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A doctor shows a patient information on a digital tablet.
Health, WHO

Improving diagnosis for patient safety

This year’s World Patient Safety Day (17 September) is focused on improving diagnosis for patient safety, using the slogan “Get it right, make it safe!”. On the day, patients and families, health workers, healthcare leaders, policymakers and civil society will emphasize the pivotal role of correct and timely diagnosis in improving patient safety. A diagnosis identifies a patient’s health problem and requires collaboration between patients and healthcare teams. It involves discussions, examinations, testing, and review of results before reaching the final diagnosis and treatment.

Shot of a doctor showing a patient some information on a digital tablet.
Photo:Adobe Stock/ bongkarn

General Assembly resumes emergency special session on Occupied Palestinian Territory

5 August 2002 — The United Nations General Assembly today resumed its debate on "Illegal Israeli actions in Occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory" to consider...

Protests erupted in the capital Caracas and elsewhere following the re-election of President Nicolas Madura in July.

Venezuela: Rights probe points to ‘unprecedented’ repression

17 September 2024 — Violence used against opponents of the Venezuelan authorities has reached unprecedented levels, a top independent human rights probe alleged on Tuesday, citing arrests, sexual...

Sigrid Kaag, Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza briefs the Security Council meeting on the situation in Gaza.

More action on the ground needed to save civilian lives in Gaza, top UN official tells Security Council

16 September 2024 — Not enough progress is being made in getting desperately needed aid and commercial goods into Gaza, the UN Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for the Strip said...

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

ActNow is the UN campaign to inspire people to act for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In the lead up to the Summit of the Future, join the 1 Million Actions for our Common Future challenge to contribute to a more sustainable and peaceful world. Find new inspiring actions on the app and at un.org/actnow.

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.

SDG Media Zone

Join us on 23-27 September and hear about the transformation and solutions needed to accelerate action on the SDGs. This year’s sessions will highlight the tracks of the Summit of the Future, including the new agenda for peace, global governance, financing for development, digital cooperation, and future generations, along with staple SDG issues. 

Secretary-General Guterres at a podium

Goal of the month

 
Summit of the Future

The highly anticipated Summit of the Future, held on 22 and 23 September, underscores the urgent need for enhanced international cooperation to address pressing challenges and forge a collective vision for a better, more sustainable future. See all the events during the UN General Assembly High-level Week.

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.

Photomontage of people reading newspapers or consulting information over images of newspaper columns. Disinformation

Looking to identify misinformation? UNDP can help!

The rise of deep fakes, conspiracy theories, clickbait, and phishing has made it difficult to trust what we see online. Our social media feeds are flooded with messages, sounds and images that may or may not be true. Pandering to our prejudices. Putting literal words in the mouths of political leaders. Fueled by AI and algorithms, misinformation threatens democratic processes and human rights. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is at the forefront of defending information integrity in elections, providing strategic guidance, monitoring online content, and promoting digital literacy to combat hate speech and misinformation.

Street scene with pictures of missing persons. Human Rights

Mexico's Disappeared: The Pain Fuels Collective Struggle

The organization of collectives to search for disappeared persons in Mexico has grown exponentially in the last 15 years. Official records indicate that there are currently 115,000 people whose whereabouts are unknown. The highest concentration of disappearances occurred from 2006 to date, coinciding with the beginning of the 'war on drugs.' According to UN Human Rights, the main challenges include widespread impunity, deficient institutional capacities to search for people, limited institutional coordination and collaboration, insecurity, and risks faced by human rights defenders. The UN Human Rights office in Mexico is working to advance the fight against the disappearance of persons by providing technical advice, aiding civil society organizations, and increasing visibility and awareness of the problem.

A woman works in her hydroponic greenhouse, where plants are grown in special nutrient-rich water instead of soil. Agriculture and Food, Economic Development

Meet the woman in Bhutan who is growing food out of water

Kinley Wangmo, a Bhutanese mother, turned to hydroponics farming as a solution after losing her source of income during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her interest in hydroponics developed into a passion, leading her to establish Bhutan Hydroponics in 2020. Through her dedication and expertise, she received support from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) for her urban farming project, which has helped her establish three spacious greenhouses.

two people holding hands
Health, WHO

Suicide prevention

Suicide is a major public health challenge, with more than 700,000 deaths each year globally. Learn the facts to help prevent it.

mother and child
Health, Children, UNICEF

Mpox and children

Mpox is an infectious disease caused by the monkeypox virus. A new variant of the virus is spreading, putting children at risk.

man blowing on fire
Health, Pollution and Waste, UNEP

Cooking smoke kills millions

Worldwide, nearly one in three people cook on inefficient stoves or over open fires, breathing in harmful smoke.

elderly woman at blown out window
Humanitarian Aid, UNOPS

Helping Kharkiv’s residents

In Kharkiv, Ukraine, UNOPS and the government of Japan are working to restore housing damaged in 2022, bringing hope and a sense of normalcy to a city still under fire.

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

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.

A young girl holds a smiling infant at the Zaatari Refugee Camp

Our Common Agenda

Following up on a pledge made by UN Member States at the UN’s 75th anniversary, the report Our Common Agenda looks ahead to the next 25 years and represents the Secretary-General’s vision on the future of global cooperation. It calls for inclusive, networked, and effective multilateralism to better respond to humanity’s most pressing challenges.

Watch and Listen

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

Iceland launched the world's first Glacier Graveyard

Iceland has created the world's first Glacier Graveyard on the Seltjarnarnes Peninsula, symbolizing the loss of glaciers due to climate change. It features memorial tombstones for glaciers that have melted, such as the Okjökull Glacier. This initiative aims to raise awareness about the rapid disappearance of glaciers worldwide.

Summit of the Future Explainer

Is there a better way to shape our world? And how can we achieve a fairer future, in the face of so much global upheaval and conflict? The Summit of the Future stands as a once in a lifetime opportunity for the international community to forge a new path, for the benefit of all.

Social protection benefit transformed daily lives

Astou Gningue, a mother of 10 children living in Senegal, sells fruit and other products to support her family. A social protection benefit has helped her to pay for her family's healthcare and education and enabled her to grow her business.

UN Podcasts

Portrait of a writer and university teacher smiling and crossing her arms.

Learn the workings of Doughnut Economics

The world has changed since postwar economic thought placed GDP growth as its guiding principle. 20th-century progress has pushed planetary resources to the limit and brings the sustainability of traditional macroeconomic models into question. In a new edition of the IMF’s Women in Economics podcast, Kate Raworth talks with journalist Rhoda Metcalfe about her alternative model Doughnut Economics, which places economic objectives within the social and ecological boundaries of the living planet. Raworth is an ecological economist and the author of Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st Century Economist.

Photo: Johannes Frandsen

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.

Two people walk through the destruction caused by the Daniel storm in Libya.
Photo:OCHA/ Mohammed Emnena

Tales of hope after the roar that shook a Libyan city

On the night of 10 September 2023, Storm Daniel caused devastating flooding in Libya's northeast region, particularly in the city of Derna. Thousands lost their lives, and tens of thousands were displaced. The UN and other organizations provided urgent humanitarian support after the flooding. Following the disaster, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and a local photographer and filmmaker, Mohammed Emnena, documented the community's resilience in the face of tragedy.

Two Caribbean beekeepers in front of a bee nest.
Photo:UNDP/SGP St. Kitts and Nevis.

South-South Cooperation: A Hive of Activity in the Caribbean

After bees swarmed a hotel restaurant in Saint Lucia, Richard Matthias called a local beekeeper, William ‘Vavan’ Antione, who captured the bees and asked Richard to take care of them. Now, 15 years later, Richard is a leading beekeeper and apiculture expert in the eastern Caribbean. With support from the Global Environment Facility Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme (SGP), implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), beekeeping projects in the region have helped revive the industry and boost honey production and beekeeper income.

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