United Nations System

• The UN specialized agencies are autonomous international organizations working with the United Nations. 
• All were brought into a relationship with the UN through negotiated agreements. 
• Some existed before the First World War. Some were associated with the League of Nations. Others were created almost simultaneously with the UN or later. 

FAO – Food and Agriculture Organization

• HQ: Rome, Italy
• It leads international efforts to fight hunger. 
• It is both a forum for negotiating agreements between developing and developed countries and a source of technical knowledge and information to aid development.

ICAO – International Civil Aviation Organization

• HQ: Montreal, Canada
• It develops standards for global air transport and assists its 192 Member States in sharing the world’s skies to their socio-economic benefit.

IFAD – International Fund for Agricultural Development

• HQ: Rome, Italy
• Since it was created in 1977, has focused exclusively on rural poverty reduction, working with poor rural populations in developing countries to eliminate poverty, hunger and malnutrition; raise their productivity and incomes; and improve the quality of their lives.

ILO – International Labour Organization

• HQ: Geneva, Switzerland
• It promotes international labor rights by formulating international standards on the freedom to associate, collective bargaining, the abolition of forced labor, and equality of opportunity and treatment.

IMF – International Monetary Fund

• HQ: Washington, D.C., USA
• The International Monetary Fund fosters economic growth and employment by providing temporary financial assistance to countries to help ease balance of payments adjustment and technical assistance. 

IMO – International Maritime Organization

• HQ: London, UK
• Focus: Safety, security, and environmental performance of international shipping.
• It has created a comprehensive shipping regulatory framework, addressing safety and environmental concerns, legal matters, technical cooperation, security, and efficiency

ITU – International Telecommunication Union

• HQ: Geneva, Switzerland
• Focus: Coordinates global telecom networks, satellite orbits, radio spectrum.
• It  is the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies. 
• It is committed to connecting all the world’s people – wherever they live and whatever their means. Through our work, we protect and support everyone’s fundamental right to communicate
• The ITU promotes the shared global use of the radio spectrum, facilitates international cooperation in assigning satellite orbits, assists in developing and coordinating worldwide technical standards, and works to improve telecommunication infrastructure in the developing world.

UNESCO – United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

• HQ: Paris, France
• Focus: Education, science, culture, world heritage sites.
• It focuses on everything from teacher training to helping improve education worldwide to protecting important historical and cultural sites around the world. 

UNIDO – United Nations Industrial Development Organization

• HQ: Vienna, Austria
• Specialized agency of the United Nations that promotes industrial development for poverty reduction, inclusive globalization and environmental sustainability.

UN Tourism (formerly UNWTO – World Tourism Organization)

• HQ: Madrid, Spain
• Focus: Promotes responsible, sustainable, and accessible tourism.

UPU – Universal Postal Union

• HQ: Bern, Switzerland
• Focus: Coordinates global postal services and policies.
• It is the primary forum for cooperation between postal sector players. It  helps to ensure a truly universal network of up-to-date products and services.
  

WHO – World Health Organization

• HQ: Geneva, Switzerland
• Focus: Global health, disease prevention, medical research, and pandemic response.
• The World Health Organization is the directing and coordinating authority on international health within the United Nations system. 
• The objective of WHO is the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health. Health, as defined in the WHO Constitution, is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

WIPO – World Intellectual Property Organization

• HQ: Geneva, Switzerland
• Focus: Promotes protection of intellectual property rights globally.
• The World Intellectual Property Organization protects intellectual property throughout the world through 23 international treaties.

WMO – World Meteorological Organization

• HQ: Geneva, Switzerland
• It facilitates the free international exchange of meteorological data and information and the furtherance of its use in aviation, shipping, security, and agriculture, among other things.

World Bank Group

• HQ: Washington, D.C., USA
• Institutions:
  • IBRD – International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
  • IDA – International Development Association.
  • IFC – International Finance Corporation.
  • MIGA – Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency.
  • ICSID – International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes.
• Focus: Poverty reduction, development finance, infrastructure, private sector support.
• The World Bank focuses on poverty reduction and the improvement of living standards worldwide by providing low-interest loans, interest-free credit, and grants to developing countries for education, health, infrastructure, and communications, among other things.