Committee Overview The United Nations High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) was created in 2012 to follow up and review the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The HLPF replaced the Commission on Sustainable Development. The first meeting of the Forum took place on September 24, 2013. Currently, the Forum...
Committee Overview The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), created in 1978, is mandated to “promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all.” The Programme plays a key role in helping countries manage urbanization to maximize a city’s capacity to generate...
Committee Overview Reporting to ECOSOC, the 43-member Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) is ECOSOC’s leading body for addressing the technological aspect of development. With the rapid advance of technology due to the Fourth Industrial Revolution, policies and development strategies have become increasingly outdated. The digital divide continues...
Committee Overview The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) is a UN regional commission that promotes economic cooperation among its 53 member states and nine associate members. The commission serves as the primary legislative organ of ESCAP and the highest intergovernmental regional platform. UNESCAP...
Committee Overview The Cabinet of Brazil is the main executive body of the Brazilian government. Also known as the Council of Ministers, the body is made up of senior advisors and ministers of state that are appointed by the President of Brazil. Like most other governments, the ministers of state...
Committee Overview The Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO’s) primary goal is to provide food security for all people by eradicating hunger, eliminating poverty, and the sustainable management of natural resources. To accomplish its mandate, FAO provides technical assistance in the form of tools and training, offers legal advice, promotes sustainable...
Committee Overview The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) was created in 1946 in response to famine and disease affecting children in Europe. The goal of UNICEF, at that time, was to provide these children with food, health care, and clothing. In 1953, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) extended the mandate...
Committee Overview In the first decades after the formation of the United Nations in 1945, concern for the environment was neither a serious issue nor part of the global agenda. It was not until the 1960s that oil spills and maritime pollution spurred debate about protecting the environment; subsequent research...
Committee Overview The International Court of Justice (ICJ) was created by the United Nations Charter in June 1945 as the UN’s principal judicial organ. The ICJ is currently located at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands. The primary intent of the ICJ is to settle international legal disputes between...
Committee Overview At the 1945 founding conference of the United Nations in San Francisco, the delegates from China and Brazil suggested establishing an international health organization that works within the UN’s jurisdiction. Though a number of health organizations existed, including the International Office of Public Hygiene and the Health Organization...