INTRODUCTIO

N
The specialised agencies are based on inter-governmental
agreements and perform vast International functions in the
economic, social, cultural, educational and health fields. Article
57 of the United Nations Charter provides that the various
specialised agencies established by inter-governmental
agreement and having wide international responsibility, as
defined in their basic instruments economic, social, cultural,
educational, health and related fields shall be brought into
relationship with the United Nations in accordance with Article
63. Such agencies thus brought into relationship with the
United Nations are called specialised agencies of the United
Nations.
Article 63 provides that the Economic and Social Council
may enter into agreements with any of the agencies referred to
in Article 57 defining the terms, on which the agency
concerned shall be brought into relationship with the United
Nations, such agreements shall be subject to the approval by
the General Assembly. The Economic and Social Council may
co-ordinate the activities of the specialised agencies through
consultation with and recommendations to such agencies and
through recommendations to the General Assembly and to the
members of the United Nations.
Article 59 further provides that the organisation shall,
where appropriate initiate negotiations among the States
concerned for the creation of any specialised agencies required
for the accomplishment of the purpose set forth in Article 55.

FEATURES OF SPEALIZED
AGENCIES
All the specialized agencies have the following common
features:(i)

The legal existence is the result of inter-governmental

agreements and most of the States are the members of
these specialized agencies.
(ii) All the Specialised agencies have been brought into
relationship with the United Nations through special
agreements.
(iii) Each specialised agency has a Constitution or Charter of
its own which describes the duties, functions,
constitution, etc. of the organisation.
(iv) Each specialised agency has almost the same general
constitution. For example, each specialised agency has
an
Assembly
or
Conference
which
has
the
representation of all the members; each has an
Executive Council or Committee which performs
executive or supervisory functions and each has a
Director or Secretary-General whose functions are same
to that of Secretary-General of the United Nations.
(v) Each specialised agency has a Secretariat of its own.

SPECIALIZED
AGENCIES
Some of the notable specialized agencies are
mentioned below:(1) International-labour Organisation (I.L.O.)
International Labour Organisation was established in
1919 as an autonomous partner of the League of Nations.
Its Head Office is situated in Geneva. It was brought into
relationship with the United Nations in 1946 through a
special agreement. This special agreement was approved
by the General Assembly on December 14, 1946.
International Labour Organisation functions in close
collaboration with the United Nations. I.L.O. was awarded
the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1969.
Composition and Functions- Its membership is open
for all the States. In 1970 it had 121 States as its
members. At present it has more than 150 members.
Following are the main organs of_the International Labour
Organisation:
(a) General Conference- Each Member State gets
representation in the General Conference. Each State has
4 representatives in the General Conferencetwo
representativesof the State Government and one each
representative of the workers and employers. Each
representative has one vote. Most of the decisions of the
Conference are in the form of Conventions and
recommendations and they require the majority of twothird members present and voting.
(b) Governing Body- The Governing body comprises
of 54 members and is a tripartite body and includes the
representatives of State Governments employers and

workers. The Governing Body appoints the Director

General and supervises the functions of the organisation.
(c) International Labour Offices or Secretariat- The
head of the International Labour Office is a Director
General. Its head-office is situated in Geneva and its
branches are in New York and in several countries of
Europe and Asia. Its main function is to collect
informations
related to industrial life and labour and to assist the
members to make laws in accordance with the decisions of
the General Conference.
(2) World Health Organisation (W.H.O.)
For the establishment of the World Health Organisation,
the Economic and Social Council called an International
Health Conference in New York in July, 1946. Representatives
of 46 States participated in this conference. On July, 22,
1946, the World Health Organisation adopted its constitution.
In July, 1948, this organisation was brought into relationship
with the United Nations and finally on September 1, 1948, it
started functioning as a permanent organisation.
Objectives and functions- The main functions of the
World Health Organisation is to raise the standard of health
of the people. In order to achieve its objective this
Organisation performs many functions such as to assist the
State Governments in strengthening their health service; to
give them technical assistance and advice in emergency; to
make plans to eradicate diseases and to implement them;
and to propose international conventions and agreements on
matters of health.
Composition- The membership of the World Health
Organisation is open for all the States who accept its
constitution. In addition to sovereign States, some other
territories and entities as are not States, may also become its
members. At present as many as 192 State Parties are its
members.
WHO has three main organs:-

(a) World Health Assembly, consisting of the delegates

of the member States of the Organisation. The
Assembly meets annually to determine the policies and
programmes of WHO.
(b) The Executive Board, comprising of 31 members are
elected by the World Health Assembly, for three years
term. The Board is a technical and non-political organ
which meets at least twice a year to give effect to its
decisions.
(c)
The Secretariat which has regional offices and field
staff throughout the World is headed by a DirectorGeneral who is appointed by the Assembly. The
Headquarters of the WHO is located in Geneva, but the
activities of the Organisation have been largely
decentralized to six regional organizations.
(3) United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organisation (UNESCO)
For the establishment of the United Nations Educational,
scientific and Cultural Organisation a conference was held in
London in November, 1945. It was finally established on
November, 14, 1946. Thereafter it was brought into
relationship with the United Nations through a special
agreement which was approved by the General Assembly on
December, 14, 1946.
Objectives and functions- It aims to contribute for the
maintenance of international peace and security by creating
respect for the rule of law, human rights and fundamental
freedoms through the medium of education, science and
culture. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organisation has laid a great emphasis on the
development of basic education. It also encourages research
work in the field of science. It has rendered signal services
for the development of knowledge and its dissemination. In
order to achieve these objectives, it assists State and nonState institutions.
Composition- Each member of the United Nations can
become its member. Other States may be made the member
of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural

Organisation through two-thirds majority of General

Conference. Following are the main organs of the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation:(a) General Conference- The Governing Body which is
composed of representatives from each member state.
It determines the main lines of the work 0f the
organisation and considers reports from member states.
It elects members of the Executive Board and the
Director-General (with the consent of the Executive
Board). It meets annually. However, its extraordinary
session can be called by the Executive Board. It also
approves the nnancial budget of the organisation.
(b) The Executive Board- It consists of 24 members
elected for a term of 3 years. It is responsible for the
execution of the programmes adopted by the General
Conference. The Board also examines the reports of the
Director-General before transmitting them to the
General Conference.
(c) The Secretariat- It consists of the Secretary-General
and such other officers as may be necessary. The
Director-General holds ofiice for 6 years. He is
authorised to participate in the proceedings of the
General Conference as well as the Executive Board, but
does not possess any vote. The Secretariat puts the
programmes into action.
(4) Food and Agricultural Organisation (F.A.O.)
It was established on 16th October, 1945 when its
constitution was adopted. Thereafter, it was brought into
relationship with the United Nations and this agreement
was approved by the General Assembly in December, 1946.
Objective and functions- It aims to raise the living
standards to increase the production of food-stuffs and to
enhance the capacity of their distribution; to improve the
conditions of the rural population and thus to improve the
economic system of the world. In order to achieve these
objectives, the organisation performs various types of
technical functions. It collects informations related to food

and agriculture and disseminates them. It also assists the

member States in their endeavours to production of foodstuffs.
Composition- The following are the three main organs
of the Food and Agricultural Organisation:
(a) Conference;
(b) Council; and
(c) Director-General.
The Conference is the representative body and is
represented by the member States. It lays down the
general policy .of the Organisation. The Council comprises
of 27 members who are elected by the Conference. The
Council elects its President. The Director-General is
appointed by the Conference.
Currently it has more than 186 members. In 2002, the
World Food Summit was held and was attended by
delegations from 179 countries plus the European
Commission. Ten Summit reaffirm the commitment of the
international community to reduce hunger by half by the
year 2015.

(5) International Civil Aviation Organisation (I.C.A.O.)

From November 1 to December 7, 1944, an International Civil
Aviation Conference was held in Chicago. In this Conference it
was decided to establish an International Civil Aviation
Organisation. It was finally established on 4th April, 1947.
The chief aim of this Organisation is to encourage and
develop international Civil Aviation. This organisation has the
following main organs:
(a)
(b)

Assembly;
Council.

The Assembly is the representative body and all the

member-States are its members. The Council comprises of 27
members which are elected by the Assembly for a term of 3
years. The Council collects informations for the development
of International Civil Aviation; conducts investigations and
publishes information relating to civil aviation. It also makes
recommendations in regard to the standards and practices of
the International Civil Aviation. If on account of certain
circumstances there are obstructions in International Civil
Aviation, the Council conducts investigations and acts as an
Arbitration Council to decide the disputes amongst the States.
(6) International
Bank
for
Reconstruction
and
Development(I.B.R.D.)
It was established on December 27, 1946. Thereafter, it
was brought into relationship with the United Nations through
a special agreement which was approved by the General
Assembly on November 15, 1947. Its main objective is to
assist
the
member-States
in
re-construction
and
development by investing capital. It also encourages
investments of foreign capital by giving guarantee for the
same. It also aims to encourage the balanced Development
of International Trade. Its membership is open for all those
States who were the members of International Monetary
Fund before 3lst December, 1945. Others may be admitted
as members through the majority decision of the Board of
Governors.
The Bank has the following main organs:(a) Board of Governors;
(b) Executive Directors; and
(c) President.
The Board of Governors comprises of a Governor and an
alternate member. It is constituted for a term of 5 years and
holds its session once in a year. All the powers of the Bank
are concentrated in the Board. The Board has delegated its
powers to 18 Executive Directors who perform the general
functions Of the Bank. The Executive Directors elect a

President who is responsible to the organisation and presides

over the meetings of the Executive Directors.
(7)

International Monetary Fund (IMF)International Monetary Fund was established under the
Bretton Woods Agreement on December 27, 1947 when
representatives of 29 countries whose quotas amounted to
80 per cent of the Funds resources had deposited their
ratification of the Agreement. The IMF became a specialized
agency in 1947. Membership in the IMF is open to every
country that controls its foreign relations and is able and
prepared to fulfil the obligations of membership. Membership
of the Fund is a pre-requisite to membership in the World
Bank (IBRD) which indicates that there is a close working
relationship between the two organisations. Articles of
Agreement of the IMF have been amended by the First
Amendment which came into effect in 1969 and by the
Second Amendment which came into force on April 1, 1978.
The purposes for the creation of IMF are laid down
under Article 1 of the Agreement which are as follows :i. To promote international monetary cooperation through a
permanent institution which provides the machinery for
consultation and collaboration on international monetary
problems.
ii. To facilitate the expansion and balanced growth of
international trade, and to contribute thereby to the
production and maintenance of high levels of employment
and real income and to the development qf the productive
resources of all members as primary objectives of
economic policy.
iii.
To promote exchange stability, maintain orderly exchange
arrangements among members, and to avoid competitive
exchange depreciation.
iv. To assist in the establishment of a multilateral system of
payments with respect to current transactions between
members and in the elimination of foreign exchange
restrictions which hamper the growth of world trade.

v.

vi.

To give confidence to members by making the general

resources of the Fund temporarily available to them under
adequate safeguards, thus providing them with
opportunity to correct maladjustments in their balance of
payments without resorting to measures destructive of
national or international prosperity.
In accordance with the above, to shorten the duration
and lessen the degree of disequilibrium in the
international balances of payments of members.

CONCLUSION

The specialised agencies of the United Nations

have done commendable work in various fields. They
have proved to be greatly helpful in achieving the
objectives mentioned in the Charter of the United
Nations. Among the most important specialised
agencies the International Labour Organisation. Food
and Agriculture Organisation, World Health Organisation
and the United Nations, Educational, Scientific and
Cultural organisation deserve a special mention. It may,
however, be noted that there are certain limitations of
these Organisations in respect of implementing their
decisions. The wide functions and objectives of the
specialised agencies represent a board attempt to cope
with the basic social and economic problems facing the
world. It is just a beginning however, and the success
achieved by the agencies will depend primarily upon
the political climate in which they must work.