United Nations System
Encyclopedia
The United Nations system consists of the United Nations
, its subsidiary organs (including the separately-administered funds and programs), the specialized agencies, and affiliated organizations. The executive heads of the United Nations system organizations and the World Trade Organization
(which is not a member of the United Nations system) are members of the United Nations System Chief Executives' Board for Coordination (CEB). This body, chaired by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, meets twice a year to coordinate the work of the organizations of the United Nations system.
itself, but the United Nations system also includes subsidiary bodies (such as the separately-administered funds and programs, research and training institutes, and other subsidiary entities), specialized agencies, and affiliated organizations. Some of the organizations of the United Nations system predate the founding of the United Nations in 1945 and were inherited after the dissolution of the League of Nations
.
.
, in January 2011.
, in January 2011.
The WTO is not a member of the United Nations system, though its predecessor, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
(GATT) was.
There is also a Senior Management Group, composed of some of the senior officials in the Secretariat and the funds and programs at the Under-Secretary-General and Assistant Secretary-General rank, which serves as the cabinet of the Secretary-General.
(i.e. the World Bank Group and the IMF) are notable exceptions. The common system was established to prevent competition amongst organizations of the United Nations system for staff and to facilitate cooperation and exchange between organizations.
Some international organizations that are not part of the United Nations system (and therefore not members of the common system) but who voluntarily follow the policies of the common system in whole or in part include:
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
, its subsidiary organs (including the separately-administered funds and programs), the specialized agencies, and affiliated organizations. The executive heads of the United Nations system organizations and the World Trade Organization
World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , which commenced in 1948...
(which is not a member of the United Nations system) are members of the United Nations System Chief Executives' Board for Coordination (CEB). This body, chaired by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, meets twice a year to coordinate the work of the organizations of the United Nations system.
Organizations of the United Nations System
The principal organ of the United Nations system is the United NationsUnited Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
itself, but the United Nations system also includes subsidiary bodies (such as the separately-administered funds and programs, research and training institutes, and other subsidiary entities), specialized agencies, and affiliated organizations. Some of the organizations of the United Nations system predate the founding of the United Nations in 1945 and were inherited after the dissolution of the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
.
United Nations
The United Nations consists of six principal organs established by the Charter of the United NationsUnited Nations Charter
The Charter of the United Nations is the foundational treaty of the international organization called the United Nations. It was signed at the San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center in San Francisco, United States, on 26 June 1945, by 50 of the 51 original member countries...
.
General Assembly
- Main Committees
- First Committee: Disarmament and International Security
- Second Committee: Economic and Financial
- Third Committee: Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural
- Fourth Committee: Special Political and Decolonization
- Fifth Committee: Administrative and Budgetary
- Sixth Committee: Legal
- Other committees and subsidiary bodies
- Peacebuilding Commission (also reports to the Security Council)
- Human Rights Council
Security Council
- Subsidiary bodies
- Military Staff CommitteeMilitary Staff CommitteeThe Military Staff Committee is the United Nations Security Council subsidiary body whose role, as defined by the United Nations Charter, is to plan UN military operations and assist in the regulation of armaments....
- Peacebuilding Commission (also reports to the General Assembly)
- Military Staff Committee
- Sanctions committees
- International criminal tribunals
- International Criminal Tribunal for the Former YugoslaviaInternational Criminal Tribunal for the former YugoslaviaThe International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991, more commonly referred to as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia or ICTY, is a...
- International Criminal Tribunal for RwandaInternational Criminal Tribunal for RwandaThe International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda is an international court established in November 1994 by the United Nations Security Council in Resolution 955 in order to judge people responsible for the Rwandan Genocide and other serious violations of international law in Rwanda, or by Rwandan...
- International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
Economic and Social Council
- Functional Commissions
- Commission for Social DevelopmentCommission for Social DevelopmentThe Commission for Social Development is one of the ten functional commissions established by the United Nations Economic and Social Council since 1946 to advise and assist it in carrying its work....
http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/csd/index.html - Commission on Narcotic DrugsCommission on Narcotic DrugsThe Commission on Narcotic Drugs is the central drug policy-making body within the United Nations system. Its predecessor, the Advisory Committee on the Traffic in Opium and Other Dangerous Drugs, was established by the first Assembly of the League of Nations on December 15, 1920...
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/cnd.html- INCBInternational Narcotics Control BoardThe International Narcotics Control Board is the independent and quasi-judicial control organ for the implementation of the United Nations drug conventions...
– International Narcotics Control Board
- INCB
- Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice http://www.unodc.org/unodc/crime_cicp_commission.html
- Commission on Science and Technology for DevelopmentCommission on Science and Technology for DevelopmentThe United Nations´s Commission on Science and Technology for Development is a subsidiary body of the Economic and Social Council , one of the six main organs of the United Nations....
http://www.unctad.org/cstd - Commission on Sustainable DevelopmentCommission on Sustainable DevelopmentThe United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development was established in December 1992 by General Assembly Resolution as a functional commission of the UN Economic and Social Council, implementing a recommendation in of Agenda 21, the landmark global agreement reached at the June 1992 United...
http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/csd.htm - Commission on the Status of WomenUnited Nations Commission on the Status of WomenThe Commission on the Status of Women is a functional commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council , one of the main UN organs within the United Nations.Every year, representatives of Member States gather at United Nations Headquarters in New York to evaluate progress on gender...
http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/ - Commission on Population and DevelopmentCommission on Population and DevelopmentThe Commission on Population and Development is one of the ten Functional Commissions of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. At its establishment by ECOSOC in October 1946, the Commission's name was "Population Commission" and in December 1994, was changed to "Commission on Population...
http://www.un.org/esa/population/cpd/cpd.htm - Statistical CommissionUnited Nations Statistical CommissionThe United Nations Statistical Commission oversees the work of the United Nations Statistics Division or UNSD, and is a Functional Commission of the UN Economic and Social Council...
http://unstats.un.org/unsd/statcom/commission.htm - United Nations Forum on ForestsUnited Nations Forum on ForestsThe United Nations Forum on Forests ' is a high-level intergovernmental policy forum, composed of all United Nations Member States.-History:...
http://www.un.org/esa/forests/index.html
- Commission for Social Development
- Regional Commissions
- United Nations Economic Commission for EuropeUnited Nations Economic Commission for EuropeThe United Nations Economic Commission for Europe was established in 1947 to encourage economic cooperation among its member states. It is one of five regional commissions under the administrative direction of United Nations headquarters. It has 56 member states, and reports to the UN Economic and...
(ECE) - United Nations Economic Commission for AfricaUnited Nations Economic Commission for AfricaThe United Nations Economic Commission for Africa was established in 1958 by the United Nations Economic and Social Council to encourage economic cooperation among its member states following a recommendation of the United Nations General Assembly.It is one of five regional commissions.The ECA...
(ECA) - United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the CaribbeanUnited Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the CaribbeanThe United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean was established in 1948 to encourage economic cooperation among its member states. In 1984, a resolution was passed to include the countries of the Caribbean in the name...
(ECLAC) - United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the PacificUnited Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the PacificThe Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific , located in Bangkok, Thailand, is the regional arm of the United Nations Secretariat for the Asian and Pacific region. It was established in 1947 to encourage economic cooperation among its member states...
(ESCAP) - United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western AsiaUnited Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western AsiaThe United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia , headquartered in Beirut, Lebanon, is one of the five regional commissions under the administrative direction of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. UN-ESCWA promotes economic and social development of Western Asia...
(ESCWA)
- United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
Secretariat
- Offices
- Office of Legal Affairs (OLA) http://untreaty.un.org/ola/
- Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) http://www.un.org/Depts/oios/
- Office for Disarmament Affairs (ODA)
- Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
- Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
- Departments
- Department of Political Affairs (DPA) http://www.un.org/wcm/content/site/undpa/
- Special political missions
- Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/about/dpko/
- Department of Field Support (DFS) http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/about/dfs/
- Department of Management (DM)
- Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA)
- Department of General Assembly and Conference Management (DGACM)
- Department of Public Information (DPI)
- Department of Political Affairs (DPA) http://www.un.org/wcm/content/site/undpa/
Funds and programmes, research and training institutes, and other bodies
The separately-administered funds and programmes, research and training institutes, and other subsidiary bodies are autonomous subsidiary organs of the United Nations.Funds and programmes
Each of the funds and programs is headed by an Executive Director at the Under-Secretary-General level and is governed by an Executive Board. One former fund, the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), was merged with other elements of the United Nations system into a new organization, UN WomenUN Women
The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, also known as UN Women, is a United Nations entity working for the empowerment of women and girls....
, in January 2011.
- International Trade CentreInternational Trade CentreThe International Trade Centre is the joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations.The following statement about the ITC is taken verbatim from its website, and reflects the ITC's official view of its own functions:...
(ITC) - Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (OHCHR)
- United Nations Children's FundUnited Nations Children's FundUnited Nations Children's Fund was created by the United Nations General Assembly on December 11, 1946, to provide emergency food and healthcare to children in countries that had been devastated by World War II...
(UNICEF) - United Nations Conference on Trade and DevelopmentUnited Nations Conference on Trade and DevelopmentThe United Nations Conference on Trade and Development was established in 1964 as a permanent intergovernmental body. It is the principal organ of the United Nations General Assembly dealing with trade, investment, and development issues....
(UNCTAD) - United Nations Development ProgrammeUnited Nations Development ProgrammeThe United Nations Development Programme is the United Nations' global development network. It advocates for change and connects countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. UNDP operates in 177 countries, working with nations on their own solutions to...
(UNDP)- United Nations Capital Development FundUnited Nations Capital Development FundUNCDF is the UN’s capital investment agency for the world’s 48 least developed countries. It creates new opportunities for poor people and their communities by increasing access to microfinance and investment capital....
(UNCDF) - United Nations VolunteersUnited Nations VolunteersThe United Nations Volunteers program is a United Nations organization that advocates the role and benefits of volunteerism for development, integrates volunteers into development programmes, and mobilises volunteers for development projects. It was created to be a development partner for UN...
(UNV)
- United Nations Capital Development Fund
- United Nations Environment ProgrammeUnited Nations Environment ProgrammeThe United Nations Environment Programme coordinates United Nations environmental activities, assisting developing countries in implementing environmentally sound policies and practices. It was founded as a result of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in June 1972 and has its...
(UNEP) - United Nations Human Settlements ProgrammeUnited Nations Human Settlements ProgrammeThe United Nations Human Settlements Programme is the United Nations agency for human settlements. It was established in 1978 and has its headquarters at the United Nations Office at Nairobi, Kenya...
(UN-HABITAT) - United Nations Office on Drugs and CrimeUnited Nations Office on Drugs and CrimeThe United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime is a United Nations agency that was established in 1997 as the Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention by combining the United Nations International Drug Control Program and the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Division in the United Nations...
(UNODC) - United Nations Population FundUnited Nations Population FundThe United Nations Population Fund is a UN organization. The work of the UNFPA involves promotion of the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity. This is done through major national and demographic surveys and with population censuses...
(UNFPA) - United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near EastUnited Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near EastUnited Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East is a relief and human development agency, providing education, health care, social services and emergency aid to 5 million Palestine refugees living in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, as well as in the West Bank and the Gaza...
(UNRWA) - World Food ProgrammeWorld Food ProgrammeThe World Food Programme is the food aid branch of the United Nations, and the world's largest humanitarian organization addressing hunger worldwide. WFP provides food, on average, to 90 million people per year, 58 million of whom are children...
(WFP)
Research and training institutes
The various research and training institutes were established by the General Assembly to perform independent research and training. One former institute, the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW), was merged with other elements of the United Nations system into a new organization, UN WomenUN Women
The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, also known as UN Women, is a United Nations entity working for the empowerment of women and girls....
, in January 2011.
- United Nations Institute for Disarmament ResearchUnited Nations Institute for Disarmament ResearchThe United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research was established in 1980 by the United Nations General Assembly to inform States and the global community on questions of international security, and to assist with disarmament efforts so as to facilitate progress toward greater security and...
(UNIDIR) - United Nations Institute for Training and ResearchUnited Nations Institute for Training and ResearchThe United Nations Institute for Training and Research was established in 1965 following a "for the training of personnel, particularly from developing Member States, for administrative and operational assignments with the United Nations and the specialized agencies, both at Headquarters and in...
(UNITAR) - United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research InstituteUnited Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research InstituteThe United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute is one of the five United Nations Research and Training Institutes. The Institute was founded in 1968 to assist the international community in formulating and implementing improved policies in the field of crime prevention and...
(UNICRI) - United Nations Research Institute for Social DevelopmentUnited Nations Research Institute For Social DevelopmentThe United Nations Research Institute for Social Development is "an autonomous United Nations agency that carries out research on the social dimensions of contemporary problems affecting development"...
(UNRISD)
Secretariats of Conventions
- Convention on the Rights of Persons with DisabilitiesConvention on the Rights of Persons with DisabilitiesThe Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is an international human rights instrument of the United Nations intended to protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities...
- UNCCDUnited Nations Convention to Combat DesertificationThe United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa is a Convention to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought through national action programs that incorporate long-term strategies...
- United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification - UNFCCCUnited Nations Framework Convention on Climate ChangeThe United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is an international environmental treaty produced at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development , informally known as the Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro from June 3 to 14, 1992...
- United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change - UNCLOSUnited Nations Convention on the Law of the SeaThe United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea , also called the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea treaty, is the international agreement that resulted from the third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea , which took place from 1973 through 1982...
- United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea established bodies:- ISAInternational Seabed AuthorityThe International Seabed Authority is an intergovernmental body based in Kingston, Jamaica, that was established to organize and control all mineral-related activities in the international seabed area beyond the limits of national jurisdiction, an area underlying most of the world’s oceans...
– International Seabed Authority - ITLOSInternational Tribunal for the Law of the SeaThe International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea is an intergovernmental organization created by the mandate of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea. It was established by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, signed at Montego Bay, Jamaica, on December 10, 1982...
– International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
- ISA
Other entities
- Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDSJoint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDSThe Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS, or UNAIDS, is the main advocate for accelerated, comprehensive and coordinated global action on the HIV epidemic....
(UNAIDS) - United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women)
- United Nations Office for Project ServicesUnited Nations Office for Project ServicesThe United Nations Office for Project Services , is dedicated to implementing projects for the United Nations System, international financial institutions, governments and other partners in the aid world...
(UNOPS) - United Nations System Staff College (UNSSC)
- United Nations UniversityUnited Nations UniversityThe United Nations University is an academic arm of the United Nations established in 1973, which serves purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. The UNU undertakes research into the pressing global problems of human survival, development and welfare that are the concern of...
(UNU)
Specialized agencies
The specialized agencies are autonomous organizations working with the United Nations and each other through the coordinating machinery of the Economic and Social Council.- International Labour OrganizationInternational Labour OrganizationThe International Labour Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that deals with labour issues pertaining to international labour standards. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. Its secretariat — the people who are employed by it throughout the world — is known as the...
(ILO) - Food and Agriculture OrganizationFood and Agriculture OrganizationThe Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is 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 agreements and...
(FAO) - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
- World Health OrganizationWorld Health OrganizationThe World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
(WHO) - World Bank GroupWorld Bank GroupThe World Bank Group is a family of five international organizations that makes leveraged loans, generally to poor countries.The Bank came into formal existence on 27 December 1945 following international ratification of the Bretton Woods agreements, which emerged from the United Nations Monetary...
- International Bank for Reconstruction and DevelopmentInternational Bank for Reconstruction and DevelopmentThe International Bank for Reconstruction and Development is one of five institutions that compose the World Bank Group. The IBRD is an international organization whose original mission was to finance the reconstruction of nations devastated by World War II. Now, its mission has expanded to fight...
(IBRD) - International Development AssociationInternational Development AssociationThe International Development Association , is the part of the World Bank that helps the world’s poorest countries. It complements the World Bank's other lending arm — the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development — which serves middle-income countries with capital investment and...
(IDA) - International Finance CorporationInternational Finance CorporationThe International Finance Corporation promotes sustainable private sector investment in developing countries.IFC is a member of the World Bank Group and is headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States....
(IFC) - Multilateral Investment Guarantee AgencyMultilateral Investment Guarantee AgencyThe Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency is a member organization of the World Bank Group that offers political risk insurance. It was established to promote foreign direct investment into developing countries. MIGA was founded in 1988 with a capital base of $1 billion and is headquartered in...
(MIGA) - International Centre for Settlement of Investment DisputesInternational Centre for Settlement of Investment DisputesThe International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes , an institution of the World Bank Group based in Washington, D.C., was established in 1966 pursuant to the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States...
(ICSID)
- International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
- International Monetary FundInternational Monetary FundThe International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
(IMF) - International Civil Aviation OrganizationInternational Civil Aviation OrganizationThe International Civil Aviation Organization , pronounced , , is a specialized agency of the United Nations. 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...
ICAO - International Maritime OrganizationInternational Maritime OrganizationThe International Maritime Organization , formerly known as the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization , was established in Geneva in 1948, and came into force ten years later, meeting for the first time in 1959...
(IMO) - International Telecommunication UnionInternational Telecommunication UnionThe International Telecommunication Union is the specialized agency of the United Nations which is responsible for information and communication technologies...
(ITU) - Universal Postal UnionUniversal Postal UnionThe Universal Postal Union is an international organization that coordinates postal policies among member nations, in addition to the worldwide postal system. The UPU contains four bodies consisting of the Congress, the Council of Administration , the Postal Operations Council and the...
(UPU) - World Meteorological OrganizationWorld Meteorological OrganizationThe World Meteorological Organization is an intergovernmental organization with a membership of 189 Member States and Territories. It originated from the International Meteorological Organization , which was founded in 1873...
(WMO) - World Intellectual Property OrganizationWorld Intellectual Property OrganizationThe World Intellectual Property Organization is one of the 17 specialized agencies of the United Nations. WIPO was created in 1967 "to encourage creative activity, to promote the protection of intellectual property throughout the world"....
(WIPO) - International Fund for Agricultural DevelopmentInternational Fund for Agricultural DevelopmentThe International Fund for Agricultural Development , a specialized agency of the United Nations, was established as an international financial institution in 1977 as one of the major outcomes of the 1974 World Food Conference. IFAD is dedicated to eradicating rural poverty in developing countries...
(IFAD) - United Nations Industrial Development OrganizationUnited Nations Industrial Development OrganizationThe United Nations Industrial Development Organization , French/Spanish acronym ONUDI, is a specialized agency in the United Nations system, headquartered in Vienna, Austria...
UNIDO - World Tourism OrganizationWorld Tourism OrganizationThe World Tourism Organization , based in Madrid, Spain, is a United Nations agency dealing with questions relating to tourism. It compiles the World Tourism rankings. The World Tourism Organization is a significant global body, concerned with the collection and collation of statistical information...
(UNWTO)
- International Refugee OrganizationInternational Refugee OrganizationThe International Refugee Organization was founded on April 20, 1946 to deal with the massive refugee problem created by World War II. A Preparatory Commission began operations fourteen months previously. It was a United Nations specialized agency and took over many of the functions of the earlier...
(IRO); ceased to exist in 1952
Other related bodies
- International Atomic Energy AgencyInternational Atomic Energy AgencyThe International Atomic Energy Agency is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. The IAEA was established as an autonomous organization on 29 July 1957...
(IAEA) - Preparatory Committee for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty OrganizationComprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty OrganizationThe Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization is an international organization that will be established upon the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, a Convention that outlaws nuclear test explosions. Its seat will be Vienna, Austria...
(CTBTO PrepCom) - Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)
Related organizations
- World Trade OrganizationWorld Trade OrganizationThe World Trade Organization is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , which commenced in 1948...
(WTO)
The WTO is not a member of the United Nations system, though its predecessor, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade was negotiated during the UN Conference on Trade and Employment and was the outcome of the failure of negotiating governments to create the International Trade Organization . GATT was signed in 1947 and lasted until 1993, when it was replaced by the World...
(GATT) was.
Chief Executives Board and Senior Management Group
The United Nations Chief Executives' Board for Coordination (CEB) brings together on a regular basis the executive heads of the organizations of the United Nations system, under the chairmanship of the Secretary-General of the UN. The CEB aims to further co-ordination and co-operation on a whole range of substantive and management issues facing UN system organizations. In addition to its regular reviews of contemporary political issues and major concerns facing the UN system, the CEB approves policy statements on behalf of the UN system as a whole. Three committees report to the CEB, namely the High-level Committee on Programme (HCLP), the High-level Committee on Management (HCLM) and the UN Development Group (UNDG). Each of those bodies has, in turn, developed a subsidiary machinery of regular and ad hoc bodies on the substantive and managerial aspects of inter-agency co-ordination. The committee structure is supported by a CEB secretariat located in New York and Geneva.There is also a Senior Management Group, composed of some of the senior officials in the Secretariat and the funds and programs at the Under-Secretary-General and Assistant Secretary-General rank, which serves as the cabinet of the Secretary-General.
United Nations common system
The United Nations, its subsidiary bodies, thirteen of the specialized agencies (ILO, FAO, UNESCO, WHO, ICAO, UPU, ITU, WMO, IMO, WIPO, IFAD, UNDIO, and UNWTO), and one related body (IAEA) are part of the United Nations common system of salaries, allowances, and benefits administered by the International Civil Service Commission. Most, but not all, of the members of the United Nations system are part of the common system; the Bretton Woods institutionsBretton Woods system
The Bretton Woods system of monetary management established the rules for commercial and financial relations among the world's major industrial states in the mid 20th century...
(i.e. the World Bank Group and the IMF) are notable exceptions. The common system was established to prevent competition amongst organizations of the United Nations system for staff and to facilitate cooperation and exchange between organizations.
Some international organizations that are not part of the United Nations system (and therefore not members of the common system) but who voluntarily follow the policies of the common system in whole or in part include:
- International Organization for MigrationInternational Organization for MigrationThe International Organization for Migration is an intergovernmental organization. It was initially established in 1951 as the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration to help resettle people displaced by World War II....
(IOM) - Organization for Security and Co-operation in EuropeOrganization for Security and Co-operation in EuropeThe Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe is the world's largest security-oriented intergovernmental organization. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, human rights, freedom of the press and fair elections...
(OSCE) - Organization of American StatesOrganization of American StatesThe Organization of American States is a regional international organization, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States...
(OAS)
See also
- INTERPOLInterpolInterpol, whose full name is the International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL, is an organization facilitating international police cooperation...
- World Trade OrganizationWorld Trade OrganizationThe World Trade Organization is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , which commenced in 1948...
- United NationsUnited NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
- United Nations System by locationUnited Nations System by locationWhile the secretariat of the United Nations is headquartered in New York, its many bodies are situated in other parts of the world, particularly in Europe:-Europe:* Austria** Vienna***Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization Preparatory Commission...
- United Nations Member StatesUnited Nations member statesThere are 193 United Nations member states, and each of them is a member of the United Nations General Assembly.The criteria for admission of new members are set out in the United Nations Charter, Chapter II, Article 4, as follows:...
- League of NationsLeague of NationsThe League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
for a rudimentary model on which the UN System is based.