.

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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.

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.

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2026 UN Water Conference

Coming up in December! The 2026 UN Water Conference, co-hosted by the UAE and the Republic of Senegal, takes place 8 to 10 December in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The Conference is an opportunity to strengthen investment, foster innovation, and galvanize political will to accelerate the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation.

SDG Goal 13: Climate Action

Goal of the Month

 
Climate Action

Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

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 night-time view of a cloudy sky over a lake, with a coastal line in the background. WMO, Climate Change

Record heat leaves no room for delay

The planet’s fever shows no sign of breaking. The past 12 years are the warmest on record, and a powerful El Niño threatens to drive more heat and extreme weather into 2027. The World Meteorological Organization’s State of the Climate Update 2026 reports record rising sea levels, accelerating heat accumulation and continued glacier loss. Global temperatures averaged about 1.47°C above pre-industrial levels from January to September. Faster emissions cuts, stronger early warnings and protection for vulnerable communities are urgently needed.

Portrait of a Mexican female journalist with flagpoles and the UN headquarters in Geneva in the background. OHCHR

Exposing abuse, breaking the cycle of impunity

Breaking the silence can be the first step towards justice. Mexican journalist Zorayda Gallegos Valle exposes sexual violence and impunity within the Mexican Army: of more than 500 inquiries opened between 2013 and 2024, only 3% ended in convictions. Her investigation earns the 2026 Breach/Valdez Award, co-organised by UN Human Rights in Mexico and partners. Despite threats, secrecy and survivors’ fear of reprisals, she keeps reporting to expose abuse, demand accountability and help build a less violent, more equal country.

A Georgian farmer throwing hazelnut shells from a bucket into a container. FAO, Agriculture and Food

Cutting food loss in a nutshell

A hazelnut’s shell could help save the next harvest. In Georgia, farmer Shete Kemoklidze lost US$20,000 when incorrect drying left his hazelnuts contaminated with a poisonous substance produced by fungi. With training and a grant through the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), he now uses a dryer fuelled by discarded nutshells to protect his crop and dry his neighbours’ harvests too. Funded by the European Union and Sweden, the initiative combines food safety skills with better equipment to cut losses and protect farmers’ livelihoods.

A woman holds a bowl of grain beside a flooded field in Pakistan.
SDG 13: Climate Action, WFP

Climate action against hunger

As COP31 brings countries together to tackle climate change, WFP calls for greater investment in early warnings, climate resilience and hunger prevention.

A young mother with her new born baby on her lap.
Climate Change, UNFPA

Protecting mothers amid climate crises

As droughts, floods and conflict threaten women’s health in Somalia, UNFPA is strengthening climate-resilient healthcare facilities and delivering essential maternal and protection services.

A person uses a smartphone to scan a QR code on a denim garment label.
SDG 12: Sustainable Consumption and Production, UNEP

The hidden chemicals in clothing

A UNEP-backed initiative in Argentina is helping textile companies track hazardous chemicals, improve product transparency and make recycling safer through digital product passports.

Aerial view of an industrial complex with smokestacks releasing thick plumes of emissions.
SDG 13: Climate Action, UNCTAD

Connecting markets for climate action

UN Trade and Development launches a global network at COP31 to strengthen carbon markets, boost transparency and mobilize climate investment, particularly in developing countries.

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: Feridun Hadi Sinirlioğlu (6 Nov) Lana Zaki Nusseibeh (27 Oct), Ivonne A-Baki (20 Aug), Olara Otunnu (19 Aug), Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett (18 Jun), María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés (15 Jun), Rebeca Grynspan Mayufis (22 Apr), Macky Sall (22 Apr), Michelle Bachelet Jeria (21 Apr), and Rafael Mariano Grossi (21 Apr).

 

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. 

Did you know?

As the world’s only truly universal global organization, the United Nations has become the foremost forum to address issues that transcend national boundaries and cannot be resolved by any one country acting alone.

Watch and Listen

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

The State of the Global Climate Observing System

The Global Climate Observing System tracks changes in Earth’s climate, promotes sustained observations and provides reliable data to support research and adaptation. At COP31, countries are calling for urgent action to protect these essential observing systems amid funding shortfalls, declining measurements and persistent geographical gaps.

Water under fire

For children in conflict zones, attacks on water and sanitation services increasingly threaten access to safe drinking water and hygiene.

Smarter land use, healthier planet

FAO’s updated guidelines help countries make sustainable land-use decisions, balancing food security, biodiversity conservation, climate resilience and economic development.

UN Podcasts

podcast header: Talk and Action

Clean energy is taking off, but there's a catch

The world has more renewable energy than ever. But producing clean electricity is only half the battle. Getting it to people's homes, and making sure everyone benefits, is another story.

In Episode 2 of Talk & Action, we go behind the headlines at COP31 in Antalya to explore the surprising challenges and innovations shaping the future of energy and transport.

Why could women miss out on millions of new green jobs? What happens when droughts disrupt electricity supplies? And could leftover cooking oil really help power airplanes?

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.

child being measured by health care worker while being held by mother
Photo:UNOCHA/Jane Kiiru

A lifeline for Nyawal

At just one year old, Nyawal was fighting hunger and illness. In Kenya’s Kakuma refugee camp, a routine screening found her severely malnourished and suffering from malaria and pneumonia. With medical care and therapeutic food, she began recovering, gaining weight within weeks. Her story shows how early detection can save young lives. Across Kakuma and Dadaab, the International Rescue Committee, supported by the UN-managed Kenya Humanitarian Fund, is providing nutrition screening and treatment to thousands of children, even as food insecurity and declining humanitarian support put families at risk.

diver among seagrass
Photo:UNDP Cuba

The hidden promise of Cuba’s underwater meadows

Could an underwater plant hold the key to future medicines? Along Cuba’s coast, turtle grass shelters marine life, protects shorelines and stores carbon. Now scientists are exploring its potential for developing new treatments, while local communities and schoolchildren learn to protect these vital ecosystems. Supported by the United Nations Development Programme, the Thalassia project brings conservation and scientific innovation together, ensuring that communities have a voice in how nature’s resources are used and how future benefits are shared. 

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