# United Nations

> The United Nations is the treaty-based forum where 193 member states negotiate rules, manage shared risks and authorize collective action. Its work ranges from diplomacy, peacekeeping and international law to humanitarian coordination, human rights and sustainable development. Unlike a company, it has no owners, customers or sales in the conventional sense: governments set its mandates and finance its core budget, while UN agencies, country teams and partners turn those decisions into standards, services and field operations.

- **Founded:** 1945
- **Headquarters:** New York City, United States
- **Founders:** 51 original Member States (Founding members and Charter signatories)
- **Team size:** 35,231 Secretariat staff members as of 31 December 2024; 41,999 including full-time-equivalent affiliate personnel. The wider UN system is substantially larger.
- **Products:** Multilateral diplomacy and convening, Peacekeeping and political missions, International law and dispute settlement, Human rights standards and monitoring, Humanitarian coordination
- **Notable:** Established a universal diplomatic forum that grew from 51 founding members to 193 member states., Adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, which inspired a broad body of human-rights law., Deployed more than 70 peacekeeping operations since 1948 and supported political transitions in countries including Namibia, Cambodia, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

## Products & services

- **Multilateral diplomacy and convening** — The General Assembly, Security Council, ECOSOC and conferences give governments a standing venue to debate, negotiate, adopt resolutions and coordinate action.
- **Peacekeeping and political missions** — Mandated missions support ceasefires, civilian protection, elections, rule of law, mediation and political transitions in conflict-affected settings.
- **International law and dispute settlement** — The Charter, treaty processes, legal bodies and the International Court of Justice provide rules, forums and advisory mechanisms for relations among states.
- **Human rights standards and monitoring** — The UN develops norms, reviews state performance, investigates abuses and supports national institutions, anchored by the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
- **Humanitarian coordination** — UN entities coordinate emergency appeals, logistics, information, protection and relief with governments, NGOs and local partners.
- **Sustainable development frameworks** — The 2030 Agenda and 17 Sustainable Development Goals provide a shared planning and measurement system for governments, business and civil society.
- **Global data, research and standards** — UN bodies collect comparable data and create technical norms used in health, labor, food, communications, aviation, shipping, weather and other cross-border systems.

## Achievements

- Established a universal diplomatic forum that grew from 51 founding members to 193 member states.
- Adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, which inspired a broad body of human-rights law.
- Deployed more than 70 peacekeeping operations since 1948 and supported political transitions in countries including Namibia, Cambodia, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
- Supported decolonization as more than 80 former colonies gained independence after the UN was created.
- Adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals in 2015 as a shared global framework through 2030.
- Created and maintained international legal, statistical and technical frameworks used by governments and institutions worldwide.
- The UN, its personnel and related UN-system organizations have been recognized with the Nobel Peace Prize 12 times; the UN and Kofi Annan jointly received it in 2001.
- Adopted the Pact for the Future, Global Digital Compact and Declaration on Future Generations in 2024.

## Latest updates

- **2026-07** — UN80 briefings moved deeper into prevention, peacebuilding, funding mechanisms and system-wide results management, with the General Assembly receiving regular progress updates.
- **2026-06** — The General Assembly changed a long-standing financial rule on unspent budget credits for a four-year trial, allowing hundreds of millions of dollars to remain available amid the UN liquidity crisis.
- **2026-05** — The Secretary-General issued the UN80 Initiative Progress Report, tracking decisions and proposals across efficiency, mandate implementation and structural reform.
- **2026-03** — The General Assembly adopted resolution A/RES/80/251 to strengthen how UN mandates are created, implemented and reviewed.
- **2026-01** — The General Assembly approved a $3.45 billion regular budget for 2026, about 7 percent below the approved 2025 budget.
- **2025-11** — The UN presented a coordinated UN80 Action Plan for system-wide reform.
- **2025-06** — The organization marked 80 years since the signing of the UN Charter and returned the original Charter to New York for display.

## Links

- Website: https://www.un.org/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/united-nations
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/UN
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@unitednations
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unitednations/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/unitednations
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@unitednations

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Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-13