mother breastfeeding baby
Health, Children

Invest in breastfeeding, invest in the future

World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated every year in the first week of August, championed by the World Health Organization, UNICEF, Ministries of Health and civil society partners around the globe. It’s a time to recognize breastfeeding as a powerful foundation for lifelong health, development, and equity. Breastfeeding delivers a hopeful future not only for children, but for societies. It reduces healthcare costs, boosts cognitive development, strengthens economies, and sets children up with healthy beginnings. 

Every mother should have access to the support and information she needs to breastfeed as long as she wishes to do so.
Photo:UNICEF
Women receive antiretroviral therapy for HIV at a clinic in Kaduna state of Nigeria. (file)

Africa’s push for HIV independence advances with first procurement of locally made medicines

1 August 2025 — Sub-Saharan Africa has taken a cautious but critical step toward greater health self-reliance as locally produced HIV medicines and diagnostic tests begin reaching national...

Women and children wait for food at a community kitchen in western Gaza City.

Gaza: Nearly 1,400 Palestinians killed while seeking food, as UN warns airdrops are no solution

1 August 2025 — Despite Israel’s 27 July announcement of daily military pauses in western Gaza “to improve humanitarian responses,” Israeli forces continued attacks along food convoy routes and...

Thousands of pages of documents used to be printed every day at the UN as pictured in June 1969.

A mandate for change: UN releases proposals for streamlining of tasks as part of major reform agenda

1 August 2025 — Millions of lives have been improved by the mandates assigned to the UN. Yet duplication, fragmentation and outdated tasks are stretching resources and undermining the organization...

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.

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.

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.

Partnerships for the Goals

Goal of the month

 

Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals

Revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development

 

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 large blue ship named CEBU is stranded on land, far from the sea, indicating it was carried inland by a powerful force such as a typhoon or tsunami. Economic Development, UNDP

Risk is our new reality

Development has led to significant achievements like longer lives and less poverty, but these gains are threatened by deep global changes, including geopolitical tensions, shifting populations, and climate shocks. The UNDP's report "Development at Risk: Protecting Gains and Unleashing Opportunities Amid Crisis" urges the global community to prioritize risk reduction. It recommends three key actions: rethink development outcomes by incorporating measures of wellbeing and resilience beyond GDP, reimagine governance through empowering local institutions and data use, and reboot cooperation by investing in long-term, flexible solutions. These strategies aim to transform risks into opportunities for advancing development effectively.

A refugee from South Sudan, arrives at Trieste airport to take up a job in Italy’s shipbuilding sector. Migrants, Refugees

UNHCR and IOM launch "Train-to-Hire" to boost refugee employment

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) have launched a "train-to-hire" program for refugees in the Asia-Pacific region, funded by the Australian Government for an initial 22-month period. This initiative aims to enhance refugee skills and connect them with international job opportunities, addressing labor market gaps and promoting self-reliance. It seeks to strengthen collaboration among UN agencies and facilitate safe migration, leveraging refugees' skills to reduce reliance on irregular routes. Despite significant numbers of skilled refugees, barriers to employment remain, making this targeted training vital for aligning talent with labor needs.

Two individuals standing in a field of crops holding and examining plants. Agriculture and Food, FAO

From fields in Georgia to the Global Seed Vault in Norway

In Zemo Alvani, Georgia, Natia Matcharashvili, a first-generation farmer, handpicks wheat grains from her fields. She and her husband, Shota, returned from Tbilisi to live closer to nature for their children and to revive native wheat varieties that are vanishing. They feel a responsibility to preserve these traditional strains that have adapted to their local soil and climate. By cultivating these heirloom varieties for their bakery, they aim to share their heritage with customers. What began as a simple passion has turned into a commitment to rediscover and rejuvenate forgotten Georgian wheat varieties.

A picture of a silhouette woman holding her hand out.
Data and Statistics, ILO

Unveiling trafficking through better data

Standard Tools for Analysis of Trafficking in Persons (STATIP) bridges legal and statistical gaps to ethically and accurately measure human trafficking for forced labour through innovative and standardized survey methods.

A group of three generations, girl, mother and grandmother of african descent.
África, SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities, OHCHR

Power, Pride, Progress

On the International Day for Women and Girls of African Descent, powerful voices highlight resilience, call out injustice, and demand meaningful, intersectional action.

A man walking past artwork depicting human stories.
Art, Slavery and Human Trafficking, IOM

Survivors’ stories exposed through art

Through powerful survivor testimonies and public art, IOM Moldova brings visibility to trafficking victims and strengthens national response efforts.

Plastics strewn all over a water shore.
Pollution and Waste, UNCTAD

Plastic trade’s hidden cost

As global plastic trade surpasses $1.1 trillion, United Nations Trade and Development warns of rising environmental harm and calls for trade reforms, investment in sustainable alternatives, and a unified global treaty to curb pollution.

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.

Accessibility for all – Japan’s sustainable development champion

Diagnosed with Distal Myopathy in 2002, Yuriko Oda became a wheelchair user after childbirth and was driven by a desire to take her son to the beach, an experience that sparked the idea for better accessibility information.

In 2017, she launched WheeLog!, a user-generated accessibility map now used by over 100,000 people worldwide, earning her the 2023 Japan SDGs Award for inclusive innovation

What is human trafficking?

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime exposes how traffickers exploit migrants and urges all people on the move to report abuse, affirming their rights regardless of immigration status.

On the road with Khmayes

On World Rural Development Day, we meet Khmayes from rural Tunisia, whose life was transformed by an IFAD-supported project that gave him the freedom to transport and sell his goods with a motorized tricycle.

UN Podcasts

Gonzalo sits on a couch next to a woman wearing a veil who is speaking to him and to another woman

What next for Syria’s refugees, with Gonzalo Vargas Llosa (AAN S11-E1)

Welcome back to Awake at Night! We are launching season 11 and our first episode is an interview with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees’ Representative to Syria: Gonzalo Vargas Llosa.

“Something happened to me in those hours that we spent in that orphanage, because I remember that on the plane back ... I told my father...I don't want to be a writer for sure. Second, I don't want to be a translator or an interpreter. I want to do humanitarian work.”

Rather than follow in the footsteps of his late father, a Nobel-prize winning writer, Gonzalo Vargas Llosa opted instead to serve humanity. Now the UN High Commissioner for Refugees’ Representative to Syria, he just witnessed a historic end to 14 years of conflict and crisis.

“There were these long, long lines of cars of Syrian refugees coming back from Lebanon. So many of them stopped the car the moment that they entered Syria, they got out of the car, they kissed the ground … saying we are so happy to be back in this new Syria.”

The fall of the Assad regime has brought fresh hope for millions of displaced Syrians. Yet with a lack of housing, services and jobs still preventing most from returning, the UN is calling for action to support returnees.

Gonzalo Vargas Llosa looks back on a career full of seismic turning points, and reflects on the painful sacrifices of a life spent in service.

Photo: ©UNHCR/Emad Kabas

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 midwife holding a baby in her lap.
Photo:UNFPA

Sudan: Born in the shadows of shattered walls

When war erupted in Sudan in April 2023, it tore a deadly path through the capital, Khartoum. In the years since, fighters have brutally targeted civilians across the country, resulting in the world’s largest displacement crisis with some 12 million people forced from their homes. Today, as families begin to return to Khartoum, the scars of conflict remain painfully visible, especially in the shattered health system. UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, is part of the effort to restore what has been lost.

A close-up of a Malayan tiger.
Photo:Jabatan Perlindungan Hidupan Liar dan Taman Negara (PERHILITAN)

Tigers know no borders

In April 2025, wildlife officials confirmed the sighting of the critically endangered Malayan tiger in Southern Thailand after a decade-long absence. This discovery, captured by camera traps in Bang Lang National Park, also revealed other wildlife like tapirs and wild elephants, emphasizing the idea that thriving tiger populations benefit the entire forest ecosystem. The Malayan tiger, native to Peninsular Malaysia, numbers fewer than 150 in the wild. Successful population rebounds in countries like Bhutan and India highlight the importance of political commitment and conservation efforts supported by organizations like the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Global Environment Facility.

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