This book is a study of the future of international law as well as the future of the United Nations. It is the first study ever bringing together the laws, policies and practices of the UN for the protection of the earth, the oceans, outer space, human rights, victims of armed conflicts and of humanitarian emergencies, the poor, the vulnerable and the disadvantaged world-wide. It reviews unprecedented dangers and challenges facing humanity such as climate change and weapons of mass destruction, and argues that the international law of the future must become an international law of security and of protection. It submits that the concept of international security in the UN Charter can no longer be restricted to situations of armed conflict but must be given its natural meaning: whatever threatens the security of humanity. It calls for the Security Council to perform its role as the guardian of the security of humankind and sees a leadership role for the UN Secretary-General in analysing and presenting challenges of international security and protection to the Security Council for its attention.

Achieving our Common Humanity: Celebrating Global Cooperation through the United Nations portrays landmark accomplishments of the United Nations in supporting peace and security, promoting and protecting human rights, fostering economic and social development, and shaping international law. Amply illustrated with photographs, charts, maps and infographics, and featuring a wealth of information on how the United Nations serves the peoples of the world, this book depicts a wide range of challenges that the Organization has met and successful initiatives that it has conceived and spearheaded as a matter of common purpose among nations in favour of collective human progress. Its rich tapestry of stories explores the diverse ways in which the United Nations fights poverty, combats climate change and protects the environment, undertakes to transform conflicts into peace, helps refugees thrive, supports sharing the benefits of technology, works to stop the spread of infectious diseases and reduce the risk of disasters, and helps render justice for all and ensure the rights of women and children. While recounting decisive innovations at the level of global policy and international agreement, Achieving our Common Humanity also provides a view of how such changes have significantly improved the lives of affected individuals around the world. These remarkable stories show how the United Nations, with its ambitious and evolving vision for the shared prosperity of people and planet, is helping create a better world for everyone.

On the seventy-fifth anniversary of the United Nations, the world has faced its biggest shared test since the Second World War in the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Yet while our welfare, and indeed the permanence of human life, depend on us working together, international cooperation has never been harder to achieve. This report answers a call from UN Member States to provide recommendations to advance our common agenda and to respond to current and future challenges. Its proposals are grounded in a renewal of the social contract, adapted to the challenges of this century, taking into account younger and future generations, complemented by a new global deal to better protect the global commons and deliver global public goods. Through a deepening of solidarity—at the national level, between generations, and in the multilateral system—Our Common Agenda provides a path forward to a greener, safer and better future.

Published to coincide with the Fourth United Nations Environmental Assembly, UN Environment's sixth Global Environment Outlook calls on decision makers to take bold and urgent action to address pressing environmental issues in order to protect the planet and human health. By bringing together hundreds of scientists, peer reviewers and collaborating institutions and partners, the GEO reports build on sound scientific knowledge to provide governments, local authorities, businesses and individual citizens with the information needed to guide societies to a truly sustainable world by 2050. GEO-6 outlines the current state of the environment, illustrates possible future environmental trends and analyses the effectiveness of policies. This flagship report shows how governments can put us on the path to a truly sustainable future - emphasising that urgent and inclusive action is needed to achieve a healthy planet with healthy people. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

The UN treats the global environment as a problem for international law and economic development-but not as part of its mandate to promote peace and champion human rights. In this pathbreaking book, a leading scholar of global environmental governance suggests reforms to mobilize peacebuilding, conflict sensitivity, and rights-based approaches as tools for environmental protection.