International Organizations

UNDP works in nearly 170 countries and territories, helping to eradicate poverty, reduce inequalities and build resilience so countries can sustain progress. Headquarters: New York City , USA Formation: 22 November 1965

UNEP was established in 1972, is the voice for the environment within the United Nations system. UNEP acts as a catalyst, advocate, educator and facilitator to promote the wise use and sustainable development of the global environment. Headquarters: Nairobi , Kenya

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is the lead UN agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe, and every young person's potential is fulfilled. Headquarters: New York City , USA Formation: 1969

The mission of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme is to promote socially and environmentally sustainable human settlements development and the achievement of adequate shelter for all. Headquarters: Nairobi , Kenya Formation: 1978

UNICEF works in 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, to defend their rights, and to help them fulfil their potential, from early childhood through adolescence. Headquarters: New York City , USA Formation: 11 December 1946

The World Food Programme aims to eradicate hunger and malnutrition. It is the world’s largest humanitarian agency. Every year, the programme feeds almost 80 million people in around 75 countries. Headquarters: Rome , Italy Formation: 19 December 1961

The Food and Agriculture Organization 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. Headquarters: Rome , Italy Formation: 16 October 1945

The International Civil Aviation Organization develops standards for global air transport and assists its 192 Member States in sharing the world’s skies to their socio-economic benefit. Headquarters: Montreal , Canada Formation: 4 April 1947

IATA is a trade association of the world's airlines founded in 1945. It is headquartered in Canada in the city of Montréal .

The International Fund for Agricultural Development, since it was created in 1977, has focused exclusively on rural poverty reduction, working with poor rural populations in developing countries to eliminate poverty, hunger and malnutrition; raise their productivity and incomes; and improve the quality of their lives. Headquarters: Rome , Italy

The International Labor Organization promotes international labor rights by formulating international standards on the freedom to associate, collective bargaining, the abolition of forced labor, and equality of opportunity and treatment. Headquarters: Geneva , Switzerland Formation: 11 April 1919

The International Monetary Fund fosters economic growth and employment by providing temporary financial assistance to countries to help ease balance of payments adjustment and technical assistance. The IMF currently has $28 billion in outstanding loans to 74 nations. Headquarters: Washington, DC , USA Formation: July 1944

The International Maritime Organization has created a comprehensive shipping regulatory framework, addressing safety and environmental concerns, legal matters, technical cooperation, security, and efficiency. Headquarters: London , United Kingdom Formation 17 March 1948

The International Telecommunication Union is the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies. It is committed to connecting all the world's people – wherever they live and whatever their means. Headquarters: Geneva , Switzerland Formation: 17 May 1865

It focuses on everything from teacher training to helping improve education worldwide to protecting important historical and cultural sites around the world. Headquarters: Paris , France Formation: 16 November 1945

The United Nations Industrial Development Organizationis the specialized agency of the United Nations that promotes industrial development for poverty reduction, inclusive globalization and environmental sustainability. Headquarters: Vienna , Austria Formation: 17 November 1966

The World Tourism Organization is the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. Headquarters: Madrid , Spain Formation: 1 November 1974

The 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. Headquarters: Bern , Switzerland Formation: 9 October 1874

The WHO is the directing and coordinating authority on international health within the United Nations system. The objective of WHO is the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health. Headquarters: Geneva , Switzerland Formation: 7 April 1948

The World Intellectual Property Organization protects intellectual property throughout the world through 23 international treaties. Headquarters: Geneva , Switzerland Formation: 14 July 1967

The World Meteorological Organization facilitates the free international exchange of meteorological data and information and the furtherance of its use in aviation, shipping, security, and agriculture, among other things. Headquarters: Geneva , Switzerland Formation: 23 March 1950

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Headquarters: Geneva , Switzerland

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) protects refugees worldwide and facilitates their return home or resettlement. Headquarters: Geneva , Switzerland

UNGA is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policy-making, and representative organ of the UN. United Nations’s Six Organs : General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Trusteeship Council, International Court of Justice (ICJ), and the UN Secretariat.

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, and approving any changes to the UN Charter. 5 Permanent Members of UNSC - USA, UK, Russia, China and France. There are 10 non permanent members, and these are elected for 2 years.

The United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research is a voluntarily funded autonomous institute within the United Nations. An impartial actor, the Institute generates ideas and promotes action on disarmament and security. Disarmament is the act of reducing, limiting, or abolishing weapons. Headquarters: Geneva , Switzerland

An autonomous UN body established in 1963, the United Nations Institute for Training and Research is a training arm of the United Nations System, and has the mandate to enhance the effectiveness of the UN through diplomatic training, and to increase the impact of national actions through public awareness-raising, education and training of public policy officials. Headquarters: Geneva , Switzerland

The mission of the United Nations Office for Project Services is to help people build better lives and help countries achieve peace and sustainable development. Headquarters: Copenhagen , Denmark

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees has contributed to the welfare and human development of four generations of Palestine refugees. Headquarters: Amman , Jordan

The United Nations System Staff College is the learning organization of the United Nations system. It designs and delivers learning programmes for staff of the UN system and its partners. Headquarters: Turin , Italy

The United Nations University was established by the UN General Assembly with the mandate to conduct “research into the pressing global problems of human survival, development and welfare.” Today, the University comprises 14 research and training institutes in 12 countries. Headquarters: Tokyo , Japan

UN Women merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system, which focus exclusively on gender equality and women’s empowerment. Headquarters: New York City , USA

The Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization promotes the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (which is not yet in force) and the build-up of the verification regime so that it is operational when the Treaty enters into force. Headquarters: Vienna , Austria

The International Atomic Energy Agency , is the world's centre for cooperation in the nuclear field. The Agency works with its Member States and multiple partners worldwide to promote the safe, secure and peaceful use of nuclear technologies. Headquarters: Vienna , Austria

International Energy Agency (IEA) was established in the framework of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 1974 in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis. Headquarters: Paris , France

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is an intergovernmental organisation mandated to facilitate cooperation, advance knowledge, and promote the adoption and sustainable use of renewable energy. The agency is headquartered in Masdar City, Abu Dhabi

The International Organization for Migration works to help ensure the orderly and humane management of migration, to promote international cooperation on migration issues. Headquarters: Geneva , Switzerland

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons is the implementing body of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which entered into force in 1997. OPCW Member States work together to achieve a world free of chemical weapons. Headquarters: The Hague , Netherlands

The UNFCCC Secretariat (UN Climate Change) was established in 1992 when countries adopted the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). With the subsequent adoption of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 and the Paris Agreement in 2015, Parties to these three agreements have progressively reaffirmed the Secretariat’s role as the United Nations entity tasked with supporting the global response to the threat of climate change. Headquarters: Bonn , Germany

The World Trade Organization is a forum for governments to negotiate trade agreements, and a place where member governments try to sort out the trade problems they face with each other. Headquarters: Geneva , Switzerland Formation:1 January 1995

The International Trade Centre (ITC) is the only development agency that is fully dedicated to supporting the internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Established in 1964, the ITC is the joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations. Headquarters: Geneva , Switzerland

UNCTAD is the part of the United Nations Secretariat dealing with trade, investment, and development issues. Headquarters: Geneva , Switzerland

It is a United Nations office that was established in 1997 as the Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention by combining the United Nations International Drug Control Program (UNDCP) and the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Division It was renamed the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in 2002 Headquarters: Vienna , Austria

● It is an intergovernmental economic organisation with 37 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade. ● The OECD is an official United Nations observer. ● Headquarters: Paris , France

● It is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. ● It was established as an autonomous organisation on 29 July 1957. ● Headquarters: Vienna , Austria

It is an intergovernmental organization of 13 countries. Founded on 14 September 1960 in Baghdad by the first five members (Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela). Since 1965 it has been headquartered in Vienna , Austria, although Austria is not an OPEC member state.

It is a political association of 54 member states, nearly all of which used to be territories of the British Empire. Headquarters: Marlborough House, London , United Kingdom

It is a non-governmental organization with its headquarters in London , United Kingdom focused on human rights. The organization says it has more than seven million members and supporters around the world. The organization was awarded the 1977 Nobel Peace Prize

Also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 European and North American countries. The organization implements the North Atlantic Treaty that was signed on 4 April 1949. Headquarters: Brussels , Belgium

It is a regional intergovernmental organization comprising ten countries in Southeast Asia. It promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, military, educational, and sociocultural integration among its members and other countries in Asia. HQs - Jakarta , Indonesia Members - Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Headquarters: Queenstown , Singapore

It is the regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union of states in South Asia. Its member states are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Initially there were 7 members, Afghanistan joined later. Headquarters: Kathmandu , Nepal

Formerly known as the Indian Ocean Rim Initiative and the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC), is an international organization consisting of 23 states bordering the Indian Ocean. Headquarters: Ebene , Mauritius

BRICS is the acronym coined to associate five major emerging national economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Since 2009, the BRICS nations have met annually at formal summits. Russia hosted the most recent 12th BRICS summit on 17 November 2020 virtually due to COVID-19 pandemic outbreak.

Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation. BIMSTEC is an international organisation of seven nations of South Asia and Southeast Asia. The BIMSTEC member states – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand – are among the countries dependent on the Bay of Bengal. The permanent secretariat is in Dhaka , Bangladesh.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a Eurasian political, economic, and security alliance, the creation of which was announced on 15 June 2001 in Shanghai, China. The organisation has expanded its membership to eight countries when India and Pakistan joined SCO as full members on 9 June 2017 at a summit in Astana, Kazakhstan. Headquarters: Beijing , China

The G4 nations comprising Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan are four countries which support each other's bids for permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council. Headquarters: United Nations

The Group of Five (G5) encompasses five nations which have joined together for an active role in the rapidly evolving international order. Countries - Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa. The G8 plus the five largest emerging economies has come to be known as G8+5.

The Group of Eight + Five (G8+5) was an international group that consisted of the leaders of the heads of government from the G8 nations (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States), plus G5 Countries. In March 2014, Russia was cast out of the Group of 8 due to its involvement in the 2014 Crimea crisis in Ukraine. G8 are developed countries.

The Group of Seven (G7) is an intergovernmental organization consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. ● The heads of government of the member states, as well as the representatives of the European Union, meet at the annual G7 Summit.

The G20 (or Group of Twenty) is an international forum for the governments and central bank governors from 19 countries and the European Union (EU). India is a member of G20.

The Group of 77 (G77) at the United Nations is a coalition of 134 developing countries, designed to promote its members' collective economic interests and create an enhanced joint negotiating capacity in the United Nations. Headquarters: United Nations Headquarters.

The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 27 member states that are located primarily in Europe. The United Kingdom became the first member state to leave the EU on 31 January 2020.

The Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) is a multilateral export control regime and a group of nuclear supplier countries that seek to prevent nuclear proliferation by controlling the export of materials, equipment and technology that can be used to manufacture nuclear weapons. The NSG was founded in response to the Indian nuclear test in May 1974 and first met in November 1975. As of 2020, the NSG has 48 participating governments.

The International Solar Alliance (ISA) is an alliance of 121 countries initiated by India, most of them being sunshine countries, which lie either completely or partly between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. Headquarters: Gurugram , Haryana

The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. Headquarters: Addis Ababa , Ethiopia

The Arctic Council is a high-level intergovernmental forum that addresses issues faced by the Arctic governments and the indigenous people of the Arctic. Headquarters: Tromsø , Norway (since 2012)

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM or CC) is an organisation of fifteen states and dependencies throughout the Caribbean. To promote economic integration and cooperation among its members. The secretariat headquarters is in Georgetown , Guyana .

COMESA is a free trade area with twenty-one member states stretching from Tunisia to Eswatini. Secretariat: Lusaka , Zambia

The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is a regional trade organization and free trade area consisting of four European states: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. Secretariat: Geneva

The Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) is a multi-governmental organization headquartered in Kuwait which coordinates energy policies among oil-producing Arab nations.

ESCAP is one of the five regional commissions under the jurisdiction of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. ● The commission is composed of 53 Member States and nine Associate members, mostly from the Asia and

ECOWAS is a regional political and economic union of fifteen countries located in West Africa. ● Headquarters: Abuja , Nigeria

The International Chamber of Commerce is the largest, most representative business organization in the world. ● Its over 45 million members in over 100 countries have interests spanning every sector of private enterprise. ● Headquarters: Paris , France

The World Anti-Doping Agency is a foundation initiated by the International Olympic Committee based in Canada to promote, coordinate and monitor the fight against drugs in sports. ● Headquarters: Montreal , Quebec, Canada

The African Development Bank Group (AfDB or ADB) is a multilateral development finance institution. ● The AfDB was founded in 1964 and comprises three entities: The African Development Bank, the African Development Fund and the Nigeria Trust Fund. ● Headquarters: Abidjan , Côte d'Ivoire

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established on 19 December 1966. ● From 31 members at its establishment, ADB now has 68 members. ● Headquarters: Manila , Philippines

● The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is an international financial institution owned by central banks that "fosters international monetary and financial cooperation and serves as a bank for central bank ● It is based in Basel , Switzerland

The European Central Bank (ECB) is the central bank of the Eurozone, a monetary union of 19 EU member states which employ the euro. ● Headquarters: Frankfurt , Germany ** European Investment Bank is headquartered in Luxembourg

● It is a multilateral development bank that aims to improve economic and social outcomes in Asia. ● The bank currently has 103 members as well as 21 prospective members from around the world ● Headquarters: Beijing , China

The New Development Bank (NDB), formerly referred to as the BRICS Development Bank. ● The bank is headquartered in Shanghai , China. ● The first regional office of the NDB is in Johannesburg, South Africa

The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO) commonly known as INTERPOL is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime control. ● Headquarters: Lyon , France

● It is a German non-governmental organization founded in 1993. ● Its purpose is to take action to combat global corruption with civil societal anti-corruption measures. ● Headquarters: Berlin , Germany

It is an international organization founded in 1969, consisting of 57 member states. ● The organisation states that it is "the collective voice of the Muslim world" and works to "safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony. ● Headquarters- Jeddah , Saudi Arabia

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment ● It was formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in Canada and the United States. ● Headquarters: Vaud , Switzerland

● It is based in Cologny , Switzerland, is an international NGO, founded on 24 January 1971. ● The WEF's mission is stated as "committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic, and other leaders of society to shape global, regional, and industry agendas.

● It is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. ● Its headquarters are in Gland , Switzerland

● It is a professional association that works for the conservation and protection of cultural heritage places around the world. ● Now headquartered in Charenton-le-Pont, Paris , France. ● ICOMOS was founded in 1965 in Warsaw as a result of the Venice Charter of 1964, and offers advice to UNESCO on World Heritage Sites

● It is an international financial institution and a specialised agency of the United Nations that works to address poverty and hunger in rural areas of developing countries. ● Headquartered in Rome , Italy.

It is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordance with international law and gives advisory opinions on international legal issues. HQs: The Hague , Netherlands

It is the international governing body for the sport of badminton recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) ● Headquarters: Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia

It is the international governing body for the sport of athletics, covering track and field, cross country running, road running, racewalking, mountain running, and ultra running. ● It was headquartered in Stockholm from 1912 to 1946, in London from 1946 to 1993, and thereafter moved to its current location in Monaco .

It was recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the international governing body for the sport of boxing until 2019, when the IOC suspended its recognition of the federation. ● Headquarters: Lausanne , Switzerland

● It is the international governing body of field hockey and indoor field hockey. ● Its headquarters are in Lausanne , Switzerland.

● It is the governing body of the Olympic Shooting events in rifle, pistol and shotgun (clay target) disciplines, and of several non-Olympic Shooting sport events. ● The ISSF headquarters is in Munich , Germany

● The headquarters of the ITTF is in Lausanne , Switzerland.

● It was founded in 1913 as the International Lawn Tennis Federation by twelve national associations, and as of 2016, was affiliated with 211 national tennis associations and six regional associations. ● Headquarters: London , UK

It is headquartered in Budapest , Hungary. ● It is the international governing body for the sport of Olympic weightlifting.

● It is the highest governing body of football. ● Headquarters: Zürich , Switzerland ** UEFA is headquartered in Nyon, Switzerland.

● It is the international governing body for the sport of amateur wrestling; its duties include overseeing wrestling at the Olympics ● Headquarters - Lausanne , Switzerland