United Nations & Other World Organisations | Lucent for GK - UPSC PDF Download

United Nations Organisation (UNO)

• World’s largest international organisation and a successor of League of Nations (League of Nations was formed after the Ist World War, but it failed).
• The Charter of the UN was signed at San Francisco on June 26, 1945, at a meeting of the representatives of 50 states, representing 2/3rd of the world population.
• The name United Nations was given at the instance of US President Roosevelt.
• The Charter or Constitution was formed at Dumbarton Oaks (Washington DC) Conference by USSR, UK, US and China.
• Formally came into existence on Oct 24, 1945.
• The first regular session was held in London in Jan 1946 and Trygve Lie (Norway) was elected as the first Secretary-General.
• Headquarters located at First Avenue, UN Plaza, New York City, New York, US. It is a 17-acre tract of land donated by John D. Rockefeller. The building is 39 storeys.
• The present membership of UN is 193. Switzerland was the 190th (in2002), East Timor was the 191st (in 2002), Montenegro became the 192nd member in 2006 & South Sudan became the 193rd in 2011.

Note 

• US, UK, China, France and Russia are the permanent members of the Security Council.

Some Important U.N. Agencies

International Labour Organisation (ILO)

• Established: 1919
• Headquarters: Geneva
• Purpose: To improve conditions and living standard of workers.

World Health Organisation (WHO)

• Established: 1948
• Headquarters: Geneva
• Purpose: Attainment of the highest possible level of health by all people.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)

• Established: 1946
• Headquarters: Paris
• Purpose: To promote collaboration among nations through education, science and culture.

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

• Established: 1957
• Headquarters: Vienna
• Purpose: To promote peaceful uses of atomic energy.

United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF)

• Established: 1946
• Headquarters: New York
• Purpose: To promote children’s welfare all over the world.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

• Established: 1950
• Headquarters: Geneva
• Purpose: To provide protection to refugees.

United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA)

• Established: 1967
• Headquarters: New York
• Purpose: Studying population dynamics, collecting population data, formulating and evolving population policies, family planning and related programmes.

International Fund for Agricultural Development

• Established: 1977
• Headquarters: Rome
• Purpose: For financing agricultural projects in the world to raise economic growth.

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

• Established: 1964
• Headquarters: Geneva
• Purpose: Promotes international trade to accelerate the economic growth of developing countries.

International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)

• Established: 1947
• Headquarters: Montreal
• Purpose: Promotes safety of international aviation.

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

• Established: 1945
• Headquarters: Washington D.C.
• Purpose: Promotes international monetary cooperation.

International Finance Corporation (IFC)

• Established: 1956
• Headquarters: Washington D.C.
• Purpose: Promotes economic development by encouraging private enterprise in its member countries.

Universal Postal Union (UPU)

• Established: 1947
• Headquarters: Berne
• Purpose: Improve various postal services in the world.

United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP)

• Established: 1972
• Headquarters: Nairobi
• Purpose: Promotes international co-operation in the human environment.

United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO)

• Established: 1967
• Headquarters: Geneva
• Purpose: Sets international regulations for radio, telegraph, and telephone and space radio communication.

Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO)

• Established: 1945
• Headquarters: Rome
• Purpose: To improve the living condition of the total population.

International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)

• Established: 1945
• Headquarters: Washington D.C.
• Purpose: Development of Economies of members by facilitating investment of capitals by providing loans.

World Meteorological Organisation (WMO)

• Established: 1950
• Headquarters: Geneva
• Purpose: Promote the international exchange of weather reports.

World Trade Organisation (WTO)

• Established: 1995
• Headquarters: Geneva
• Purpose: Setting rules for world trade to reduce tariffs.

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

• Established: 1965
• Headquarters: New York
• Purpose: Help developing countries increase the wealth-producing capabilities of their natural and human resources.

Inter-Government Maritime Consultative Organisation (IMCO)

• Established: 1958
• Headquarters: London
• Purpose: Promotes co-operation on technical matters of maritime safety, navigation and encourages anti-pollution measures.

International Development Association (IDA)

• Established: 1960
• Headquarters: Washington D.C.
• Purpose: An affiliate of the World Bank. Aims to help under-developed countries raise living standards.

International Tele-communication Union (ITU)

• Established: 1947
• Headquarters: Geneva
• Purpose: Sets international regulations for radiotelegraph, telephone and space radio communications.

United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR)

• Established: 1965
• Headquarters: New York
• Purpose: Provides training and research to help facilitate UN objectives of world peace and security and of economic and social progress.

United Nations Relief and Work for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA)

• Established: 1949
• Headquarters: New York
• Purpose: Provides basic amenities and education for the victims of the Arab-Israel War.

Other International Organisations and Groups

The Common Wealth

• It was originally known as ‘The British Commonwealth of Nations’. It is an association of sovereign and independent states which formally made up the British Empire.
• Headquarters: London.
• Members: 53
• The British Monarch (Queen Elizabeth II) is the symbolic head of the commonwealth.
• Commonwealth heads of government meet (CHOGM) is held every 2 years.

Arab League

• Established: March. 22, 1945.
• Objective: To promote economic, social, political and military cooperation.
• Members: 22
• Headquarters: Cairo

Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)

• Established: Nov 1989
• Objective: To promote trade and investment in the Pacific basin.
• Member: 21

Asian Development Bank (ADB)

• Established: Dec. 19, 1966
• Objective: To promote regional economic cooperation
• Member: 67
• Headquarters: Manila

Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN)

• Established: Aug. 8, 1967
• Objective: Regional, economic, social and cultural cooperation among the non-communist countries of South-East Asia.
• Member (10): Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia.
• Headquarters: Djakarta

Common Wealth of Independent States (CIS)

• Established: Dec. 8, 1991
• Objective: To coordinate inter-common wealth relations and to provide a mechanism for the orderly dissolution of the USSR.
• Members: 11
• Headquarters: Kerava (Belarus)

Group of 8 or G-8

• Established: 1989
• Objective: To promote economic cooperation among developing nations.
• Members: 17

Group of 15 (G-15)

• Established: 1989
• Objective: To promote economic cooperation among developing nations.
• Members: 17

Group of 77 (G-77)

• Established: 1989
• Objective: To promote economic cooperation among developing nations.
• Members: 17

➢ International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL)

• Established: 1914
• Objective: To promote international cooperation among criminal police authorities.
• Members: 190
• Headquarters: France

International Olympic Committee (IOC)

• Established: June. 23, 1894
• Objective: To promote the Olympic ideals and administer the Olympic Games.
• Members: 105
• Headquarters: Switzerland

International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO)

• Established: Feb. 1947
• Objective: To promote the development of international standards
• Members: 163
• Headquarters: Switzerland

International Red Cross And Red Crescent Movements

• Established: 1928
• Objective: To promote worldwide humanitarian aid
• Headquarters: Geneva

Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)

• Established: Sept. 1961
• Objective: Political co-operation and separate itself from both USA and USSR (in the cold-war era)
• Members:120.
• The credit of evolving the concept goes to Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru. 
• The other contributors were Marshal Tito (President of Yugoslavia), Dr. Sukarno (President of Indonesia) and General Nasser (President of Egypt). 
• Bandung conference in Indonesia became the forum for the birth of NAM.

European Union

• Established: Apr. 8, 1965. Effective on July 1, 1967.
• Objective: To create a united Europe in which member countries would have such strong economic and political bones that war would cease to be a recurring fact.
• Members: 28 (The ten new countries which joined in 2004 are Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovania). Croatia joined in 2013.
• Headquarters: Brussels (Belgium). The common European, currency, Euro, was launched on Jan. 1, 1999.

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)

• Established: April 4, 1949
• Objective: Mutual defence and cooperation
• Members: 28
• Headquarters: Brussels

Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)

• Established: Sept, 1959
• Objective: Attempts to set world prices by controlling oil production and also pursues member interest in trade and development.
• Members: 12 (Algeria, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, UAE, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Ecuador and Venezuela)
• Headquarters: Vienna (Austria)

South Asian Association For Regional Cooperation (SAARC)

• Established: Dec. 8, 1985
• Objective: To promote economic, social and cultural cooperation   
• Members (8): Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.
• Headquarters: Kathmandu 

Amnesty International (AI)

• Established: 1961
• Objective: To keep a watch over human rights violation worldwide.  Headquarter: London
• Got Nobel Prize in 1977 for Peace

Organisation of The Islamic Conference (OIC)

• Established: 1969
• Objective: To promote Islamic solidarity among member states and to consolidate cooperation among members.
• Members: 57
• Headquarters: Saudi Arabia

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)

• Established: June. 7, 2002.
• Objective: To develop mutual cooperation.
• Members: Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kirghizstan and Tajikistan.

World Wildlife Fund For Nature (WWF)

• Established: Sept. 11, 1961
• Objective: To save wildlife from extinction
• Members: All the countries of the world
• Headquarters: Gland (Switzerland)