The United Nations was founded in 1945. Currently, 193 states are members of the UN.

In accordance with the UN Charter, its goals are:

• to maintain international peace and security and, to this end, take effective collective measures to prevent and eliminate threats to the peace and suppress acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace, and to pursue by peaceful means, in accordance with the principles of justice and international law, the settlement or settlement of international disputes or situations which may lead to a breach of the peace, 
• to develop friendly relations among nations on the basis of respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples as well as to take other appropriate measures to strengthen world peace, 
• to carry out international cooperation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural and humanitarian nature and in promoting and developing respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion, 
• to be the centre for coordinating the actions of nations in the pursuit of these common goals.

The Key UN documents related to youth:

• Resolution 2037 (XX) of the UN General Assembly of December 7, 1965 "Declaration on the Promotion among Youth of the Ideals of Peace, Mutual Respect and Understanding between Peoples", 
• Resolution 50/81 of the UN General Assembly of December 14, 1995 "World Program of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond", 
• Resolution 62/126 of the UN General Assembly of December 18, 2007 "Policies and programmes involving youth: youth in the global economy: promoting youth participation in social and economic development", 
• Resolution 2250 (2015) adopted by the UN Security Council on December 9, 2015, 
• UN General Assembly Resolution 70/1 of September 25, 2015 "Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development", 
• Resolution 2419 (2018) adopted by the UN Security Council on June 6, 2018, 
• Resolution 74/121 of the UN General Assembly of December 18, 2019 "Policies and programs involving youth", 
• Resolution 76/137 of the UN General Assembly of December 16, 2021 "Policies and programs involving youth", UNESCO Operational Strategy on Youth 2014-2021, 
• UN Youth Strategy "Youth 2030".

The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) implements the UN Youth Program by raising awareness of the state of world's youth, advocating for the rights of young people and promoting their participation in decision-making for peace and development. In addition, DESA coordinates the participation of youth delegates in the work of the General Assembly and the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and prepares the World Report on Youth every 2 years.

The UN Inter-Agency Network on Youth Development (IANYD) is a network of UN entities, primarily at the headquarters level. Its activities affect the interests of young people. IANYD tracks progress in the implementation of UN resolutions, conventions and the internationally agreed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that have a direct bearing on youth.

Since 1992 the United Nations Major Group for Children and Youth (UN MGCY) has been operating as a link between young people and the UN system to ensure that their right to meaningful participation is realized, while involving formal and informal communities of young people in the development, implementation, monitoring, follow-up and review of sustainable development policies at all levels.

In 1985 and 2010 by decision of the UN General Assembly they were proclaimed the International Youth Year.

In 1999, in accordance with resolution 54/120 of the UN General Assembly, the International Youth Day was proclaimed. It is held on August 12 and is dedicated to a new topic every year helping to draw the attention of the international community to youth issues and noting the potential of youth as a partner in today's global society.

Since 1999 the UNESCO Youth Forum (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) has been held every two years.

Since 2012 the UN ECOSOC Youth Forum has been held annually. The Forum allows representatives of youth-led organizations working on youth issues, youth activists and other youth stakeholders to engage in dialogue with Member States and explore ways and means to promote youth development and inclusion. The forum focuses on the role of youth in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

In 2013 the position of the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth was approved.

Since 2009 the National Youth Council of Russia has had consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council, and since 2019 it has been a Member of the UN Major Group for Children and Youth. Thanks to this, representatives of Russian youth and youth associations have the opportunity to take part in events such as the UN ECOSOC Youth Forum as well as to be included in official Russian delegations to participate in UN meetings (with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation as part of the UN Youth Delegates Programme implemented by the National Youth Council of Russia since 2015).

Since 2016 the UN Program "Young Leaders for the SDGs" has been implemented. Since 2017, with the support of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, the Federal Agency for Youth and the UN Information Center in Moscow, the National Youth Council of Russia has been implementing the Program "SDG Youth Ambassadors in Russia". 

Since 2017 the Association of Volunteer Centers has been cooperating with the UN Volunteer Programme.

Youth cooperation through the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is implemented within the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding between the National Youth Council of Russia and the UN-Habitat Youth Advisory Board signed in 2018.