DIPLOMACY

THE UNITED NATIONS

The work, the people and the protocol behind the world's most important conversations.

One hundred ninety-three nations share a few blocks of Manhattan's East Side, and somehow the coffee still gets made and the resolutions still get passed. This is where DiplomaticLife.org covers how that happens: the United Nations and its agencies, the permanent missions and consulates, the ambassadors and Goodwill Ambassadors, and the people working far from the podium to move the Sustainable Development Goals from paper to practice.
Whether you arrived last week or have served through five Secretaries-General, consider this your briefing room.

GOODWILL AMBASSADORS & 

MESSENGERS OF PEACE

Famous names, borrowed for a good cause.

When the United Nations needs the world to pay attention, it sometimes sends a diplomat and sometimes sends a movie star. The tradition began in 1954, when UNICEF named the entertainer Danny Kaye its first Goodwill Ambassador, and it has since grown into one of the most visible parts of the UN family: artists, athletes, authors and scientists who lend their names, their time and their audiences to causes that need all three.

There are two titles worth knowing. Messengers of Peace are appointed by the Secretary-General personally and speak for the work of the United Nations as a whole. Goodwill Ambassadors are designated by the heads of individual agencies, such as UNICEF, the World Food Programme, UN Women and the UN Refugee Agency, and champion that agency's mission.

So how does one become a Goodwill Ambassador?

One doesn't apply. The honor comes by invitation, extended to people of integrity who can reach a global audience, and the United Nations never charges a fee at any stage. Anyone who offers you the title for a price is not from the United Nations.

Learn more: Who Are the Goodwill Ambassadors and Messengers of Peace?

THE HONORABLE MAIA BARTAIA

Consul General of Georgia in New York City, elected President of the Society of Foreign Consuls in New York in 2025. Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia

The diplomats New Yorkers actually meet.

Ambassadors to the United Nations speak to the world. Consuls General speak to the city. From offices scattered across Midtown and the East Side, they renew the passports, rescue the stranded traveler, open the trade doors and, more often than you might expect, host the best cultural evenings in town.

New York City is home to more than 110 consulates, the largest consular community anywhere. DiplomaticLife.org follows the Consuls General who use art, music, film, food and design as instruments of statecraft, because a well-chosen exhibition can do in one evening what a communiqué cannot do in a month.

Find a consulate: 

NYC Mayor's Office for International Affairs

www.nyc.gov/international

Discover the most inspiring stories from around the world. From overcoming adversity to achieving success, these stories will motivate and uplift you.

This beautiful art presentation was created to spotlight GOVERNMENT LEADERS who are protecting the planet and advancing the SDGs. These leaders answered the CALL TO ACTION to protect the environment and are forging the way for a better Planet Earth by aggressively implementing revolutionary environmental plans. These leaders prove by their deeds that with ingenuity, commitment and teamwork, “IT CAN BE DONE!”  

"The Golden Rule" by Norman Rockwell 

Every faith and nearly every philosophy arrives, sooner or later, at the same sentence. The Golden Rule, known also as the Law of Reciprocity, is older than any treaty and shorter than any resolution, and it remains the foundation of diplomatic protocol: treat the other delegation as you would wish your own to be treated, and most of the rest follows.
The United Nations keeps the reminder on its own walls. On the third floor of the Conference Building hangs a mosaic of Norman Rockwell's Golden Rule, a gift from the United States presented by First Lady Nancy Reagan in 1985 for the organization's fortieth anniversary. People of every nation and creed stand shoulder to shoulder, and across them run the ten words that make coexistence possible.
It is the principle behind everything DiplomaticLife.org covers. Mutual respect among people of different faiths, cultures and flags is not the soft side of diplomacy. It is the whole job. 

DL strives to show appreciation and present meaningful stories about culture around the world.