United Nations and Its Specialized Agencies 1

UNITED NATIONS & ITS
SPECIALIZED AGENCIES
(UPSC CSE Prelims 2022 qualified)

Edition: April, 2023
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ABOUT UNITED NATIONS
 United Nations (UN) is an international organization founded in 1945. It
is currently made up of 193 Member States.
 Objective : Maintaining international peace and security, protecting
human rights, delivering humanitarian aid, promoting sustainable
development
HISTORY:
 In 1899, the International Peace Conference was held in The Hague to

elaborate instruments for settling crises , preventing wars and codifying
rules of warfare.
 It adopted the Convention for the Pacific Settlement of International
Disputes and established the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which
began work in 1902. This court was the forerunner of UN International
Court of Justice.
 The forerunner of the United Nations was the League of Nations, an
organization conceived in circumstances of the First World War, and
established in 1919 under the Treaty of Versailles "to promote
international peace.
 International Labour Organization (ILO) was also created in 1919 under
the Treaty of Versailles as an affiliated agency of the League.
 The name "United Nations", coined by United States President Franklin
D. Roosevelt.
 The UN Charter of 1945 is the foundational treaty of the United
Nations, as an inter-governmental organization.

The main organs of the UN are
a. the General Assembly,

b. the Security Council,
c. the Economic and Social Council,
d. the Trusteeship Council,
e. the International Court of Justice,
f. and the UN Secretariat.
All the 6 were established in 1945 when the UN was founded.
General  All 193 Member States of the UN are represented

Assembly in the General Assembly
 only UN body with universal representation.
 The President of the General Assembly is elected
each year for one year term.
Economic and  recommendations on economic, social and
Social Council environmental issues
(ECOSOC)  It has 54 members. In addition to a rotating
membership of 54 UN member states, over
1,600 nongovernmental organizations.
 FOUNDER- ARCOT RAMASAMY MUDALIAR
 HEAD QUARTER- NEW YORK, US
 PRESIDENT- LACHEZARA STOEVA
Security  maintenance of international peace and

Council security.
 Security Council is made up of fifteen
member states, consisting of five
permanent members—China, France,
Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United
States—and
 ten non-permanent members elected for
two-year terms by the General Assembly on
a regional basis.

 India, for the eighth time, entered the UNSC
as a non-permanent member in 2021 for
two years
 "Veto power" refers to the power of the
permanent member to veto (Reject) any
resolution of Security Council.
Trusteeship  Established in 1945 by the UN Charter,

Council under Chapter XIII.
 Established to help ensure that trust
territories were administered in the best
interests of their inhabitants and of
international peace and security. The trust
territories—most of them
former mandates of the League of
Nations or territories taken from nations
defeated at the end of World War II—have
all now attained self-government
or independence
 The Trusteeship Council suspended
operation on 1 November 1994. So,
currently Inactive.
International  Established in 1945 by the United Nations
Court of charter
Justice  It is the principal judicial organ of the
United Nations, situated at the Peace
Palace in The Hague (Netherlands).
 Unlike the six principal organs of the United
Nations, it is the only one not located in
New York (USA).
 It settles legal disputes between States and
gives advisory opinions in accordance with
international law,
UN Secretariat  Secretariat comprises the Secretary-

General and tens of thousands

of international UN staff members who
carry out the day-to-day work of the UN.
 The Secretary-General is chief
administrative officer of the Organization,
appointed by the General Assembly on
the recommendation of the Security
Council for a five-year, renewable term.
 SECRETARY GENERAL- ANTONIO GUTERRES
SPECIALIZED AGENCIES of United Nations (Very much in news so first clear

your basics from here)
The specialized agencies of the United Nations are autonomous organizations

working within the United Nations System, meaning that while they report
their activities to the Economic and Social Council.
UN bodies within the purview of the ECOSOC:
 International labour Organization (ILO)

 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO)
 World Health Organization (WHO)
 World Bank Group
 International Monetary Fund (IMF)
 International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
 International Maritime Organization (IMO)
 International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
 Universal Postal Union (UPU)
 World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
 World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
 International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
 United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)

 World Tourism Organization (WTO)
ACRON AGENCY HEADQUA HEAD ABOUT ESTABLI

YMS RTERS SHED
FAO Food and ROME, DIRECT World Food Day is 1946
Agriculture ITALY OR celebrated every year
Organizatio GENER on 16th October to
n AL- QU mark the anniversary
DONGY of founding of the
U FAO in 1945.
Its sister bodies are

the World Food
Programme and the
International Fund
for Agricultural
Development (IFAD).
Major Report
published :The State
of Food Security
and Nutrition in the
World.
The FAO comprises

195 members,
including 194
countries and
the European Union.
IAEA Vienna, DIRECT Widely known as the 1957
Internationa Austria. OR world’s “Atoms for
l Atomic GENER Peace and
Energy AL- Development” organ
Agency RAFAEI ization within
GROSSI the United
Nations family

Reports to both the
United Nations
General assembly
and Security
Council.
The IAEA has 176

member states.
ICAO Internationa Montreal SECRE United Nations (UN) 1944

l Civil Quebec, TARY specialized
Aviation Canada. GENER agency, established
Organisatio AL- in 1944,
n Juan
Carlos planning and
Salazar development of
Gómez international air
transport
there are 193 ICAO

members
IFAD International Rome, PRESID It has 177 member 1977
Fund for Italy ENT- countries.
Agricultural ALVAR India is also a
Development O member country.
LARIO
outcome of the
World Food
Conference of 1974.
IFAD is an
international
financial
institution and specia
lized United
Nations agency worki
ng in the field of
poverty eradication
in the rural areas of
developing countries

providing grants and
loans with low
interest for allied
projects.
REPORT- Rural
Development
Report every year.
ILO Internation Geneva, DIRECT It is the only 1919

al Labour Switzerlan OR tripartite United
Organizatio d GENER Nation (UN) agency.
n AL-
GILBER set labour standards,
T develop policies and
HOUN devise programmes
GBO promoting decent
work for all women
and men.
Received the Nobel

Peace Prize in 1969.
Established in 1919
by the Treaty of
Versailles as an
affiliated agency of
the League of
Nations.
Became the first
affiliated specialized
agency of the UN in
1946.
IMF Internationa WASHING MD- organization of 190 1944

l Monetary TON DC, KRISTA member countries,
Fund (IMF) US LINA each of which has
GEORG representation on the
IEVA IMF's executive

board in proportion
to its financial
importance.
Objective: Secure
financial stability,
reduce poverty
around the world.
The IMF, also known

as the Fund, was
conceived at a UN
conference in
Bretton Woods, New
Hampshire, United
States, in July 1944.
Countries were not
eligible for
membership in the
International Bank
for Reconstruction
and Development
(IBRD) unless they
were members of
the IMF.
Executive Board: It is
24-member
Executive Board
elected by the Board
of Governors. -
conducts the daily
business of the IMF.
India is a founder
member of the IMF.
India has not taken
any financial

assistance from the
IMF since 1993.
Special Drawing
Rights (SDRs) is the
IMF’s unit of account
and not a currency.
SDR basket of
currencies includes
the U.S. dollar,
Euro, Japanese yen,
pound sterling and
the Chinese
renminbi (included
in 2016).
The SDR currency
value is calculated
daily (except on IMF
holidays).
Quotas are
denominated
(expressed) in SDRs.
Members’ voting
power is related
directly to
their quotas (the
amount of money
they contribute to
the institution).
The SDR basket
is reviewed every
five years.
The SDR is
an international
reserve
asset, created by the
IMF in 1969 to
supplement its

member
countries' official
reserves.
WB WORLD WASHING PRESID World Bank is 1944

BANK TON DC, ENT- an international
US DAVID financial
MALPA institution that
SS provides loans and gr
ants to the
governments
of low- and middle-
income countries for
the purpose of
pursuing capital
projects.
The World Bank was

created at the
1944 Bretton Woods
Conference, along
with
the International
Monetary
Fund (IMF).
The World Bank is

the collective name
for the International
Bank for
Reconstruction and
Development (IBRD)
and International
Development
Association (IDA),
two of five
international

organizations owned
by the World Bank
Group.
It was established
along with
the International
Monetary Fund at
the 1944 Bretton
Woods Conference.
After a slow start, its

first loan was to
France in 1947.
As of 2022, the World

Bank is run by a
president and 25
executive directors,
as well as 29 various
vice presidents.
IBRD and IDA have

189 and 174 member
countries,
respectively. The
U.S., Japan, China,
Germany and the
U.K. have the most
voting power.
The World Bank

Group is an extended
family of five
international
organizations, and
the parent
organization of the
World Bank, the

collective name given
to the first two listed
organizations, the
IBRD and the IDA:
International Bank
for Reconstruction
and
Development (IBRD)
International
Development
Association (IDA)
International Finance
Corporation (IFC)
Multilateral
Investment
Guarantee
Agency (MIGA)
International Centre
for Settlement of
Investment
Disputes (ICSID)
IMO International LONDON, HEAD- India joined the IMO 1948

Maritime UK KITACK in 1959.
Organization LIM
The IMO currently
lists India as among
the 10 states with
the ‘largest interest
in international
seaborne trade’.

prevention of marine
and atmospheric
pollution by ships.
There is no
enforcement
mechanism to
implement the
policies of the IMO.
The IMO adopted the
Hong Kong
Convention
in 2009. It is aimed at
ensuring that ships
being recycled after
reaching the end of
their operational
lives
It currently has 174
Member States and
3 associate members.
ITU Internation Geneva, HEAD- Facilitate 1865

al Switzerla DOREE international
Telecommu nd N connectivity in
nication BOGDA communications
Union N networks.
MARTI
N ITU currently has a
membership of 193
countries and over
900 private-sector
entities.
Important
publication of the ITU
is the Global
Cybersecurity
Index.

UNES United PARIS, HEAD- build peace through 1945
CO Nations FRANCE AUDRE international
Educational, Y cooperation in
Scientific Education, the
and Sciences and Culture.
Cultural
Organizatio
n Focuses on global
priority areas
- “Africa” and
“Gender Equality”.
It has 193 Members
and 11 Associate
Members
India has been a

member of the
UNESCO since its
inception in 1946.
Three UNESCO
member states are
not UN
members: Cook
Islands, Niue, and
Palestine
Important Initiatives
of UNESCO
World Heritage
Convention 1972-
preservation of
cultural properties.
Globally there are
1154 World Heritage
sites in the 167
countries.

India has 40 World
Heritage Sites that
include 30 Cultural
properties, 7 Natural
properties and 1
mixed site.
Man and the

Biosphere (MAB)
Programme
India has 18
Biosphere
reserves out of
which 12 have been
recognized
internationally under
MAB program.
International
Geoscience and
Global Geoparks
Programme (IGGP)
There are 177
UNESCO Global
Geoparks in 46
countries.
World Water
Assessment
Programme (WWAP)
Important Reports
Released by UNESCO
UNESCO Science
Report-
published every five
years

Global Education
Monitoring Report
UNIDO United VIENNA, HEAD- promotes industrial 1966

Nations AUSTRIA GERD development
Industrial MULLE for poverty reduction
Developmen R
t promote and
Organization accelerate the
industrialization of
developing
countries,
As of 1st April 2019,

170 States are
members of UNIDO.
WHO World Geneva, HEAD- United Nations’ 1948

Health Switzerla TEDRO specialized agency
Organization nd. S for health.
ADHAN
OM There are 194
Member States, 150
country offices, six
regional offices.
It began functioning
on April 7, 1948 – a
date now being
celebrated every year
as World Health Day.
World Health
Assembly (WHA) is

WHO’s decision-
making body
It reports to
the Economic and
Social Council.
India became a party
to the WHO on 12
January 1948.
Regional office for
South East Asia is
located in New Delhi.
UNCTA United Geneva, HEAD- an intergovernmental 1964

D Nations Switzerla REBECA organization within
Conference nd. GRYNS the United Nations
on Trade PAN Secretariat that
and promotes the
Developmen interests
t of developing
countries in world
trade
UNCTAD is composed
of 195 member
states
It reports to
the Economic and
Social Council
UNCTAD conferences
ordinarily take place
every four years,
with the first
occurring
in Geneva in 1964.

UNOD United VIENNA, HEAD- established in 1997 1997
C Nations AUSTRIA GHADA as the Office for Drug
Office on WALY Control and Crime
Drugs and Prevention by
Crime combining the United
Nations International
Drug Control
Program (UNDCP)
and the Crime
Prevention and
Criminal Justice
Division in the United
Nations Office at
Vienna, adopting the
current name in
2002.
focus is the
trafficking in and
abuse of illicit
drugs, crime
prevention and crimi
nal justice,
international terroris
m, and political
corruption
International Day
Against Drug Abuse
and Illicit
Trafficking is
celebrated every
year on 26th June.
UNHC United Geneva, HEAD- June 20 is designated 1950

R Nations Switzerla FILIPPO as World Refugee
High nd GRAND Day by the United
Commission I Nations.

er for
Refugees Global Trends Report
was published by
UNHCR ANNUALLY
latest numbers of
refugees, asylum
seekers, internally
displaced and
stateless persons
worldwide
UNHCR was created

in 1950, during the
aftermath of the
Second World War,
to help millions of
Europeans who had
fled or lost their
homes.
In 1954, UNHCR won
the Nobel Peace
Prize for its ground
breaking work in
Europe.
In 1981, it received a
second Nobel Peace
Prize
ESCAP Economic BANGKO HEAD- one of the five 1947

and Social K ARMID regional commissions
Commission THAILAND A under the jurisdiction
for Asia and SALSIA of the United Nations
the Pacific H Economic and Social
Council.

It was established in
order to increase
economic activity in
Asia and the Far East,
as well as to foster
economic relations
between the region
and other areas of
the world
There are a total of

53 Member States, 3
of them are not part
of Asia or Oceania.
commission was
originally located
in Shanghai, Republic
of China, from its
foundation until 1949
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UNITED NATIONS & ITS

(UPSC CSE Prelims 2022 qualified)

Quote to keep you Motivated (Editor’s choice):

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 In 1899, the International Peace Conference was held in The Hague to

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a. the General Assembly,

General  All 193 Member States of the UN are represented

Security  maintenance of international peace and

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Trusteeship  Established in 1945 by the UN Charter,

UN Secretariat  Secretariat comprises the Secretary-

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SPECIALIZED AGENCIES of United Nations (Very much in news so first clear

The specialized agencies of the United Nations are autonomous organizations

UN bodies within the purview of the ECOSOC:

 International labour Organization (ILO)

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ACRON AGENCY HEADQUA HEAD ABOUT ESTABLI

Its sister bodies are

The FAO comprises

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The IAEA has 176

ICAO Internationa Montreal SECRE United Nations (UN) 1944

there are 193 ICAO

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ILO Internation Geneva, DIRECT It is the only 1919

Received the Nobel

IMF Internationa WASHING MD- organization of 190 1944

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The IMF, also known

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WB WORLD WASHING PRESID World Bank is 1944

The World Bank was

The World Bank is

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After a slow start, its

As of 2022, the World

IBRD and IDA have

The World Bank

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IMO International LONDON, HEAD- India joined the IMO 1948

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ITU Internation Geneva, HEAD- Facilitate 1865

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India has been a

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Man and the

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UNIDO United VIENNA, HEAD- promotes industrial 1966

As of 1st April 2019,

WHO World Geneva, HEAD- United Nations’ 1948

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UNCTA United Geneva, HEAD- an intergovernmental 1964

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UNHC United Geneva, HEAD- June 20 is designated 1950

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UNHCR was created

ESCAP Economic BANGKO HEAD- one of the five 1947

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There are a total of

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