United Nations Day on 24 October 2025 marks 80 years since the UN Charter came into force in 1945. Established in the aftermath of World War II, the United Nations was founded to prevent future global conflicts and to promote peace, security, and human rights through international cooperation. Its founding members – 51 nations – signed the Charter in San Francisco, laying the foundation for what has become a global organization of 193 member states.
This true-colour image, captured on 20 September 2025 by a Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite, shows the Swiss city of Geneva, one of the UN’s most important headquarters. Home to the Palais des Nations, the European seat of the United Nations, Geneva hosts numerous agencies and organizations dedicated to humanitarian aid, health, and human rights. The city stretches between the turquoise Rhône River and the deep blue of Lake Geneva, a setting long associated with diplomacy and peacebuilding.
The Copernicus programme’s open-access Earth observation data continues to support the United Nations’ mission by helping track climate change, guide sustainable urban planning, and protect ecosystems on land and at sea – key goals within the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Featured image credit: European Union, Copernicus Sentinel-2 imagery
