I International Organizations That Work on Inequality Ivana Božić Miljković and Marija Nešić University Singidunum Belgrade, Faculty of Business, Center in Niš, Niš, Serbia Definition According to the United Nations (UN) definition, inequality, in the most general sense of the word, represents “the state of not being equal, especially in status, rights, and opportunities” (UN 2015, p. 1). International organizations are institutions drawing membership from at least three states, having activities in several states, and whose members are held together by a formal agreement. The Union of International Associations, in the Yearbook of International Organizations registers more than 72,500 international organizations from 300 countries and territories, 40,300 of which are active organizations. Coverage includes intergovernmental (IGOs) and international non- governmental organizations (INGOs). The pur- pose of all these organizations is to implement the initiative to reduce inequality, which is an important prerequisite for achieving sustainable social development. Reducing inequality is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (UN 2015). Given that inequality is a multidimensional concept, the goal of reducing it (SDG 10) covers 47 areas of action, that is, specific tasks, but is also closely related to other goals of Agenda 2030 that are directly or indi- rectly related to poverty elimination, gender equality, decent work, economic growth, and cli- mate action. Introduction The Sustainable Development Goals represent a universal, legally nonbinding call for action to eradicate poverty, protect the environment, and ensure peace and prosperity for all (UNDP). This group of goals covers a wide range of social and economic development issues, including poverty, hunger, health, education, climate changes, gen- der equality, availability of certain resources (water, energy), environmental protection, and achievement of social justice. The goals are contained in the United Nations Agenda 2030, the full title of which is: “Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Devel- opment” (UN Sustainable Development Goals Knowledge Platform 2019). The forerunner of the Agenda 2030 were the Millennium Develop- ment Goals (MDG) adopted at the 2000 UN Sum- mit in New York. The total of 189 countries participated in defining the eight Millennium Development Goals whose deadline of implemen- tation was 2015. The MDGs raised awareness of important aspects of development that were not strictly related to economic growth and also © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020 W. Leal Filho et al. (eds.), Reduced Inequalities, Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71060-0_23-1