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Women and Gender Equality

Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls

This International Women’s Day (8 March), demand equal rights and equal justice. Women worldwide hold just 64% of the legal rights men do. At this pace, closing the gap could take 286 years. From work and pay to safety, family, property, and retirement, laws still disadvantage women and girls. It’s time to dismantle discriminatory laws and harmful norms. Join , use and follow our on 9 March ahead of the (9–19 March), the UN’s largest annual forum dedicated to gender equality and women’s rights.

The time has come to make justice a reality for women and girls everywhere.
Photo:Adobe Stock/Sabrina

6 March 2026 — Military strikes and counter-strikes are continuing across the Middle East as the US and Israel wage war on Iran. With the world economy at grave risk, ‘the situation could spiral...

5 March 2026 — On day six of the war in the Middle East, there's been no let-up in bombs, drones and rockets targeting Iran, Israel, Lebanon and many Gulf States, while NATO forces reportedly...

4 March 2026 — As an increase in conflicts leads to a significant spike in gender-based violence, women across the world face a “justice gap” with discriminatory laws reported in most countries,...

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.

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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 and at .

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

神马午夜福利网 the
United Nations

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

Women and Gender Equality

International Women’s Day 2026 arrives as justice systems falter under conflict and repression, leaving women with . Across most countries, women face higher barriers to justice—denied lawyers, priced out of services, dismissed, or blamed when reporting abuses. For hundreds of millions near conflict zones, justice is absent entirely. When justice fails, women pay. Real justice means enforceable rights, believing survivors, accessible legal aid, and support after violations. UN Women urges collective action to build and fund justice systems that deliver equality. 

Agriculture and Food, Women and Gender Equality

Sonya Kirgizova, a respected farmer in Tajikistan’s Tojikobod region, has become a key leader in efforts to revive traditional crops and strengthen local agriculture. As more men migrate for work, women like Sonya now manage farms but often lack resources. Sonya partnered with the to train women in gardening, greenhouses and beekeeping, and helped establish community seed banks that store climate?resilient seeds. Women are now accessing seeds, earning income, reviving local varieties and seeing themselves as producers and decision?makers.

Economic Development

India has approved its first smell trademark: Sumitomo’s rose?scented tires, marking a shift in how the country handles non?traditional marks. Because scents are hard to represent objectively, Sumitomo used scientific tools—like chromatography and mass spectrometry, to define the molecular fingerprint of its rose fragrance —to meet legal standards of clarity and non?functionality. The case sets a precedent for sensory marks, highlights the need for guidelines and scientific support, and opens opportunities for scent?based branding in India and beyond.

Women and Gender Equality, UNDP

Across fragile regions, women restore forests, manage scarce resources, and rebuild livelihoods, showing how climate resilience and peace grow stronger when communities empower women.

Culture, Food, IOM

In Cox’s Bazar, Sabekun Nahar revives the traditional Rohingya dish musa, using food, memory and culture to reconnect displaced communities with identity and belonging.

Wildlife, Tourism, UNESCO

Through , José Pérez reveals Cuba’s hidden biodiversity, connecting visitors with communities and conservation while transforming images into powerful bridges between science, emotion and protection.

Artificial Intelligence, World Bank

New data shows AI adoption largely follows predicted job exposure, but a widening global divide leaves high-income countries leading usage while developing economies risk technological exclusion.

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 , 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.

神马午夜福利网 of the
United Nations

The main parts of the UN structure are the , the
Security Council, the , the Trusteeship Council, the , 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.

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.

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 神马午夜福利网

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

Indigenous teen codes new opportunities

Sixteen-year-old Arleidis, a Wayúu girl from the Pushaina clan, software programming, determined to overcome barriers and inspire her family and community. She now uses digital tools to promote and sell their work, strengthening her community livelihood.

First Global Citizenship Education prize

In 2025, UNESCO awarded its inaugural to initiatives in Tanzania and Ecuador, recognizing outstanding global education impact.

Youth voices transform safe space

In Benin, UNFPA-supported youth center murals, created with artist Larenson Djihouessi, showcase creativity while promoting safe spaces and essential support.

UN Podcasts

A UNODC programme participant examines coffee seedlings at a nursery in Kuan District, Laos.

Women and youth in agrifood systems

As global debates on food, equity and resilience accelerate, one story highlights who must be at the center. This episode of Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Work We Do podcast highlights why women and youth are essential to transforming agrifood systems.

Lauren Phillips, FAO’s Director of Partnerships and UN Collaboration, discusses findings from FAO flagship reports on women’s central roles, persistent gaps in land, finance and opportunities, and why progress remains uneven. The conversation explores the International Year of the Woman Farmer, youth participation amid high global youth unemployment, and the financing gap. It makes the case for investing in women and youth as drivers of inclusive growth, resilience and food security.

The United Nations in Pictures

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

Photo:?WFP/Alessandro Abbonizio

For thousands of students in Uganda’s Karamoja region, Teacher Evaline Akello is more than a teacher, she’s proof that their dreams are possible.

Evaline once sat where they sit now, a hungry child relying on the World Food Programme (WFP) school meals to stay in class. Today, her students see in her story a powerful message: with food, education and determination, their futures can be bigger than the challenges they face. Evaline's journey shows how one simple meal can .

Photo:?OCHA/Bénédicte Bama Toé

In a displacement site in Dédougou, Burkina Faso, families forced to flee violence are transforming small plots of land beside their tents into gardens of resilience with support from OCHA and humanitarian partners.

By growing vegetables they add fresh food to scarce meals, share with neighbors and regain a sense of dignity and purpose. Tending these gardens offers more than nourishment; it brings amid the uncertainty of displacement.

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