SDGs

Buddhist monks meditate at the Maya Devi Temple in Lumbini, the birthplace of Lord Buddha, Nepal.
UN News/Vibhu Mishra

Buddha's message of compassion 'timeless' says UN chief on international day

10 May 2017
Global

Observing the Day of Vesak, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called on the global community to draw inspiration from the journey of Lord Buddha and embrace his message of compassion.

Photo: NASA/Bill Ingalls
NASA/Bill Ingalls

On International Day, UN celebrates historic event that opened doors to outer space

12 April 2017
Global

The United Nations today commemorated the International Day of Human Space Flight to celebrate the 56th anniversary of the first human space flight, which ushered in the beginning of the space era for mankind.

Children doing physical exercises in a school gym in Uzbekistan, among them a child affected by down syndrome.
UNICEF/Giacomo Pirozzi

At UN event, people with Downs Syndrome ‘speak up’ to influence government policy and action

21 March 2017
Global

Today, the call that people with Down Syndrome be included to fully and equally participate in all aspects of society echoed widely throughout United Nations Headquarters in New York.

Woman in Lebanon drives a cab.
UN Women/Joe Saad

PHOTO FEATURE: UN Women’s Commission tackles parity and empowerment in changing workplace

15 March 2017
Global

Against the backdrop of rapid transformations in the world of work, the annual session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women – or in UN parlance CSW – will this year examine the impact such changes will have on women and girls, including in the areas of equal pay, unpaid care work, the informal economy and in technology.

Local people from Watamu, Kenya, work with Local Ocean Conservation to pick up plastic on the beach.
Cyril Villemain/UNEP

‘Turn the tide on plastic’ urges UN, as microplastics in the seas now outnumber stars in our galaxy

23 February 2017

Launching an unprecedented global campaign, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is urging everyone to eliminate the use of microplastics and stop the excessive, wasteful use of single-use plastic, to save the world’s seas and oceans from irreversible damage before it’s too late.

Fatima, 7, sits on a bed in her home in Afar region, Ethiopia. She was subjected to FGM/C when she was 1 year old.
UNICEF/ Holt

PHOTO FEATURE: International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation

6 February 2017
Global

While the exact number is unknown, at least 200 million girls and women in 30 countries throughout Africa, the Middle East and Asia have been subjected to female genital mutilation, or FGM, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).