Miscellanous Quiz: Organisations & Bodies |8 Apr, 2021

UNIDO is the specialized agency of the United Nations that promotes industrial development for poverty reduction, inclusive globalization and environmental sustainability.

· As of 1 April 2019, 170 States are Members of UNIDO. They regularly discuss and decide UNIDO’s guiding principles and policies in the sessions of the Policymaking Organs.

· The mission of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), as described in the Lima Declaration adopted at the fifteenth session of the UNIDO General Conference in 2013, is to promote and accelerate inclusive and sustainable industrial development (ISID) in Member States.

Source: https://www.unido.org/who-we-are/unido-brief

UNCTAD is a permanent intergovernmental body established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1964.

· Our headquarters are located in Geneva, Switzerland, and we have offices in New York and Addis Ababa. UNCTAD is part of the UN Secretariat.

· We report to the UN General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council but have our own membership, leadership, and budget. We are also part of the United Nations Development Group.

Source: https://unctad.org/about

The UN’s Membership has grown from the original 51 Member States in 1945 to the current 193 Member States.

· All UN Member States are members of the General Assembly. States are admitted to membership by a decision of the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council.

· The Secretary-General is Chief Administrative Officer of the UN – and is also a symbol of the Organization’s ideals and an advocate for all the world’s peoples, especially the poor and vulnerable.

· The Secretary-General is appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council for a 5-year, renewable term.

· The current Secretary-General, and the 9th occupant of the post, is António Guterres of Portugal, who took office on 1 January 2017.

Source: https://www.un.org/en/about-us/

The World We Want – 75 photos curated from more than 50,000 images from over 130 countries in response to the Secretary-General’s call to hear directly from the peoples of the world about their priorities for the future.

Source: https://www.un.org/en/exhibits/page/theworldwewant

The IMF’s various lending instruments are tailored to different types of balance of payments need as well as the specific circumstances of its diverse membership (see table).

All IMF members are eligible to access the Fund’s resources in the General Resources Account (GRA) on non-concessional terms, but the IMF also provides concessional financial support (currently at zero interest rates through June 2021) through the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT; see IMF Support for Low-Income Countries), which is better tailored to the diversity and needs of low-income countries.

Source: https://www.imf.org/en/About/Factsheets/IMF-Lending

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), a specialized agency of the United Nations, was one of the major outcomes of the 1974 World Food Conference.

· The conference was organized by the United Nations in response to the food crises of the early 1970s, when global food shortages were causing widespread famine and malnutrition, primarily in the Sahelian countries of Africa.

· IFAD has 177 Member States comprised of developing, middle and high-income countries from all regions of the world who are dedicated to eradicating poverty in rural areas.

· Membership in IFAD is open to any State that is a member of the United Nations, any of its specialized agencies or the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Source: https://www.ifad.org/en/member-states

The World Bank is like a cooperative, made up of 189 member countries.

· These member countries, or shareholders, are represented by a Board of Governors, who are the ultimate policymakers at the World Bank.

· Generally, the governors are member countries’ ministers of finance or ministers of development.

Source: https://www.worldbank.org/en/about/leadership

ICSID is the world’s leading institution devoted to international investment dispute settlement.

· It has extensive experience in this field, having administered the majority of all international investment cases.

· States have agreed on ICSID as a forum for investor-State dispute settlement in most international investment treaties and in numerous investment laws and contracts.

· ICSID was established in 1966 by the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States (the ICSID Convention).

· The ICSID Convention is a multilateral treaty formulated by the Executive Directors of the World Bank to further the Bank’s objective of promoting international investment.

· ICSID is an independent, depoliticized and effective dispute-settlement institution. Its availability to investors and States helps to promote international investment by providing confidence in the dispute resolution process.

· It is also available for state-state disputes under investment treaties and free trade agreements, and as an administrative registry.

Source: https://icsid.worldbank.org/About/ICSID

The agreement establishing the World Trade Organization (WTO) calls for a single institutional framework encompassing the GATT, as modified by the Uruguay Round, all agreements and arrangements concluded under its auspices and the complete results of the Uruguay Round.

Source: https://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/legal_e/ursum_e.htm

The United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) was founded in June 1972 as a result of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment.

· The UNEP is the coordinating body for the United Nations’ environmental activities. It has played a significant role in identifying and analyzing global environmental problems, developing regional and international environmental programs and conventions, and promoting environmental science and information.

· Among its most important tasks is assisting developing countries in implementing environmentally sound policies and practices.

· Since 1997, in response to the environmental requirements of Agenda 21, UNEP has also published its Global Environment Outlook (GEO), a comprehensive report on global state of the environment. Its headquarters are in Nairobi, Kenya.

Source: http://www.environmentandsociety.org/tools/keywords/united-nations-environmental-programme-unep-established