UN Specialised Agencies UPSC

GS II: International organisation

Specialised Agencies under UN are autonomous organisations working with the United Nations and each other through the coordinating machinery of

The United Nations Economic and Social Council (one of the principal organ of UN) at the intergovernmental level, and through the Chief Executives Board for coordination (CEB) at the inter-secretariat level. 

Specialized Agencies under UN may or may not have been originally created by the United Nations, but they are incorporated into the United Nations System by the United Nations Economic and Social Council acting under Articles 57 and 63 of the United Nations Charter.

Specialised Agencies are mentioned in the Charter in 

• Chapter IX, International Economic and Social Co-operation
• Chapter X, The Economic and Social Council

“The UN system is commonly referred to as having 15 specialised agencies when the World Bank Group is counted as one entity. Some references mention 17 by separately counting World Bank Group institutions.”

What is the purpose of Specialised Agencies under UN?

• To promote multilateral cooperation from professional and technical viewpoints in an extremely broad range of areas, such as labour, education, science, culture, agriculture and public health.
• The key role of these agencies is international standard-setting.
• Specialized Agencies under the UN have their own charters, which states must agree to in order to become members.

Also Read : United Nations and its Organs

The 15 Specialised Agencies under the UN are 

1. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)

• A specialised agency of the United Nations that 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 arguments and debate policy. 
• FAO is also a source of knowledge and information, and helps developing countries in transition modernise and improve agriculture,  forestry and fisheries practices, ensuring good nutrition and food security for all.
• Headquarters Rome, Italy
• Its motto is “Let there be bread”.
• It has 194 member states, along with the European Union (a member organisation).

2. International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)

• The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) was founded in 1947.
• It codifies the principles and techniques of international air navigation and fosters the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly growth.
• Its headquarters are located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
• The ICAO Council adopts standards and recommended practices concerning air navigation, prevention of unlawful interference, and facilitation of border-crossing procedures for international civil aviation.
• In addition, ICAO defines the protocols for air accident investigation followed by transport safety authorities in countries signatory to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, commonly known as the Chicago Convention.
• It also solves disputes between the two countries

3. International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)

• The International 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 the Sahel.
• It is dedicated to eradicating rural poverty in developing countries.
• Its headquarters are in Rome, Italy.

4. International Labour Organisation (ILO)

• The International Labour Organisation (ILO) deals with labour issues.
• Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland.
• Founded in 1919, it was formed through the negotiations of the Treaty 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.
• Its Constitution, as amended to date, includes the Declaration of Philadelphia on the aims and purposes of the Organisation.
• Its secretariat is known as the International Labour Office.

5. International Maritime Organisation (IMO)

Established in 1948 through the United Nations to coordinate international maritime safety and related practices. However the IMO did not enter into full force until 1958.

• Headquartered in London, United Kingdom,
• IMO promotes cooperation among government and the shipping industry to improve maritime safety and to prevent marine 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 organisations of the UN organisational family may observe the proceedings of the IMO.
• Observer status may be granted to qualified non-governmental organisations.
• 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.
• And also promotes international cooperation in education, science and culture.

6. International Monetary Fund (IMF)

IMF, was conceived at a UN conference in Bretton Woods in July 1944. The 44 countries at that conference sought to build a framework for economic cooperation to avoid a repetition of the competitive devaluations that had contributed to the Great Depression of the 1930s.

• With the membership of 189 countries, the Fund’s mandate was updated in 2012 to include all macroeconomic and financial sector issues that bear on global stability. 
• A core responsibility of the IMF is to provide loans to member countries experiencing actual or potential balance of payments problems. 
• Unlike development banks, the IMF does not lend for specific projects. 
• The SDR is an international reserve asset, created by the IMF in 1969 to supplement its member countries official reserves. 
• Gold remains an important asset in the reserve holdings of several countries, and the IMF is still one of the world‘s largest official holders of gold. 
• Unlike the General Assembly of the United Nations, where each country has one vote, decision making at the IMF was designed to reflect the relative positions of its member countries in the global economy. 

Reports released by IMF

1. World economic outlook
2. Global Financial stability report

7. International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) was established to standardise and regulate international radio and telecommunications.

• It was founded as the International Telegraph Union in Paris on 17 May 1865.
• Its main tasks include standardisation, allocation of the radio spectrum, and organising interconnection arrangements between different countries to allow international phone calls — in which regard it performs for telecommunications a similar function to what the UPU performs for postal services.

8. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)

A specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) based in Paris. Its declared purpose is to contribute to peace and security by promoting international collaboration through educational, scientific, and cultural reforms in order to increase universal respect for justice, the rule of law, and human rights along with fundamental freedom proclaimed in the United Nations Charter.

It is the successor of the League of Nations’ International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation.

• It is a global development agency with missions that include promoting sex education, literacy, clean water and equality for women.
• It is known for its World Heritage Mission which encourages world countries to protect Natural and Cultural Heritage sites.
• It also leads the Man and Biosphere Programme for protecting Biosphere reserves across the world.

Reports published by UNESCO

1. Global Education Monitoring report
2. Gender Parity Index.

9. United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO)

• United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) is the specialised agency of the United Nations, which promotes inclusive and sustainable industrial development(ISID)
• Headquartered in Vienna, Austria.
• The Organisation addresses some of the most pressing issues of our time, and works to accelerate economic growth in order 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 industrialisation and its importance as a key enabler for all 17 Global Goals, and especially for SDG9.

10. Universal Postal Union (UPU)

The Universal Postal Union (UPU), headquartered in Berne, Switzerland.

• It 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.

11. World Bank Group (WBG)

The World Bank Group is one of the world’s largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries.

• Its commitment is to reducing poverty, increasing shared prosperity, and promoting sustainable development.
• It has 189 member countries.
• India is also a member country.
• Key Focus of the Group
  • By reducing the share of the global population that lives in extreme poverty to 3 percent by 2030.
  • By increasing the incomes of the poorest 40 percent of people in every country.

It has Five institutions

1. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
2. The International Development Association
3. The International Finance Corporation
4. The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency
5. The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes

• • IBRD and IDA form the World Bank, which provides financing, policy advice, and technical assistance to governments of developing countries.
  • IFC, MIGA, and ICSID focus on strengthening the private sector in developing countries.

Major Reports:

• World Development Report.
• Ease of Doing Business.
• Global Economic Prospects.
• Human Capital Index.
• Migration and Development Brief.

12. World Health Organisation (WHO)

A specialised agency of the United Nations that is concerned with international public health.

• The WHO is a member of the United Nations Development Group.
• Its predecessor, the Health Organisation, was an agency of the League of Nations.
• It has the authority of directing and coordinating matters related to International health.
• World Health Assembly is the supreme decision making body of WHO, attended by delegations from all member states.
• It meets in Geneva in May each year.
• The Executive Board of WHO implements the decisions and policies of the World Health Assembly.

The WHO is responsible for

1. World Health Report
2. Worldwide World Health Survey
3. World Health Day

13. World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)

Created in 1967 to encourage creative activity, to promote the protection of intellectual property throughout the world.

• WIPO currently has 191 member states, administers 26 international treaties.
  • To become a member, a state must deposit an instrument of ratification or accession with the Director General.
• Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
• WIPO is designed to promote the worldwide protection of both industrial property  and copyrighted materials.
• WIPO‘s predecessor was The United International Bureaux for the Protection of Intellectual Property (BIPRI). 
• BIPRI administered two conventions such as the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property and the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. BIRPI is thus transformed to become WIPO.

14. World Meteorological Organisation (WMO)

WMO was created in 1950 as an intergovernmental organisation. It became a specialised agency of the United Nations, in 1951, for meteorology (weather and climate), operational hydrology and related geophysical sciences.

• WMO is the UN system‘s authoritative voice on weather, climate and water.
• Its secretariat is located in Geneva, Switzerland and is headed by the Secretary-General. 
• Through its members, WMO provides forecasts and early warnings to nations, which help prevent and mitigate disasters. 
• WMO monitors and forecast the transport of chemical and oil spills, forest fires, volcanic ash, haze and nuclear isotopes.
• It also draws world attention to the depletion of the ozone layer. 
• The Climate Centre at Indian Meteorological Department, Pune has recently been recognised as the Regional Climate Centre by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) for providing regional climate services to South Asian countries.

15. World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO)The 

United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.

• It is the leading international organisation in the field of tourism
• It promotes tourism as a driver of economic growth, inclusive development and environmental sustainability and offers leadership and support to the sector in advancing knowledge and tourism policies worldwide.
• It serves as a global forum for tourism policy issues and a practical source of tourism knowledge.
• It encourages the implementation of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism to maximise the contribution of tourism to socio-economic development, while minimizing its possible negative impacts.

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