UN Specialized Agencies - Part 1

What are the specialised agencies of the United Nations?

The organisational structure of the United Nations (UN) consists of principal organs, specialised agencies, funds and programmes, related organisations, and other entities and bodies. 

• The UN specialised agencies are autonomous international organisations working with the United Nations. 
• All specialised agencies were brought into a relationship with the UN through negotiated agreements. 
  • Some specialised agencies existed before the First World War, and some were associated with the League of Nations. 
  • Others were created almost simultaneously with the UN. These specialised agencies were created by the UN to meet emerging needs.
• There are currently 15 specialised agencies of the UN.

Food and Agriculture Organization

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) 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. 

• Composition: The FAO comprises 195 members, including 194 countries and the European Union.
• Priority work areas: FAO has outlined the following priorities in its fight against hunger:
  • Help eliminate hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition.
  • Make agriculture, forestry, and fisheries more productive and sustainable.
  • Reduce rural poverty by helping the rural poor gain access to the resources and services they need, including rural employment and social protection.
  • Enable inclusive and efficient agricultural and food systems.
  • Increase the resilience of livelihoods to threats and crises.
• Programmes and initiatives:
  • For Food: 
    • Codex Alimentarius Commission: created by FAO and WHO in 1961 to develop food standards. It aims to protect consumer health, ensure fair trade, and promote coordination of all food standards work undertaken by intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
    • In 2004, the Right to Food Guidelines were adopted, which offer guidance to states on how to implement their obligations on the right to food.
  • For Agriculture: 
    • It created the International Plant Protection Convention in 1952 to prevent the international spread of pests and plant diseases in both cultivated and wild plants.
    • During the 1990s, FAO took a leading role in the promotion of integrated pest management for rice production in Asia.
  • For Forestry: 
    • At the World Forum on Urban Forests in October 2018, the FAO and the Arbor Day Foundation jointly launched the Tree Cities of the World programme.
    • Every two years, FAO publishes the State of the World's Forests, a major report covering current and emerging issues facing the forestry sector.
• Budget: The budget is funded by its members through contributions set at the FAO Conference. It covers core technical work, cooperation and partnerships, including the Technical Cooperation Programme, knowledge exchange, policy and advocacy, direction and administration, governance and security.
• Important Reports: 
  • The State of Food and Agriculture 
  • The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World
  • Global Forest Resources Assessment 
  • Global Food Price Index
  • State of Food Security and Nutrition Report
• Headquarters: Rome, Italy.

United Nations Industrial Development Organization

• Objectives: United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) promotes industrial development for poverty reduction, inclusive globalization and environmental sustainability. 
• Foundation: UNIDO was established in 1966 by the UNGA to promote and accelerate the industrialization of developing countries, which were emerging from decolonization in record numbers and with little to no industrial base.
• Member of UNDG: UNIDO is a member of the United Nations Development Group, a coalition of UN entities aimed at fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goals.
• Membership: As of April 2019, UNIDO comprises 170 member states, which together set the organization's policies, programs, and principles through the biannual General Conference.
  • Members of the UN, or of UN specialized agencies, or of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are eligible for membership with UNIDO.
• 2013 Lima Declaration: It expanded its mission to include promoting "inclusive and sustainable industrial development" (ISID), defined as benefiting greater numbers of people while safeguarding the environment.
• Listing of members: UNIDO is one of the two UN specialized agencies where members are separated into lists (4 lists), while the other is IFAD. 
  • List A - African + Asian Groups of the UN + Israel (excluding Cyprus and Japan).
  • List B - Western European and Other States + Cyprus, Japan.
  • List C - Group of Latin America and Caribbean Countries of the UN.
  • List D - Countries in the Eastern European group of the UN.
• Role in Africa: In 2016, UNIDO was called upon to lead the initiative ‘Third Industrial Development Decade for Africa’ by the UNGA in collaboration with African Union Commission, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development and the Economic Commission for Africa.
• Four strategic priorities of UNIDO:
  • Creating shared prosperity;
  • Advancing economic competitiveness;
  • Safeguarding the environment;
  • Strengthening knowledge and institutions.
• Important Reports: Industrial Development Report
• Headquarters: Vienna, Austria

International Civil Aviation Organization

• Objective: International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) develops standards for global air transport and assists its 192 member states in sharing the world’s skies to their socio-economic benefit. 
• Foundation: Established in 1947 by the Convention on International Civil Aviation (1944), the ICAO is dedicated to developing safe and efficient international air transport for peaceful purposes and ensuring a reasonable opportunity for every state to operate international airlines.
• The Air Navigation Commission (ANC): It is the technical body within ICAO. International standards and recommended practices are developed under the direction of the ANC.
• Aeronautical Message Handling System (AMHS): ICAO also standardizes certain functions for use in the airline industry, such as the Aeronautical Message Handling System (AMHS). This makes it a standards organization.
• International Standard Atmosphere: ICAO defines an International Standard Atmosphere (also known as ICAO Standard Atmosphere), a model of the standard variation of pressure, temperature, density, and viscosity with altitude in the Earth's atmosphere.
• Important Reports: 
  • The World Civil Aviation Report
  • ICAO Safety Report
• Headquarters: Montreal, Canada

World Tourism Organization

• Objective: World Tourism Organization is a UN agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. 
• Global Code of Ethics for Tourism: It encourages the implementation of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, Competitiveness, Innovation & Digital Transformation, Ethics, Culture & Social Responsibility, Technical Cooperation, UNWTO Academy, and Statistics.
• Official languages: The official languages of UNWTO are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
• Important Reports: 
  • Sustainable Tourism Programme’s Progress Report
  • UNWTO World Tourism Barometer
• Headquarters: Madrid, Spain

International Fund for Agricultural Development

• Objectives: International Fund for Agricultural Development(IFAD) was created in 1977 and focused exclusively on rural poverty reduction, working with poor rural populations in developing countries to eliminate poverty, hunger and malnutrition, etc. 
• Only international body to focus on rural economy: It is the only multilateral development organization that focuses solely on rural economies and food security.
• Funds and sponsorships: It funds and sponsors initiatives that improve land and water management, develop rural infrastructure, train and educate farmers in more efficient technologies, build up resilience against climate change, enhance market accessibility, etc.
• Important Reports: 
  • State of Food Security and Nutrition Report
• Headquarters: Rome, Italy

Universal Postal Union

• Objectives: Universal Postal Union 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. 
• Foundation: Established by the Treaty of Bern of 1874, It is a specialized agency of the UN that coordinates postal policies among member nations, in addition to the worldwide postal system.
• The UPU contains four bodies:
  • Congress
  • Council of Administration (CA)
  • Postal Operations Council (POC) 
  • International Bureau (IB)
• Telematics and Express Mail Service: It also oversees the Telematics and Express Mail Service (EMS) cooperatives.
• Important Reports: Integrated Index for Postal Development
• Headquarters: Bern, Switzerland