Television has come a long way from being just a one-way channel for broadcast and cable content. In the 21st century, it has evolved into a multifunctional device that offers a wide range of multimedia and interactive content, including streaming videos, music, and internet browsing. Despite the emergence of different platforms for audiovisual content consumption and the ever-evolving technology, TV remains an important tool for communication. On World Television Day (21 November) we celebrate that this telecommunication medium has become a symbol of connection and globalization.
22 November 2025 — In a pivotal outcome at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, countries agreed on a sweeping package to scale up climate finance and accelerate implementation of the Paris Agreement – but...
22 November 2025 — The UN Deputy Secretary-General voiced deep alarm on Saturday over the latest mass abduction from a school in Nigeria, calling for the immediate release of those taken.
...21 November 2025 — Seventeen civilians, including women in labour and patients receiving care, were slaughtered inside a Catholic Church-run health centre in eastern Democratic Republic of the...
The Sustainable Development Goals are a call for action by all countries — poor, rich and middle-income — to promote prosperity while protecting the planet.
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.
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.
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.
Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.
Featured stories from across the United Nations and our world-wide family of agencies, funds, and programmes.
Poverty severely impacts childhood, endangering children's lives, health, and development while denying their fundamental rights. Today's children face crises like conflict and climate change, exacerbating their suffering. While monetary poverty is critical, it only tells part of the story; many children experience deprivations in housing, nutrition, sanitation, education, and healthcare. This multifaceted poverty leads to poor health outcomes, limited learning opportunities, and bleak future prospects. Ultimately, poverty threatens societal stability and economic growth, fostering conditions conducive to violence and extremism. Urgent action is needed to address these issues.
Nadia, a young tutor from Karachi, faced harassment through WhatsApp from a trusted neighbor, leading to a traumatic assault. In the past five years in Pakistan, around 1.8 million women have experienced cyber-crimes, but only 3.5% of offenders face conviction. The Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016 aims to combat such crimes, but enforcement is weak. After her attack, Nadia found support at Pakistan's first Anti-Rape Crisis Cell, established in 2023. There, she received medical, legal, and psychological help, helping her regain confidence and a sense of justice, inspiring her to advocate for all silenced women.
Agriculture and food security face severe threats from increasing disasters, which have caused an estimated 3ドル.26 trillion in losses over the past 33 years, about 99ドル billion annually. A new report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) highlights how digital technologies are enhancing risk monitoring and response. It provides a comprehensive assessment of how various disasters disrupt food production and nutrition. Digital innovations are facilitating a shift from reactive crisis management to proactive resilience-building, with tools such as parametric insurance and early warning systems enabling communities to mitigate risks effectively.
With two confirmed famines in 2025 and 318 million people facing severe food insecurity in 2026, WFP warns that conflict, funding cuts, and climate shocks are driving unprecedented humanitarian crises.
A village fighting rising seas with unshakable spirit and an unbreakable promise to its ancestral land.
The world is edging past critical climate thresholds as emissions hit new highs, proving that the weakening link between GDP and CO2 is still far too slow to keep global heating in check.
From startup to regional leader, Southeast Asia Energy Transition Partnership unveils a five-year strategy to accelerate decarbonization, boost energy security, and ensure a just, inclusive, and sustainable low-carbon future.
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:
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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 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 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.
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 US1ドル.90 a day — the internationally agreed poverty line, and millions of others live on slightly more than this daily amount.
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.
Find out more in
Find out more in
Find out more in
Video and audio from across the United Nations and our world-wide family of agencies, funds, and programmes.
UNMAS leads mine action efforts in Gaza, helping humanitarian partners assess explosive ordnance risks and enabling safe operations during and after hostilities. Since 2009, and especially after the October 2023 escalation, it has expanded its work to include early recovery support and risk education for civilians across Gaza and the West Bank.
Global ocean observations, coordinated by UNESCO’s GOOS and contributed to by over 80 countries, provide critical data to predict, manage, and adapt to changes in the marine environment and climate impacts.
Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) makes infections harder to treat, and World AMR Awareness Week, held every November 18–24, raises global awareness and drives action to combat this growing health threat.
A worm that can cause epilepsy? Meet Taenia solium — the pig tapeworm that travels from gut to brain, causing seizures and preventable epilepsy in millions. In this episode of WHO' Science in 5, Dr Bernadette Abela explains how this parasite spreads when pigs eat human feces and humans consume contaminated food or water — and what we can do to stop it. Learn how cooking meat properly, improving hygiene, and vaccinating pigs can break the cycle.
Images from across the United Nations and our world-wide family of agencies, funds, and programmes.
Vanishing rivers: Water crisis impacts women's lives in southern Angola
Helena collects water from a borehole in Giraul village in Angola, where the river has stopped flowing. Women are desperate to collect water for their families amid prolonged drought, but cholera outbreaks have been reported in the area due to contaminated water. Clean water is essential during childbirth – without it, the risk of infection increases. Birthing equipment must be properly cleaned, and new mothers need safe water for bathing. Maria, a traditional midwife in Giraul, who provides a lifeline for women who can’t make the journey to a hospital, asks women to collect water before they go into labour. UNFPA is training midwives to help women deliver safely, as well as delivering youth programmes that help pregnant adolescents get the care and support they need and stay in school. UNICEF and the World Food Programme are working with the Government of Angola to manage drought and provide water and food support to the region.
What happens when we trust youth to lead climate action?
The world is heating. Inequalities are deepening. And yet, across continents, young people are stepping into the cracks of broken systems and reimagining what’s possible. While the world works to respond to the climate crisis, youth from around the world are showing what happens when youth are not just invited to the table but trusted to lead. This article introduces five of these young leaders: Sundus from Pakistan (seen here with her team that brings damaged reefs back to life), Elvis from Liberia, Luís from Bolivia, Pablo from Colombia, Specioza from Uganda. All of them, with support of Youth4Climate, are building new systems of food, energy, mobility and education, from the ground up. Their projects are different, but their experiences and drive are shared. What they show us is clear: when young people are trusted and supported with the right resources, they can drive meaningful and lasting change.
