10 SPECIALIZED UN AGENCIES

Assignment 1

SEPTEMBER 30, 2019

ABDUL LATIF
Fa16-BDS-001
 Specialized agencies are autonomous organizations working with the United Nations and each
other through the coordinating machinery of the United Nations Economic and Social Council at
the intergovernmental level, and through the Chief Executives Board for co-ordination (CEB) at
the inter-secretariat level. Specialized agencies may or may not have been originally created by
the United Nations, but they are incorporated into the United Nations System by the United
Nations Economic and Social Council acting under Articles 57 and 63 of the United Nations
Charter. At present the UN has in total 15 specialized agencies that carry out various functions on
behalf of the UN.

1: Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO):

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations leads international efforts to defeat
hunger. Serving both developed and developing countries, FAO acts as a neutral forum where all
nations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and debate policy. FAO's mandate is to raise levels
of nutrition, improve agricultural productivity, better the lives of rural populations and contribute
to the growth of the world economy. FAO is the largest of the UN agencies. It was established in
1945 and its headquarters is in Rome, Italy.

Objectives:

1. Help eliminate hunger and malnutrition (including food security concerns)

2. Make agriculture (and forestry and fisheries) more sustainable (and productive)
3. Reduce rural poverty
4. Enable inclusive food systems
5. Increase resilience of food related livelihoods (e.g., farmers) to threats and crises.

Functions:

• Surveillance
• Disease investigation
• Disease prevention, control and eradication
• Quarantine
• Clinical services
 • Control of animal drugs and biological products
• Veterinary inspection
• Research
• Training
• Wildlife disease monitoring Emergency response

2: International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO):

he International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) was founded in 1947. It codifies the
principles and techniques of international air navigation and fosters the planning and development
of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly growth. Its headquarters are located in
the Quartier international de Montréal of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
The ICAO Council adopts standards and recommended practices concerning air navigation,
prevention of unlawful interference, and facilitation of border-crossing procedures for
international civil aviation. In addition, ICAO defines the protocols for air accident investigation
followed by transport safety authorities in countries signatory to the Convention on International
Civil Aviation, commonly known as the Chicago Convention.

OBJECTIVES:
Strengthening civil aviation institutions
Infrastructure services
Technology and human resource development

3: International Labor Organization (ILO):

The International Labor Organization (ILO) deals with labor issues. Its headquarters are
in Geneva, Switzerland. Founded in 1919, it was formed through the negotiations of the Treaty of
Versailles and was initially an agency of the League of Nations. It became a member of the UN
system after the demise of the League and the formation of the UN at the end of World War II.
Its Constitution, as amended to date, includes the Declaration of Philadelphia on the aims and
purposes of the Organization. Its secretariat is known as the International Labor Office.

OBJECTIVES:
 to promote and realize standards and fundamental principles and rights at work;

 to create greater opportunities for women and men to secure decent employment;

 to enhance the coverage and effectiveness of social protection for all;

 to strengthen social dialogue

Functions:

1- To coordinate between state members so as to improve the environment of work along with
work conditions.

2- Assist members so as to include the international conventions terms and principles in their own
national laws

3-To research and to assist in doing researches in the labor fields

4- TO protect the workers human rights all over the world

4: International Monetary Fund (IMF):

Objectives:
International Monetary Co-operation:
The foremost objective of the Fund was to establish monetary co-operation amongst the various
member countries. IMF provides the machinery for consultation and collaboration on international
monetary problems. During the Second World War, IMF had played a vital role to promote
monetary co-operation amongst the different countries of the World.

To Promote Exchange Stability:

Before the Second World War, great instability was prevailing in the foreign exchange rates of
different countries which had adversely affected the international trade. Thus, IMF has the
objective to promote exchange stability and to avoid the bad effects of depreciation on exchange
rates.

To Eliminate Exchange Control:

Another significant objective of IMF is to eliminate the control over foreign exchange. During war
period, almost every country has fixed the exchange rate at a particular level. This has adversely
affected the international trade. Hence, it becomes inevitable to remove the control over exchange
rate by boosting international trade.

Establishment of Multilateral Trade and Payment:

IMF aimed at establishing and multilateral trade and payment system in place of old bilateral trade
by the elimination of exchange restrictions which hampers the growth of smooth trade relations in
the world trade.

Growth of International Trade:

IMF is useful to promote international trade by removing all obstacles and bottlenecks which had
created unnecessarily restrictions. In this way, a significant role has been assigned to it so as to
accelerate the growth of international trade by maintaining equilibrium in the balance of payment.

FUNCTIONS:

Stabilize Economies:
The IMF has an important function to advise the member countries on various economic and
monetary matters and thereby to help stabilize their economies.

Credit Facilities:
IMF is maintaining various borrowing and credit facilities so as to help the member countries in

correcting disequilibrium in their balance of payments. These credit facilities include-basic credit
facility, extended fund facility for a period of 3 years, compensatory financing facility, lociffer
stock facility for helping the primary producing countries, supplementary financing facility,

special oil facility, trust fund, structural adjustment facility etc. The Fund also charges interest
from the borrowing countries on their credit.

Maintaining Balance Between Demand and Supply of Currencies:

IMF is also entrusted with important function to maintain balance between demand and supply of

various currencies. Accordingly, the fund can declare a currency as scarce currency which is in

great demand and can increase its supply by borrowing it from the country concerned or by
purchasing the same currency in exchange of gold.

Maintenance of Liquidity:
To maintain liquidity of its resources is another important function of IMF. Accordingly, there is

provision for the member countries to borrow from IMF by surrendering their own currencies in

exchange. Again, for according accumulation of less demand currencies with the Fund, the

borrowing countries are directed to repurchase their own currencies by repaying its loans in
convertible currencies.

Technical Assistance:
The IMF is also performing an useful function to provide technical assistance to the member

countries. Such technical assistance in given in two ways, i.e., firstly by granting the members
countries the services of its specialists and experts and secondly by sending the outside experts.

5: International Telecommunication Union (ITU):

Objectives
 Standardizing telecommunications technologies, services and operations, including tariffs and
numbering plans.
 Allocating radio frequency bands to different services and coordinating and registering frequency
assignments and satellite orbital positions so as to avoid harmful interference.
 Promoting the development of telecommunications infrastructure and services, regulatory
institutions, and human resources in developing countries.
 Providing information on global telecommunications trends and developments.

FUNCTIONS:

 Coordinates the Use of the Radio Spectrum

 Promotes Cooperative Satellite Orbit Assignment
 Improves Telecommunication Infrastructure
 Develops Worldwide Technical Standards
 Supports Telecommunication Education

6: WORLD BANK GROUP:

Objectives:
 This includes providing long term capital to its member nations for economic development and
reconstruction.

 Thus, it helps in inducing long term capital for improving the balance of payments and thereby
balancing international trade.

 Also, it helps by providing guarantees against loads granted to large and small units and other
projects for the member nations.

 So, it ensures that the development projects are implemented. Thus, it brings a sense of
transparency for a nation from war-time to a peaceful economy.

 Also, it promotes the capital investment for member nations by providing a guarantee for
capital investment and loans.

Functions:
 It helps the war-devasted countries by granting them loans for reconstruction.

 Thus, they provide extensive experience and the financial resources of the bank help the poor
countries increase their economic growth, reducing poverty and a better standard of living.

 Also, it helps the underdeveloped countries by granting development loans.

 So, it also provides loans to various governments for irrigation, agriculture, water supply,
health, education, etc.

 It promotes foreign investments to other organizations by guaranteeing the loans.

 Also, the world bank provides economic, monetary, and technical advice to the member
countries for any of their projects.

7: World Health Organization (WHO):

Objectives:
 To create an interface between the developed and developing nations when
pertaining to health issues.
 To patronize and support health programs in developing nations.
 To periodically formulate health policies that are readily endorsed by
nations.
 To coordinate and oversee the procurement of health services.
 To immerse in disease inspection and analysis.
 To involve itself in promoting health and also to impart health education.
 To collaborate with governments and administrations all over the world to
endorse health promotional programs.

8: World Meteorological Organization (WMO):

OBJECTIVES:
To train the participants on drought data, databases and metadata, mapping and analysis tools, and
effective drought risk assessment.
To guide participants in the first steps towards developing an effective national drought risk
management involving risk assessment, risk reduction, risk transfer to reduce the impacts of
natural hazards on lives and livelihoods.

9: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD):

OBJECTIVES:
. Tohelp in the reconstruction and development of member countries by facilitating the
investment of capital for the productive purposes, including the restoration and reconstruction of
economies devastated by war.
2. To encourage the development of productive resources in developing countries by supplying
them investment capital.
3. To promote private foreign investment through guarantees and participation in loans and other
investment made by private investors.
4. To supplement private foreign investments by direct loans out of its own capital for productive
purposes.
5. To promote long term balances growth of international trade and the maintenance of
equilibrium in the balance payments of member countries by encouraging long term international
investments.
6. To bring about an easy transition from a war economy to a peace time economy.

FUNCTIONS:
To assist in the reconstruction and development of the territories of its members by facilitating
the investment of capital for productive purposes.
2. To promote private foreign investment by means of guarantee of participation in loans and
other investments made by private investors and when private capital is not available on
reasonable terms to make loans for productive purposes out of its own resources from funds
borrowed by it.
3. To promote the long-term balance growth of international trade and the maintenance of
equilibrium in balances of payments by encouraging international investments for development
of productive resources of members.
4. To arrange loans made guaranteed by it in relation to international loans through other
channels so that more useful projects, large and small alike, will be dealt with first.

10: International Development Association (IDA):

Objectives:
1. Provision of financial assistance to less developed countries on easy terms with a lower
servicing charge than the one charged by the World Bank.
 2. Promotion of economic development, increase in productivity and consequent
improvement in the living standards in less developed regions of the world.

Functions:
Thus, IDA is looked upon as a means of furthering the development activities of the World Bank
and as a supplementary to the Bank’s activities. Under its charter, the IDA is to support projects
which are calculated to contribute to the development of the country concerned, whether they are
directly productive or not.

The IDA credits would be called development credits to distinguish them from conventional loans,
and these would be repayable mostly in the currency lent rather than in the currency of the
borrower. Since IDA charges nominal rates of interest on its loans, it has also been nicknamed the
“Soft-Loan Window.”