As the UN marks its 80th anniversary, this explainer reflects on how the organization has shaped international peace, security, development, and human rights – and what it means for the future.
From its founding in 1945 to today, the United Nations has been at the heart of global cooperation. In this video, UN expert Natalie Samarasinghe takes us through the UN’s biggest achievements over eight decades – from peacekeeping to eradicating smallpox, advancing women’s rights, shaping the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
🎥 Highlights include:
• 1945: Signing of the UN Charter in San Francisco
• Creation of UN peacekeeping operations
• Adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• Eradication of smallpox through global vaccination campaigns
• Progress on women’s rights and gender equality
• The Millennium Development Goals and Sustainable Development Goals
00:00 UN Founded – 1945
01:07 Universal Declaration of Human Rights – 1948
01:43 UN peacekeeping created – 1948
02:41 Eradication of smallpox – 1967 – 1980
03:09 World Conference on Women – 1975
03:38 Beijing conference – 1995
04:24 A Forum for mediation – 1945 – 1991
05:10 The Millennium Development Goals – 2000
06:08 The Paris Agreement on Climate Change – 2015
06:18 The Sustainable Development Goals – 2015
06:54 The COVID19 Pandemic – 2020
08:05 Shared humanity and hope for the future
Press conference by David Nanopoulos, Chief of the Treaty Section in the Office of Legal Affairs, on the annual Treaty Event- Eighty years of multilateral treaty making at the United Nations.
A message from Dr. Jane Goodall, UN Messenger of Peace, in observance of International Day of Peace, 21 September 2025.
This year’s theme, “Act Now for a Peaceful World,” is a powerful call to action. Dr. Jane Goodall reminds us that peace depends not only on how we treat one another, but also on how we care for animals and the natural world we share.
Inspired by this vision, young people in Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots program are already taking action in more than 75 countries and counting—addressing food insecurity, protecting wildlife, and creating safe, inclusive communities.
As Jane often says, “Every individual can make a difference.” Each project, each act of kindness, adds up to something extraordinary: a global movement toward a more just, compassionate, and sustainable future. 🌍💚
This Peace Day, join us in taking action for peace—for people, for other animals, and for the planet.
Briefing by Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), on the situation in the Middle East.
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Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher, briefing the Security Council, said Syria remains “by any metric one of the largest humanitarian emergencies globally,” with over 70 per cent of the population in need, 9 million people acutely food insecure, and millions displaced inside and outside the country.
He noted progress in aid delivery, highlighting “a more collaborative engagement with the authorities” that has allowed the UN to reach some communities for the first time in years. On average, nearly 3.5 million people are now receiving assistance each month, including food for 1 million, subsidized bread for 2 million, medical care for 2 million, and immunizations for 1.7 million children. UNICEF, WHO and partners are rehabilitating hospitals and water systems, while WFP and FAO support agriculture and bread production.
Yet, Fletcher warned that “we risk missing a rare opportunity for the people of Syria.” The humanitarian appeal is only 18 per cent funded, forcing cuts to hospitals, safe spaces, and essential programmes, with women and girls bearing the heaviest risks. Without more support, he cautioned, refugee returns and recovery efforts will falter, especially with winter approaching.
He concluded with three key asks: “First, preserve stability to prevent renewed violence. Second, fund the humanitarian response to save more lives. Third, enable Syrian-led recovery by translating pledges into concrete investment, rebuilding homes and services, and creating livelihoods.”
0:14 – Young adults are unhappier than their parents, for the first time in generations: For generations, life’s happiness curve has looked the same. People were happiest as young adults, became progressively less happy until the age of 50, and then began to grow happier again.But that’s no longer the case, according to a new study. What’s behind this reversal?
1:52 – Spain is now the fastest-growing economy in Europe: Spain is the fastest-growing economy in the Eurozone today. Spain’s green industry is fuelling its economic engine. As the 14th member of the First Movers Coalition (FMC), the World Economic Forum’s decarbonization initiative, Spain is now throwing its economic success behind the coalition’s efforts to accelerate the global phasing out of fossil fuels.
3:37 – This medication could help prevent heart attacks: For decades, doctors have been prescribing aspirin to patients with cardiovascular disease. It thins the blood by preventing the formation of clots – reducing the risk of blockages and reduced blood flow. A new study found that a drug called Clopidogrel reduces patients’ risk of a heart attack or stroke by 14% compared with aspirin, and with no added risk. Here’s how it works.
5:20 – This trade deal ends support for overfishing to help rebuild ocean health: The WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies is the first binding set of global rules designed to curb subsidies that fuel overfishing, threatening the health of the ocean. The deal, brokered by the World Trade Organization, has been decades in the making. Here, Santiago Wills talks through its implications, and who is set to benefit.
The World Economic Forum is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. The Forum engages the foremost political, business, cultural and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. We believe that progress happens by bringing together people from all walks of life who have the drive and the influence to make positive change.
Informal comments to the media by Amir Saeid Iravani, Permanent Representative of Iran (Islamic Republic of Iran) to the United Nations, on Iran’s Non-Proliferation issue.
Noon Briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
Highlights:
– UN80 Report
– UN@80
– Occupied Palestinian Territory
– Allenby Bridge
– Lebanon/Israel
– Sudan
– South Sudan
– Haiti
– Democratic Republic of The Congo
– International Days
UN80 REPORT
Yesterday afternoon, the Secretary-General shared with Member States another report linked to the UN80 initiative. This one was prepared under the third workstream and is about structural reforms and programme realignments. The report outlines proposals for changes in the Organization’s structure, in the way UN entities collaborate and operate.
The UN80 process, and the proposals included in this new report, aim to strengthen how we deliver across all three pillars of our work – peace and security, sustainable development and of course, human rights.
The report was issued ahead of the High-Level Week to inform deliberations between Member States on ways to strengthen the UN system. The Secretary-General will formally present the report to Member States in October – after high-level week.
OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that ongoing strikes and ground operations continue to exact a heavy toll on battered and exhausted civilians. As the offensive on Gaza city intensifies, the influx of newly displaced people arriving in the south is putting even more stress on already overstretched services, as space in southern Gaza continues to shrink due to overcrowding.
OCHA reports that people are arriving deep into the night, many of them walking for long hours without food, without water and without shelter. The coastal Al Rashid Road remains extremely congested as vehicles, donkey carts, tuk-tuks and people on foot make their way south amid the escalating attacks. Despite the announcement by the Israeli authorities to allow Salah Ad Din Road to be used by people fleeing south, partners report that the road is impassable for travel by vehicles, as the route requires repairs.
Today, Israeli authorities also announced that the 48-hour window to use the road is now closed, making Al Rashid the only passage available for civilians who want to leave north.
The UN and its partners continue to respond wherever and whenever way is possible, despite extremely challenging circumstances and the ongoing insecurity. Yesterday, an interagency mission led by our OCHA colleagues carried out an assessment in multiple areas of Khan Younis where people displaced from the north have recently arrived. The assessment noted high levels of need among the displaced families, especially for shelter, for food, for water, for medical care and for every essential part of survival.
OCHA reiterates that the volumes of supplies entering Gaza remain below the threshold necessary to address people’s deepening needs. Furthermore, humanitarians require conditions on the ground to enable them to reach the most vulnerable people with assistance safely, rapidly and consistently.
The looting of supplies remains a critical obstacle preventing the UN and its partners from being able to deliver aid at scale, including by using community-based mechanisms, which have been proved successful in the past. In a statement today, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said that yesterday, four trucks full of ready-to-use therapeutic food were stolen at gunpoint in Gaza city.
SUDAN
The Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Denise Brown, said noted that the attack that today struck a mosque near the Abu Shouk camp in in El Fasher claimed the lives of dozens of civilians who were worshipping there, reminding us that international humanitarian law demands the protection of religious sites and those civilians who worship there.
She called for an investigation and for the perpetrators to be held to account.
This ongoing siege of El Fasher has already created a severe humanitarian crisis, cutting off food, medicine and other life-saving support. The UN reiterates its calls for an immediate cessation of fire in and around El Fasher.
Humanitarian access of personnel and supplies must be facilitated in order for us to reach those in need.
And just to note that a report issued by our human rights colleagues in Geneva today showed that the conflict-driven crisis in Sudan intensified in the first half of the year, with a significant rise in civilian killings, including summary executions, amid growing ethnic violence and a worsening humanitarian situation.
The report calls on states to use their influence to end this conflict.
Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date%5Bvalue%5D%5Bdate%5D=19%20September%202025
Source: US National Institute of Justice (video statements)
Identification of novel psychoactive substances (NPS) based on comparisons of electron-ionization (EI) mass spectra continues to pose challenges in seized drug analysis. In this webinar, a method to statistically compare EI mass spectra is described, and an application of the method to distinguish several structural and positional isomers of NPS analogs are demonstrated.
This webinar was hosted by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on July 25, 2024.
(Opinions or points of view expressed represent the speaker and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. Any product or manufacturer discussed is presented for informational purposes only and do not constitute product approval or endorsement by the U.S. Department of Justice.)
Source: US National Institute of Justice (video statements)
The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) conducts the Census of Publicly Funded Forensic Crime Laboratories (CPFFCL) to provide insight into federal, state, county, and municipal crime labs that are funded solely by the government or whose parent organization is a government agency. The most recent CPFFCL provides national-level data on the workload and operations of crime labs during 2020. Of the 326 eligible crime labs and multilab systems in the 2020 CPFFCL, 293 (90%) provided responses to at least some of the survey questions. This webinar presents findings from the 2020 CPFFCL and provide an update on next year’s new CPFFCL.
This webinar was hosted by the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence on April 2, 2024.
(Opinions or points of view expressed represent the speaker and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. Any product or manufacturer discussed is presented for informational purposes only and do not constitute product approval or endorsement by the U.S. Department of Justice.)
