The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development - or Rio+20 - took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 20-22 June 2012. It resulted in a focused political outcome document which contains clear and practical measures for implementing sustainable development.

Globalization, including a phenomenal expansion of trade, has helped lift millions out of poverty. But not nearly enough people have benefited. And tremendous challenges remain.

The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa (UNCCD) is a Convention to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought through national action programs that incorporate long-term strategies supported by international cooperation and partnership arrangements.

The United Nations Development Fund for Women, commonly known as UNIFEM (from the French "Fonds de développement des Nations unies pour la femme") was established in December 1976 originally as the Voluntary Fund for the United Nations Decade for Women in the International Women's Year.

The Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP or ESCAP) is one of the five regional commissions of the United Nations Economic and Social Council, under the administrative direction of the United Nations headquarters. It was established in 1947 (then as the UN Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East, ECAFE) to encourage economic cooperation among its member states.

The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC; French: Conseil économique et social des Nations unies, CESNU) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations, responsible for coordinating the economic and social fields of the organisation, specifically in regards to the 15 specialised agencies, the eight functional commissions and the five regional commissions under its jurisd

The United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) is a high-level intergovernmental policy forum. The forum includes all United Nations Member States and Permanent Observers, the UNFF Secretariat, the Collaborative Partnership on Forests, Regional Organizations and Processes and Major Groups.
 

The UNFCCC entered into force on 21 March 1994. Today, it has near-universal membership. The 197 countries that have ratified the Convention are called Parties to the Convention.

The world's largestcorporate sustainability initiative

A call to companies to align strategies and operations with universal principles on human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption, and take actions that advance societal goals.

On 27 July 2016, and following a year-long consultative process on the comprehensive review of the work and operations of the Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM), the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) adopted a draft resolution (E/2016/L.28) entitled "Strengthening institutional arrangements on geospatial information management".

For over 65 years, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has been protecting the rights and well-being of refugees all over the world.

We work to ensure that everybody has the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge, having fled violence, persecution, war or disaster at home.