The United Nations,referred to informally as the UN,is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security,develop friendly relations among nations,achieve international cooperation,and serve as a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations. It is the world's largest international organization. The UN is headquartered on international territory in New York City,and the organization has other offices in Geneva,Nairobi,Vienna,and The Hague,where the International Court of Justice is headquartered.
The United Nations Economic and Social Council is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations,responsible for coordinating the economic and social fields of the organization,specifically in regards to the fifteen specialised agencies,the eight functional commissions,and the five regional commissions under its jurisdiction.
The University for Peace (UPEACE) is an international,graduate-only research university and intergovernmental organization. The university was established as a treaty organisation by the United Nations General Assembly in 1980.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong,its first director,after the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm in June 1972. Its mandate is to provide leadership,deliver science and develop solutions on a wide range of issues,including climate change,the management of marine and terrestrial ecosystems,and green economic development. The organization also develops international environmental agreements;publishes and promotes environmental science and helps national governments achieve environmental targets.
AIESEC is an international youth-run and led,non-governmental and not-for-profit organization that provides young people with leadership development,cross-cultural internships,and global volunteer exchange experiences. The organization focuses on empowering young people to make a progressive social impact. The AIESEC network includes approximately 40,000 members in 120+ countries.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes developing local capacity towards long-term self-sufficiency and prosperity.
Agenda 21 is a non-binding action plan of the United Nations with regard to sustainable development. It is a product of the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro,Brazil,in 1992. It is an action agenda for the UN,other multilateral organizations,and individual governments around the world that can be executed at local,national,and global levels. One major objective of the Agenda 21 initiative is that every local government should draw its own local Agenda 21. Its aim initially was to achieve global sustainable development by 2000,with the "21" in Agenda 21 referring to the original target of the 21st century.
The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED),also known as the RioConference or the Earth Summit,was a major United Nations conference held in Rio de Janeiro from June 3 to June 14,1992.
The United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA) is a nonprofit grassroots organization dedicated to promoting political and public support for the United Nations among Americans. A program of the United Nations Foundation,its mission includes advocating for greater U.S. leadership at the UN,improving and enhancing the UN system,and implementing the Sustainable Development Goals and the UN Charter in both the U.S. and globally.
The United Nations Global Compact is a non-binding United Nations pact to get businesses and firms worldwide to adopt sustainable and socially responsible policies,and to report on their implementation. The organization solicits commitments to specific sustainability and social responsibility goals from CEOs and highest-level executives,and in turn offers training,peer-networks and a functional framework for responsibility.
The United Nations General Assembly has granted observer status to international organizations,entities,and non-member states,to enable them to participate in the work of the United Nations General Assembly,though with limitations. The General Assembly determines the privileges it will grant to each observer,beyond those laid down in a 1986 Conference on treaties between states and international organizations. Exceptionally,the European Union (EU) was in 2011 granted the right to speak in debates,to submit proposals and amendments,the right of reply,to raise points of order and to circulate documents,etc. As of May 2011,the EU is the only international organization to hold these enhanced rights,which has been likened to the rights of full membership,short of the right to vote.
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka is a South African politician and former United Nations official,who served as the Executive Director of UN Women with the rank of Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations.
The International Day of Peace,also officially known as World Peace Day,is a United Nations-sanctioned holiday observed annually on 21 September. It is dedicated to world peace,and specifically the absence of war and violence,such as might be occasioned by a temporary ceasefire in a combat zone for humanitarian aid access. The day was first celebrated in 1981 and is kept by many nations,political groups,military groups,and people.
The International Trade Centre (ITC) is a multilateral agency which has a joint mandate with the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations (UN) through the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
Karen Christiana Figueres Olsen is a Costa Rican diplomat who has led national,international and multilateral policy negotiations. She was appointed Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in July 2010,six months after the failed COP15 in Copenhagen. During the next six years she worked to rebuild the global climate change negotiating process,leading to the 2015 Paris Agreement,widely recognized as a historic achievement.
Amina Jane Mohammed is a British Nigerian diplomat and politician who is serving as the fifth Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations. Previously,she was Nigerian Minister of Environment from 2015 to 2016 and was a player in the Post-2015 Development Agenda process.
Multistakeholder governance is a practice of governance that employs bringing multiple stakeholders together to participate in dialogue,decision making,and implementation of responses to jointly perceived problems. The principle behind such a structure is that if enough input is provided by multiple types of actors involved in a question,the eventual consensual decision gains more legitimacy,and can be more effectively implemented than a traditional state-based response. While the evolution of multistakeholder governance is occurring principally at the international level,public-private partnerships (PPPs) are domestic analogues.
The Sustainable Development Goals or Global Goals are a collection of seventeen interlinked objectives designed to serve as a "shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet,now and into the future". The SDGs are:no poverty;zero hunger;good health and well-being;quality education;gender equality;clean water and sanitation;affordable and clean energy;decent work and economic growth;industry,innovation and infrastructure;reduced inequalities;sustainable cities and communities;responsible consumption and production;climate action;life below water;life on land;peace,justice,and strong institutions;and partnerships for the goals. The SDGs emphasize the interconnected environmental,social and economic aspects of sustainable development by putting sustainability at their center.
Munira Khalif is an American student who served as the 6th United States Youth Observer to the United Nations in 2018-2019.
