Main article: List of specialized agencies of the United Nations
Many UN organizations and agencies exist to work on particular issues. Some of the most well-known agencies are the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Food and Agriculture Organization, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), the World Bank and the World Health Organization.
It is through these agencies that the UN performs most of its humanitarian work. Examples include mass vaccination programmes (through the WHO), the avoidance of famine and malnutrition (through the work of the WFP) and the protection of vulnerable and displaced people (for example, by the UNHCR).
The United Nations Charter stipulates that each primary organ of the UN can establish various specialized agencies to fulfil its duties.
Organizations and specialized agencies of the United Nations
No.
Acronyms
Logo
Agency
Headquarters
Head
Established in
FAO
Food and Agriculture Organization
Rome, Italy
José Graziano da Silva
IAEA
International Atomic Energy Agency
Vienna, Austria
Yukiya Amano
ICAO
International Civil Aviation Organization
Montreal, Canada
Raymond Benjamin
IFAD
International Fund for Agricultural Development
Rome, Italy
Kanayo F. Nwanze
ILO
International Labour Organization
Geneva, Switzerland
Guy Ryder
1946 (1919)
IMO
International Maritime Organization
London, United Kingdom
Koji Sekimizu
IMF
International Monetary Fund
Washington, D.C., USA
Christine Lagarde
1945 (1944)
ITU
International Telecommunication Union
Geneva, Switzerland
Hamadoun Touré
1947 (1865)
UNESCO
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Paris, France
Irina Bokova
UNIDO
United Nations Industrial Development Organization
Vienna, Austria
Kandeh Yumkella
UNWTO
World Tourism Organization
Madrid, Spain
Taleb Rifai
UPU
Universal Postal Union
Bern, Switzerland
Édouard Dayan
1947 (1874)
WB
World Bank Group
Washington, D.C., USA
Jim Yong Kim
1945 (1944)
WFP
World Food Programme
Rome, Italy
Ertharin Cousin
WHO
World Health Organization
Geneva, Switzerland
Margaret Chan
WIPO
World Intellectual Property Organization
Geneva, Switzerland
Francis Gurry
WMO
World Meteorological Organization
Geneva, Switzerland
David Grimes / Michel Jarraud
1950 (1873)
Membership
Main article: Member states of the United Nations
An animation showing the timeline of accession of UN member states, according to the UN. Antarctica has no government; political control of Western Sahara is in dispute; and the territories administered byTaiwan and Kosovo are considered by the UN to be provinces of China and Serbia, respectively.
With the addition of South Sudan on 14 July 2011,[32] there are currently 193 United Nations member states, including all undisputed independent states apart from the Vatican City (for details see Holy See and the United Nations).[33] The United Nations Charter outlines the rules for membership:
1. Membership in the United Nations is open to all other peace-loving states that accept the obligations contained in the present Charter and, in the judgment of the Organization, are able and willing to carry out these obligations.
2. The admission of any such state to membership in the United Nations will be effected by a decision of the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council.
—United Nations Charter, Chapter 2, Article 4
In addition, there are 2 non-member observer states of the United Nations General Assembly: the Holy See (which holds sovereignty over the Vatican City) and the State of Palestine.[34] The Cook Islands and Niue, both states in free association with New Zealand, are full members of several UN specialized agencies, and have had their "full treaty-making capacity" recognised by United Nations Secretariat.[35][36]
Group of 77
The Group of 77 at the UN is a loose coalition of developing nations, designed to promote its members' collective economic interests and create an enhanced joint negotiating capacity in the United Nations. There were 77 founding members of the organization, but the organization has since expanded to 130 member countries. The group was founded on 15 June 1964 by the "Joint Declaration of the Seventy-Seven Countries" issued at theUnited Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The first major meeting was in Algiers in 1967, where the Charter of Algiers was adopted and the basis for permanent institutional structures was begun.[37]