A close-up view of the West Himalayan Yew, a medicinal plant.
Health

Protecting the power of medicinal plants

This World Wildlife Day (3 March), we celebrate the vital role that medicinal and aromatic plants play in human health, heritage, and livelihoods. One in five people relies on wild plants, algae and fungi for their food and income. From cancer treatments to traditional remedies, these plants are lifesaving resources—yet around 9% face extinction due to habitat loss, overharvesting, and climate change. Protecting them means safeguarding both nature and our shared future.

The endangered West Himalayan Yew is used in traditional medicine and to produce anti-cancer drugs.
Photo:Adobe Stock/Andrii
Tehran, Iran's capital city.

MIDDLE EAST LIVE: Strikes continue from US, Israel and Iran as UN urges restraint

2 March 2026 — Violent escalation in the Middle East has entered a third day as coordinated US and Israeli strikes against Iran aimed at regime change continue to cause loss of life and damage...

UN Secretary-General António Guterres attends the Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East.

Iran strikes ‘squandered a chance for diplomacy’: Guterres

28 February 2026 — “Everything must be done” to prevent wider escalation of war across the Middle East following joint US-Israeli strikes against Iran, and retaliatory action from Tehran targeting...

The UN Security Council meets on the situation in the Middle East.

MIDDLE EAST LIVE: UN Security Council meeting in emergency session over Iran

28 February 2026 — The UN Security Council met in emergency session in the aftermath of major airstrikes across Iran on Saturday by the United States and Israel. In retaliation, Tehran launched...

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 of the Month 5

 
Gender Equality

Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.

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.

People walk along the street next to the road where traffic moves. World Bank, Economic Development

How to create jobs for the world's 1.2 billion new workers

The world is shaped by fast crises and slow, powerful forces. Among the most significant is a coming wave: 1.2 billion young people in developing countries will soon enter the workforce, but far too few jobs await them. This story explores why this demographic surge is often overlooked, why it matters for global stability, and how early investment—in skills, infrastructure, and thriving businesses—could transform a looming risk into a historic opportunity.

Close-up of three horses walking in the grasslands. UNEP, Wildlife

Four environmental lessons we can learn from equines

Around 2 billion people welcomed the Year of the Horse last week. Horses have shaped ecosystems for millions of years and supported human societies for millennia. As the world marks the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists, the United Nations Environment Programme highlights how wild, feral and domestic horses aid restoration, from Kazakhstan’s rewilding efforts to seed dispersal and water access for other species. When sustainably managed, they strengthen ecosystems, support communities from Central Asia to the Andes, and exemplify resilience and cooperation—key lessons for environmental action.

A woman checking the quality of the pistachios on a pistachio tree. FAO, Agriculture and Food

Water scarcity and the pistachio predicament

At dawn, Maryam Gholam Alizadeh moves through her pistachio trees, reading the soil and leaves for signs in a landscape strained by heat and dwindling water. Though experienced, she sought new skills through trainings offered by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Iran’s Ministry of Agriculture, learning practical methods to use water more efficiently and prevent aflatoxin. Applying these techniques brought steadier harvests and renewed confidence. Today, she shares her knowledge with fellow growers, contributing to a broader effort that has strengthened hundreds of farmers across Iran’s pistachio heartlands.

A portrait of Catherine Mootian, a survivor of female genital mutilation.
Women and Gender Equality, UN Women

The People vs. Impunity against women

Globally, women face violence and discrimination, and justice systems fail, making accountability, legal aid, and systemic reform urgently necessary. Case is now open.

A portrait image of Yurii Shapovalov.
Peace and Security, IOM

From captivity to courage

After nearly eight years in captivity following Russia’s full-scale invasion, Yurii Shapovalov is rebuilding his life amid Ukraine’s long war.

A whale in water.
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, UNDP

Where nature and tourism thrive

Kuxatur is a community-centered initiative in Mexico that builds sustainable tourism models to protect biodiversity, strengthen local livelihoods, and balance ecosystems with growing visitor demand.

A welder working on some metal.
Economic Development, UNCTAD

Who wins and who loses?

US tariff changes are unevenly altering competitiveness, creating winners and losers, limiting value chain upgrading, and reshaping global trade flows.

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

On 25 November 2025, the President of the General Assembly and the President of the Security Council initiated the process of selecting and appointing the next Secretary-General. Candidates are nominated by a Member State or a group of Member States. Learn more about the multi-step selection and appointment process of the next United Nations Secretary-General.

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.

Four years of war: Ukraine faces devastation and a traumatized generation

Four years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and nearly 12 years since the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol, the conflict has claimed thousands of lives, displaced millions, and left a generation of children traumatized.

International Day of Forests 2026

Forests sustain livelihoods, drive economies, and provide vital ecosystem services, celebrated annually on March 21 with the 2026 theme as: “Forests and Economies”

Creativity, music and Artificial Intelligence

Jean‑Michel Jarre narrates how AI is transforming creation and connection, and UNESCO promotes ethical frameworks to ensure technology enhances, not replaces, human creativity.

UN Podcasts

Various drawings of the cerebral cortex along with the program title, Science in 5.

Polio: 99.9% Defeated. What Will It Take to End It for Good?

Polio once paralyzed hundreds of thousands of children every year, striking fear into families across the world. Thanks to global vaccination efforts, cases have fallen by 99.9% since 1988. But polio is not gone yet.

In this episode of the podcast Science in 5, we speak with Dr. Jamal Ahmad about why polio eradication still matters, how close the world truly is to ending this disease forever, and what's at stake if we don't finish the job.

Polio spreads easily, respects no borders, and remains a threat as long as it exists anywhere. With only a few cases left in two countries, the tools, knowledge, and partnerships are stronger than ever—but sustained political commitment and global cooperation are essential.

Ending polio would mean no child is ever paralyzed by this disease again—and billions saved for health systems worldwide.

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.

A mobile clinic where two adults and one small child are seated.
Photo:UNFPA Sudan

The long road to healing in Sudan 

Amid Sudan’s escalating war, Anna and her children flee South Kordofan after surviving attacks that killed others on their route. Now displaced in Abu Al Naja camp, they join tens of thousands uprooted as Sudan faces the world’s largest displacement crisis. A United Nations Population Fund‑supported mobile health team provides medical care, mental‑health support, safe deliveries and services for survivors of gender‑based violence, despite shortages. For families like Anna’s, with homes destroyed and no safe return, the camp offers essential care and dignity.

A jaguar pokes its head and part of its body out of the water.
Photo:Gregoire Dubois

From hunters to guardians

In Colombia’s Guaviare department, once marked by fear of jaguars, local communities are transforming conflict into coexistence. As hunting, deforestation and shrinking prey fueled attacks on livestock, retaliatory killings pushed the species toward local extinction. Since 2021, a community‑led governance strategy has united organizations to create the Jaguar Protection Corridor, promoting ecotourism, education and sustainable practices that protect both livelihoods and wildlife, reshaping human–jaguar relations. Read the full story to see how coexistence becomes a path to conservation.

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