United Nations specialized agencies are autonomous organizations working with theUnited Nations (UN) and each other through the structure of theUnited Nations Economic and Social Council at the intergovernmental level, and through the Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB) at the intersecretariat level.[1][2][3]
One of the principal objectives of the UN is to solve economic, social, cultural and humanitarian issues through international cooperation. Several specialized agencies have been set up to achieve these goals, agencies which may or may not have been created by the UN, but were incorporated into theUnited Nations System by the United Nations Economic and Social Council acting under Articles 57 and 63 of theUnited Nations Charter. At present, the UN has in total 15[4][5][note 1] specialized agencies that carry out various functions on behalf of the UN. The specialized agencies are listed below.[9][10]
TheFood and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Serving both developed and developing countries, FAO acts as a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and debate policy. FAO's mandate is to raise levels of nutrition, improveagricultural productivity, better the lives of rural populations and contribute to the growth of the world economy. FAO is the largest of the U.N. agencies. It was established in 1945, succeeding theInternational Institute of Agriculture, and its headquarters is inRome.
TheInternational Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) was founded in 1947. It codifies the principles and techniques of international air navigation and fosters the planning and development of internationalair transport to ensure safe and orderly growth. Its headquarters are located inMontreal, Canada.
The ICAO Council adopts standards and recommended practices concerning air navigation, prevention of unlawful interference, and facilitation of border-crossing procedures for internationalcivil aviation. In addition, ICAO defines the protocols for air accident investigation followed by transport safety authorities in countries signatory to theConvention on International Civil Aviation.
TheInternational Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) was established as an international financial institution in 1977, as one of the major outcomes of the 1974 World Food Conference and a response to the situation in theSahel. It is dedicated to eradicatingrural poverty in developing countries. Its headquarters are inRome,Italy.
TheInternational Labour Organization (ILO) deals withlabour issues. Its headquarters are inGeneva,Switzerland. Founded in 1919, it was formed through the negotiations of theTreaty of Versailles and was initially an agency of the League of Nations. It became a member of the UN system after the demise of the League and the formation of the UN at the end of World War II. ItsConstitution, as amended to date, includes theDeclaration of Philadelphia on the aims and purposes of the Organization. Its secretariat is known as the International Labour Office.
TheInternational Maritime Organization (IMO), formerly known as the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization (IMCO), was established in 1948 by the United Nations to coordinate internationalmaritime safety and related practices. However, the IMO did not enter into full force until 1958.
Headquartered inLondon, United Kingdom, IMO promotes cooperation between government and the shipping industry to improve maritime safety and preventmarine pollution. IMO is governed by an Assembly of members and is financially administered by a council of members elected from the assembly. The work of IMO is conducted through five committees, and these are supported by technical sub-committees. Member organizations of the U.N. organizational family may observe the proceedings of the IMO. Observer status may be granted to qualified non-governmental organizations.
The IMO is supported by a permanent secretariat of employees who are representative of its members. The secretariat is composed of a Secretary-General who is periodically elected by the Assembly, and various divisions including,inter alia, marine safety, environmental protection, and a conference section. It also promotes international cooperation in education, science and culture.
TheInternational Monetary Fund (IMF) is part of theUnited Nations system and has a formal relationship agreement with the U.N., but retains its independence.[11] The IMF provides monetary cooperation and financial stability and acts as a forum for advice, negotiation and assistance on financial issues. It is headquartered inWashington, D.C.
TheInternational Telecommunication Union (ITU) was established to standardize and regulate international radio andtelecommunications. It was founded as the International Telegraph Union inParis on 17 May 1865. Its main tasks includestandardization, allocation of theradio spectrum, and organizing interconnection arrangements between different countries to allow international phone calls—in which regard it performs for telecommunications a similar function to what the Universal Postal Union (UPU) performs for postal services. It has its headquarters inGeneva, Switzerland, next to the U.N.'s Geneva campus.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations established in 1945 with its headquarters inParis,France. Its stated purpose is to contribute to peace and security by promoting international collaboration through education, science, and culture to propagate further universal respect for justice, therule of law, and thehuman rights and fundamental freedoms proclaimed in the U.N. Charter.
TheUnited Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) is the specialized agency of the United Nations, which promotes inclusive and sustainable industrial development (ISID), headquartered inVienna, Austria. The organization addresses some of the most pressing issues of our time and works to accelerate economic growth to bring prosperity to all while at the same time safeguarding the environment. UNIDO's mandate is fully aligned with the global development agenda, which underlines the central role of industrialization and its importance as a key enabler for all 17Global Goals, and especially for SDG9. The Director General isGerd Müller.
TheUniversal Postal Union (UPU), headquartered inBern, Switzerland, coordinates postal policies between member nations, and hence the worldwide postal system. Each member country agrees to the same set of terms for conducting international postal duties.
TheWorld Bank Group is part of theUnited Nations System and has a formal relationship agreement with the U.N., but retains its independence.[11] The WBG comprises a group of five legally separate but affiliated institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the International Development Association (IDA), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). It is a vital source of financial and technical assistance to developing countries around the world. Its mission is to fight poverty with passion and professionalism for lasting results and to help people help themselves and their environment by providing resources, sharing knowledge,building capacity and forging partnerships in the public and private sectors. WBG's headquarters are inWashington, D.C.
TheInternational Bank for Reconstruction and Development makes loans to developing countries for development programmes with the stated goal of reducing poverty. It is part of theWorld Bank Group (WBG).
TheInternational Development Association's mandate is close to that of theInternational Bank for Reconstruction and Development, with a focus on the poorest countries. It is part of theWorld Bank Group (WBG).
TheInternational Finance Corporation is the largest multilateral source of loan and equity financing for private sector projects in the developing world. It is part of theWorld Bank Group (WBG).
TheWorld Health Organization (WHO) acts as a coordinating authority on internationalpublic health and deals with health, sanitation, and diseases and sends medical teams to help combatepidemics. Established on 7 April 1948, when 26 members of the United Nations ratified its Constitution, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health Organization, which had been an agency of the League of Nations. 7 April is now celebrated as World Health Day every year. The WHO is governed by 194 Member States through the World Health Assembly. It is headquartered inGeneva,Switzerland.
TheWorld Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations created in 1967 and headquartered inGeneva,Switzerland. Its purpose is to encourage creative activity and to promote the protection ofintellectual property throughout the world. The organization administers several treaties concerning the protection of intellectual property rights.
TheWorld Meteorological Organization (WMO) originated from the International Meteorological Organization (IMO), which was founded in 1873. Established in 1950, WMO became the specialized agency of the United Nations for modern meteorology (weather and climate), operational hydrology and related geophysical sciences. It has its headquarters inGeneva,Switzerland.
TheUN Tourism (formerly United Nations World Tourism Organization, UNWTO) was established in 1974 inMadrid, Spain, to replace the International Union of Official Tourist Publicity Organizations (IUOTPO). UNWTO has 160 member states and 350 affiliated members representing private organizations, educational institutions, and others. It is headquartered in Madrid, Spain. The World Tourism Organization serves as a forum for tourism policies and acts as a practical source for tourism know-how. In 2023, UNWTO decide to rename this organization to UN Tourism.[12]
The only U.N. specialized agency to go out of existence is theInternational Refugee Organization (IRO), which existed from 1946 to 1952. In 1952, it was replaced by the Office of theUnited Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which is a subsidiary organ of theUnited Nations General Assembly (UNGA).[13]
There are other intergovernmental organizations that have concluded cooperation agreements with the United Nations. In terms of cooperation structures, some agreements come very close to the relationship agreements concluded under articles 57 and 63 of the U.N. Charter with the specialized agencies, but due to Charter requirements that the agencies deal with "economic, social, cultural, educational, health, and related fields", organizations with such agreements are not formally specialized agencies of the United Nations.[14][15][16][17][18][19] These organizations are termed Related Organizations by the UN.[20]
TheInternational Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) established such an agreement with the UN in 1957. TheOrganisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and theComprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) also used this model for agreements of their own with the UN.[18][19][21]
TheComprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization Preparatory Commission is tasked with preparing the activities of the nuclear non-proliferation organization.
TheInternational Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization for scientific and technical cooperation in the field ofnuclear technology. It is headquartered in Vienna, Austria. It seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use formilitary purposes. The IAEA was set up as an autonomous organization on 29 July 1957. Before this, in 1953,U.S. PresidentDwight D. Eisenhower envisioned the creation of this international body to control and develop the use of atomic energy, in his "Atoms for Peace" speech before the U.N. General Assembly.[22] The organization and its former Director-General,Mohamed ElBaradei, were jointly awarded theNobel Peace Prize announced on 7 October 2005. As of March 2015, the IAEA's membership is 164 countries.[23]
Due to historical reasons and the political nature of its work, the IAEA is not a specialized agency. Instead, its relationship with the United Nations is governed by a special agreement as well as by its statute that commits the IAEA to report annually to the General Assembly and, when appropriate, to the Security Council.[24]
Since September 2016, theInternational Organization for Migration has been a related organization to the United Nations with its headquarters inGeneva,Switzerland.[25] The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is an intergovernmental organization that provides services and advice concerning migration to governments and migrants, including internally displaced persons, refugees, and migrant workers.
TheOrganisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is an intergovernmental organization, located inThe Hague, Netherlands. The organization promotes and verifies the adherence to theChemical Weapons Convention which prohibits the use of chemical weapons and requires their destruction. The verification consists of both evaluations of declarations by member states and on-site inspections.
TheWorld Trade Organization was established instead of the failed proposal for a specialized agency dealing withtrade issues, theInternational Trade Organization. WTO headquarters are inGeneva,Switzerland.
| No. | Logo | Official name | Abbreviation | Location (Country) | Location (City) | Established | Precursor established | Member states | Other participants | Map and reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| – |  | United Nations | UN |  United States | New York City | 1945 | 1920 |
|
|  UN |
| Specialized agencies | ||||||||||
| 1 | | Food and Agriculture Organization | FAO |  Italy | Rome | 1945 | — |
|
|  FAO |
| 2 |  | International Civil Aviation Organization | ICAO |  Canada | Montreal | 1947 | — |
| — |  ICAO |
| 3 |  | International Fund for Agricultural Development | IFAD | Italy | Rome | 1977 | — |
|
|  IFAD |
| 4 | International Labour Organization | ILO |  Switzerland | Geneva | 1919 | — |
| observer states:Palestine |  ILO | |
| 5 | International Maritime Organization | IMO |  United Kingdom | London | 1959 | — |
|
|  IMO | |
| 6 | | International Monetary Fund | IMF | United States | Washington, D.C. | 1945 | — |
| — |  IMF |
| 7 |  | International Telecommunication Union | ITU | Switzerland | Geneva | 1865 | — |
|  ITU | |
| 8 |  | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization | UNESCO |  France | Paris | 1946 | 1922 |
|  UNESCO | |
| 9 |  | United Nations Industrial Development Organization | UNIDO |  Austria | Vienna | 1985 | 1966 |
|
|  UNIDO |
| 10 |  | Universal Postal Union | UPU | Switzerland | Bern | 1874 | — |
|
|  UPU |
| 11 |  | World Bank Group | WBG | United States | Washington, D.C. | 1945 | — |
| — |  WBG |
| 12 |  | World Health Organization | WHO | Switzerland | Geneva | 1948 | 1907 |
|
|  WHO |
| 13 |  | World Intellectual Property Organization | WIPO | Switzerland | Geneva | 1967 | — |
|
| _members_world_map.png) WIPO |
| 14 | World Meteorological Organization | WMO | Switzerland | Geneva | 1950 | 1873 |
|
| _members_-_states_and_territories.png) WMO | |
| 15 |  | UN Tourism |  Spain | Madrid | 1974 | 1925 |
|
|  UNWTO | |
| Related organizations | ||||||||||
| 16 |  | Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization | CTBTO Prep Com | Austria | Vienna | 1996 | — |
| — |  CTBTO |
| 17 |  | International Atomic Energy Agency | IAEA | Austria | Vienna | 1957 | — |
|
|  IAEA |
| 18 | Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons | OPCW |  Netherlands | The Hague | 1997 | — |
| — |  OPCW | |
| 19 | .svg) | World Trade Organization | WTO | Switzerland | Geneva | 1995 | 1948 |
|  WTOArchived 5 January 2012 at theWayback Machine | |
| 20 | International Organization for Migration | IOM | Switzerland | Geneva | 1951 | — |
|
|  IOM | |
The number of specialized agencies thus rose to fifteen.
There are 17 Specialized Agencies: ...
... IBRD, IFC and IDA are Specialized Agencies of the UN ...
The Organization is not a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN), but it will have a special relationship with it, to be organized based on an agreement between the two organizations. It could not be a specialized agency within the meaning of Articles 57 and 63 of the UN Charter, as these provisions presuppose that the functions of the agency fall within the powers of the UN Economic and Social Council, which is not the case with the OPCW. Its status will rather be comparable to that of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
IAEA, for example, is not a UN specialized agency. It submits annual reports to theUnited Nations General Assembly and theUnited Nations Security Council, when necessary. If any questions arise that fall within the purview of the Security Council, the IAEA notifies the SC accordingly. The IAEA's special relationship with the U.N. and U.N. Security Council is also specified in an agreement between the IAEA and the U.N. in 1957. Under this agreement, the IAEA cooperates with the Security Council by furnishing it, at its request, with such information and assistance as may be required in the exercise of its responsibility for the maintenance or restoration of international peace and security. This agreement has since served as a model for UN agreements with nonproliferation organizations such as the OPCW and the CTBTO
