List of United Nations organizations
The United Nations Charter established six principal organs of the Organization: the General Assembly, the United Nations Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the United Nations Trusteeship Council (this Council suspended operations in 1994), the International Court of Justice, and the Secretariat. The Charter allowed for the creation of any other entities that were seen as required. Since its creation, the United Nations is now considerably larger, encompassing numerous specialised organisations and agencies, programmes and funds, training and research bodies as well as other service providers. There are also numerous subsidiary bodies, including committees, commissions, boards, councils, panels, and working groups some of which this list includes.
This list is a work in progress and should be cross checked with other sources. (A more comprehensive list is available at the United Nations System article.)
Specialised organisations and agencies
The United Nations maintains and supports a number of specialised organisations and agencies. These differ from the programmes and funds in that they are headed by an executive board of member states, separate from the General Assembly. Sometimes they do not report to the General Assembly or Security Council but only to their own member states. Some of these bodies also predate the United Nations as is the case for the ITU formed in 1865 to administer an international treaty and the ILO created as part of the League of Nations.
No. | Acronyms | Agency | Headquarters | Head | Established | Comment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | FAO | Food and Agriculture Organization | Rome, Italy | José Graziano da Silva | 1945 | |
2 | IAEA | International Atomic Energy Agency | Vienna, Austria | Yukiya Amano | 1957 | Associated agency |
3 | ICAO | International Civil Aviation Organization | Montreal, Canada | Raymond Benjamin | 1947 | |
4 | IFAD | International Fund for Agricultural Development | Rome, Italy | Kanayo F. Nwanze | 1977 | |
5 | ILO | International Labour Organization | Geneva, Switzerland | Guy Ryder | 1919 | Originally part of League of Nations |
6 | IMO | International Maritime Organization | London, United Kingdom | Kitack Lim | 1948 | |
7 | IMF | International Monetary Fund | Washington, D.C., United States | Christine Lagarde | 1945 | |
8 | ITU | International Telecommunication Union | Geneva, Switzerland | Hamadoun Touré | 1865 | |
9 | UNESCO | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization | Paris, France | Irina Bokova | 1945 | |
10 | UPU | Universal Postal Union | Bern, Switzerland | Bishar Abdirahman Hussein | 1947 | |
11 | WBG | World Bank Group | Washington, D.C, United States | Jim Yong Kim | 1945 | |
12 | WIPO | World Intellectual Property Organization | Geneva, Switzerland | Francis Gurry | 1974 | |
13 | WMO | World Meteorological Organization | Geneva, Switzerland | David Grimes | 1950 | |
14 | UNWTO | United Nations World Tourism Organization | Madrid, Spain | Taleb Rifai | 1974 | |
15 | CASI | CSR & Sustainability Institute | Washington, D.C, United States | Dr. Abineser | 1945 | to promote CSR and Sustainability Education across the World |
16 | UNODC | United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime | Vienna, Austria | Yuri Fedotov | 1997 | |
17 | WHO | World Health Organization | Geneva, Switzerland | Margaret Chan | 1948 | to promote mental and physical health of humanity |
Departments and offices of the United Nations Secretariat
The United Nations Secretariat carries out the day-to-day work of the Organisation. It services the other principal organs of the United Nations and administers the programmes and policies laid down by them. At its head is the Secretary-General, who is appointed by the General Assembly. The Secretariat administers a number of notable Offices and Departments.
No. | Acronyms | Agency | Headquarters | Head | Established | Comment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | UNOCHA | Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs | New York City, United States | Stephen O'Brien | 1991 | |
2 | UNOOSA | United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs | Vienna, Austria | Simonetta Di Pippo | 1958 | |
Treaty organisations
The United Nations maintains, administers or has a working relationship with a number of organisations dedicated to the administration of a variety of international treaties and conventions. At times these perform specific administrative functions while also providing a specific forum for discussing issues around a particular treaty. The organisations themselves generally report to the member states of the treaty rather than to the General Assembly.
No. | Acronyms | Agency | Headquarters | Head | Established | Comment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ISA | International Seabed Authority | Kingston, Jamaica | Nii Allotey Odunton | 1994 | |
2 | CTBTO | Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization | Vienna, Austria | Lassina Zerbo | 1997 (preparatory commission) | Provisional organisation |
3 | OPCW | Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons | The Hague, Netherlands | Ahmet Üzümcü | 1997 | Related organisation |
Research and training institutes
There are only five officially recognised training bodies of the United Nations System. Irrespective of what does or does not constitute a United Nations organization, many other institutions serve a research or training purpose, and some are part of other organisations and funds. These are also contained below.
No. | Acronyms | Agency | Headquarters | Head | Established | Comment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | UNIDIR | United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research | Geneva, Switzerland | Theresa Hitchins | 1980 | |
2 | UNU | United Nations University | Tokyo, Japan | David M. Malone | 1969 | |
3 | UNITAR | United Nations Institute for Training and Research | Geneva, Switzerland | Sally Fegan-Wyles | 1965 | |
4 | UNRISD | United Nations Research Institute For Social Development | Geneva, Switzerland | Sarah Cook | 1963 | |
5 | UNICRI | United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute | Turin, Italy | Jonathan Lucas | 1968 | |
6 | UNSSC | United Nations System Staff College | Turin, Italy | Jafar Javan | 2002 | |
7 | UPEACE | University for Peace | San José, Costa Rica | Francisco Rojas Aravena | 1980 | UN mandated |
8 | ICTP | International Centre for Theoretical Physics | Trieste, Italy | Fernando Quevedo | 1964 | IAEA, UNESCO, Italian Govt |
9 | IRC | Innocenti Research Centre - International Child Development Centre | Florence, Italy | Marie-Claude Martin | 1988 | Part of UNICEF |
Subsidiary bodies of the General Assembly
The following entities were established by the General Assembly.
Acronym | Agency | Headquarters | Head | Established | Comment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
ICSC | Domestic Civil Service Commission | New York City, United States | John P. Hamilton | 1975 | |
ACPAQ | Advisory Committee on Post Adjustment Questions | New York City, United States | Wolfgang Stöckl | Part of ICSC |