{"id":5319,"date":"2026-01-06T23:40:54","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T18:10:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/?p=5319"},"modified":"2026-01-07T16:12:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T10:42:16","slug":"un-specialized-agencies-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/un-specialized-agencies-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"UN &#8211; Specialized Agencies &#8211; Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><strong>What are the specialized agencies of the United Nations?<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n<p>The organizational structure of the United Nations (UN) consists of principal organs, specialized agencies, funds and programmes, related organizations, and other entities and bodies.<\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>The UN specialized agencies are\u00a0<strong>autonomous international organizations\u00a0<\/strong>working with the United Nations.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>All specialized agencies were\u00a0<strong>brought into a relationship with the UN<\/strong>\u00a0through negotiated agreements.\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Some specialized agencies existed before the First World War and some were associated with the League of Nations.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Others were created almost simultaneously with the UN. These specialized agencies were created by the UN to meet emerging needs.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>There are currently 15 specialized agencies of the UN.<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<figure>\r\n<table>\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td class=\"tb-color\">\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO)<\/li>\r\n\t<li>United Nations Industrial Development Organization(UNIDO)<\/li>\r\n\t<li>International Civil Aviation Organization(ICAO)<\/li>\r\n\t<li>World Tourism Organization(UNWTO)<\/li>\r\n\t<li>International Fund for Agricultural Development(IFAD)<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Universal Postal Union(UPU)<\/li>\r\n\t<li>International Labour Organization(ILO)<\/li>\r\n\t<li>World Health Organization(WHO)<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td class=\"tb-color\">\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>International Monetary Fund(IMF)<\/li>\r\n\t<li>World Intellectual Property Organization(WIPO)<\/li>\r\n\t<li>International Maritime Organization(IMO)<\/li>\r\n\t<li>World Meteorological Organization(WMO)<\/li>\r\n\t<li>International Telecommunication Union(ITU)<\/li>\r\n\t<li>World Bank<\/li>\r\n\t<li>United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization(UNESCO)<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n<h2><strong>International Labour Organization<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Objective<\/strong>: International Labour Organization (ILO)\u00a0<strong>promotes international labour rights\u00a0<\/strong>by formulating international standards on the freedom to associate, collective bargaining, the abolition of forced labour, and equality of opportunity and treatment.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Foundation: Founded in October 1919<\/strong>\u00a0under the League of Nations, it is the first and oldest specialized agency of the UN.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Received Nobel Peace Prize:\u00a0<\/strong>In 1969, the ILO received the\u00a0<strong>Nobel Peace Prize<\/strong>\u00a0for improving fraternity and peace among nations, pursuing decent work and justice for workers, and providing technical assistance to other developing nations.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Tripartite agreement:<\/strong>\u00a0Unlike other United Nations specialized agencies, the ILO has a\u00a0<strong>tripartite<\/strong>\u00a0governing structure that brings together governments, employers, and workers of 187 member States, to set labour standards, develop policies and devise programmes promoting decent work for all women and men.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>International Labour Conference:\u00a0<\/strong>Once a year, the ILO organizes the\u00a0<strong>International Labour Conference<\/strong>\u00a0in Geneva to set the broad policies of the ILO, including conventions and recommendations.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Member of UNDG:\u00a0<\/strong>ILO is also a member of the\u00a0<strong>United Nations Development Group.<\/strong><\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Important Reports:\u00a0<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>World Employment and Social Outlook<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Care Work &amp; Care Jobs for the Future of Decent Work Report<\/li>\r\n\t<li>World of Work Report<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Global Wage Report<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Headquarters<\/strong>: Geneva, Switzerland<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2><strong>World Health Organization<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Foundation and objective: Established in 1948<\/strong>, World Health Organization(WHO) is the directing and coordinating authority on international health within the United Nations system.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>World Health Assembly:\u00a0<\/strong>It is the decision-making body of WHO. It is attended by delegations from all WHO Member States.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Important Reports:\u00a0<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>The World health statistics report<\/li>\r\n\t<li>The World Health Report (WHR)<\/li>\r\n\t<li>World Malaria Report<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Sustainability Index and Flourishing Index<\/li>\r\n\t<li>State of Food Security and Nutrition Report<\/li>\r\n\t<li>World Tuberculosis Report<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Global Nutrition Report<\/li>\r\n\t<li>World Vision Report<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Ambient Air Pollution Report<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Headquarters<\/strong>: Geneva, Switzerland<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2><strong>International Monetary Fund<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Objective<\/strong>: International Monetary Fund(IMF)\u00a0<strong>fosters economic growth and employment<\/strong>\u00a0by providing temporary financial assistance to countries to help ease the balance of payments adjustment and technical assistance.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Foundation: Formed in 1944\u00a0<\/strong>at the Bretton Woods Conference with the goal of reconstructing the international monetary system.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Important Reports:\u00a0<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>World Economic Outlook<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Global Financial Stability Report<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Headquarters<\/strong>: Washington, DC, USA<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2><strong>World Intellectual Property Organization<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Objective<\/strong>: World Intellectual Property Organization(WIPO)\u00a0<strong>protects intellectual property\u00a0<\/strong>throughout the world through international treaties.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Foundation: Formed in 1967<\/strong>\u00a0to discuss and shape international IP rules and policies.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Conventions<\/strong>:\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>The\u00a0<strong>Paris Convention<\/strong>\u00a0for the Protection of Industrial Property was adopted in 1883 and was one of the first intellectual property treaties.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>The\u00a0<strong>Berne Convention<\/strong>\u00a0was adopted in 1886. It deals with copyright, the protection of works and the rights of authors and rights holders.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>In 1989, the\u00a0<strong>Madrid agreement of trademarks<\/strong>\u00a0was signed to facilitate the registration of trademarks in multiple jurisdictions around the world<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Important Reports:\u00a0<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>The World Intellectual Property Report<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Global Innovation Index<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Headquarters<\/strong>: Geneva, Switzerland<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2><strong>International Maritime Organization<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Objective<\/strong>: International Maritime Organization (IMO) has created a\u00a0<strong>comprehensive shipping regulatory framework,\u00a0<\/strong>addressing safety and environmental concerns, legal matters, technical cooperation, security, and efficiency.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Foundation<\/strong>: The IMO was\u00a0<strong>established in 1948<\/strong>\u00a0following the agreement at a UN conference held in Geneva.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>UNCLOS<\/strong>: The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea was adopted in 1982. It lays down a comprehensive regime of law and order in the world's oceans and seas, establishing rules governing all uses of the oceans and their resources.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>International Seabed Authority (ISA):<\/strong>\u00a0is the intergovernmental body of 167 member states and the European Union established under the 1982 UNCLOS and the 1994 Agreement relating to the Implementation of Part XI of the UNCLOS.\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>The headquarters is located in\u00a0<strong>Kingston, Jamaica.<\/strong><\/li>\r\n\t<li>The Authority obtained its\u00a0<strong>observer status\u00a0<\/strong>in the United Nations in 1996.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>India signed a 15-year contract for the exploration of Polymetallic Nodules<\/strong>\u00a0in the Central Indian Ocean Basin with the International Seabed Authority in 2002.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>The \"Mining Code\"<\/strong>\u00a0is issued by ISA and refers to the set of rules to regulate the prospecting, exploration and exploitation of marine minerals in the international seabed area.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>MARPOL convention:\u00a0<\/strong>In 1973, The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (<strong>MARPOL<\/strong>) was the main international convention covering prevention of pollution of the marine environment by ships from operational or accidental causes.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>SOLAS convention:\u00a0<\/strong>In 1974, The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (<strong>SOLAS<\/strong>) was signed as an international maritime treaty that sets minimum safety standards in the construction, equipment and operation of merchant ships.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Cape Town Agreement:\u00a0<\/strong>The IMO\u00a0<strong>Cape Town Agreement<\/strong>\u00a0is an international International Maritime Organization legal instrument established in 2012, that sets out minimum safety requirements for fishing vessels of 24 metres in length and over or equivalent in gross tons.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Headquarters<\/strong>: London, United Kingdom<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2><strong>World Meteorological Organization<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Objective<\/strong>: World Meteorological Organization(WMO) facilitates the\u00a0<strong>free international exchange of meteorological data<\/strong>\u00a0and information and the furtherance of its use in aviation, shipping, security, and agriculture, among other things.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Foundation: Formed in 1950\u00a0<\/strong>after the Convention of the World Meteorological Organization, signed in 1947.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>WMO Statement on the status of the World Climate:\u00a0<\/strong>It is published annually to provide details of global, regional and national temperatures and extreme weather events.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>WMO Strategic Plan includes:\u00a0<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Disaster risk reduction<\/li>\r\n\t<li>The Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS)<\/li>\r\n\t<li>The WMO Integrated Global Observing System (WIGOS)<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Aviation meteorological services<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Polar and high mountain regions<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Received Nobel Peace Prize<\/strong>: In 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a joint creation of the WMO and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), received the\u00a0<strong>Nobel Peace Prize<\/strong>\u00a0for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about climate change.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>World Meteorological Day:<\/strong>\u00a0The World Meteorological Day is held annually on 23 March.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Important Reports:<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Greenhouse Gas Bulletin<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Global Seasonal Climate update<\/li>\r\n\t<li>State of the Global Climate 2020<\/li>\r\n\t<li>United in Science Report<\/li>\r\n\t<li>State of Climate Services<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Headquarters<\/strong>: Geneva, Switzerland<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2><strong>International Telecommunication Union<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Objective<\/strong>: International Telecommunication Union(ITU) is the\u00a0<strong>UN agency for information and communication technologies.<\/strong>\u00a0It is committed to connecting all the world's people \u2013 wherever they live and whatever their means.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Foundation<\/strong>: It was\u00a0<strong>established in 1865<\/strong>\u00a0as the International Telegraph Union, making it the first international organization.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS):<\/strong>\u00a0was convened by the ITU along with UNESCO, UNCTAD, and UNDP, with the aim of bridging the digital divide. It was held in the form of two conferences in 2003 and 2005 in Geneva and Tunis, respectively.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>World Conference on International Telecommunications:\u00a0<\/strong>In 2012, the ITU facilitated The\u00a0<strong>World Conference on International Telecommunications 2012<\/strong>\u00a0in Dubai to address International Telecommunications Regulations, the international rules for telecommunications, including international tariffs.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Important Reports:<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>World Telecommunication\/ICT Indicators Database<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Global Cybersecurity Index<\/li>\r\n\t<li>ICT Development Index<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Headquarters<\/strong>: Geneva, Switzerland<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2><strong>World Bank<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Objective<\/strong>: The World Bank focuses on\u00a0<strong>poverty<\/strong><strong>\u00a0reduction and the improvement of living standards worldwide<\/strong>\u00a0by providing low-interest loans, interest-free credit, and grants to developing countries.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Foundation<\/strong>: It was\u00a0<strong>established in 1944<\/strong>\u00a0along with the International Monetary Fund at the Bretton Woods Conference.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Important Reports:\u00a0<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Global Economic Prospects<\/li>\r\n\t<li>International Debt Statistics<\/li>\r\n\t<li>World Development Report<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Global Financial Development Report<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Logistics Performance Index<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Ease of Doing Business<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Poverty and Shared Prosperity 2020<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Headquarters<\/strong>: Washington, DC, USA<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2><strong>United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Objective<\/strong>: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization(UNESCO)\u00a0<strong>focuses on everything from teacher training to helping improve education worldwide<\/strong>\u00a0to protecting important historical and cultural sites around the world.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Foundation<\/strong>: UNESCO was\u00a0<strong>established in 1945<\/strong>\u00a0as the successor to the League of Nations\u2019 International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Member of UNSDG:<\/strong>\u00a0UNESCO is a member of the\u00a0<strong>United Nations Sustainable Development Group<\/strong>, a coalition of UN agencies and organizations aimed at fulfilling Sustainable Development Goals.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>UNESCO\u2019s activities include:<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Translation and dissemination of world literature.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Helps establish and secure World Heritage Sites of cultural and natural importance.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Works to bridge the worldwide digital divide and creates inclusive knowledge societies through information and communication.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>The goal of \u2018Education For All\u2019.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>World Heritage Committee:\u00a0<\/strong>It was established in 1976 and the first site inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1978.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Man and the Biosphere Programme:\u00a0<\/strong>In 1968, UNESCO organized the first intergovernmental conference with the creation of UNESCO's\u00a0<strong>Man and the Biosphere Programme.<\/strong><\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>MacBride Commission:<\/strong>\u00a0was set up in 1977 to study the imbalance in information and communication between developed and developing countries.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Important Reports:\u00a0<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Global Education Monitoring Report<\/li>\r\n\t<li>United Nations World Water Development Report<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Gender Parity Index<\/li>\r\n\t<li>State of the Education Report for India 2021<\/li>\r\n\t<li>World Water Development Report<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Headquarters<\/strong>: Paris, France.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Specialized agencies of the United Nations explained with list objectives roles reports and headquarters of ILO WHO IMF World Bank UNESCO WIPO ITU IMO WMO and others.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":8349,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[173],"tags":[40,300],"class_list":{"0":"post-5319","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-quest-level-3","8":"tag-quest","9":"tag-un-specialized-agencies"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5319","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5319"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5319\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22918,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5319\/revisions\/22918"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8349"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5319"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5319"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}