International Organisations

At a glance 9 facts

1. 1UN basicsThe United Nations came into being on 24 October 1945, now kept as UN Day; its headquarters are in New York.
2. 2Six principal organsGeneral Assembly, Security Council, ECOSOC, Trusteeship Council (inactive since 1994) and Secretariat sit in New York; the International Court of Justice sits in The Hague.
3. 3Security Council15 members: 10 elected for two years and 5 permanent members with a veto, namely China, France, Russia, the UK and the USA.
4. 4UN bodies and citiesUNESCO (keeps the World Heritage List): Paris. FAO (food and farming): Rome. IAEA (nuclear energy): Vienna. UNEP (environment): Nairobi. UNICEF works for children.
5. 5Older than the UNThe ILO was set up in 1919 under the Treaty of Versailles; in 1946 it became the first specialised agency of the UN.
6. 6Bretton Woods twinsThe IMF and the World Bank were planned at Bretton Woods, USA, in July 1944; both sit in Washington, D.C. IMF: balance-of-payments help; World Bank: development loans.
7. 7GenevaWHO (7 April 1948, kept as World Health Day) and the WTO (1 January 1995, taking over from the GATT of 1948) are both headquartered in Geneva.
8. 8ASEANSet up on 8 August 1967 by the Bangkok Declaration; founders Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand; secretariat in Jakarta.
9. 9SAARCFounded by the SAARC Charter signed at Dhaka on 8 December 1985; its permanent secretariat, set up in 1987, is in Kathmandu.