Important International Institutions and Agencies · UPPCS (Uttar Pradesh)

What the official syllabus says

Main Examination, General Studies II:

Important International Institutions, Agencies: their structure, mandate and functioning.

UN Charter (signed 26 June 1945, in force 24 October 1945); purposes and principles
Principal organs: General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council, Trusteeship Council (suspended since 1994), International Court of Justice (The Hague, 15 judges), Secretariat
Security Council: five permanent members with the veto, ten non-permanent members elected for two years; India's terms as a non-permanent member (most recently 2021-22)
Reform of the Security Council: the G4 (India, Brazil, Germany, Japan), the Uniting for Consensus group, the African common position
UN peacekeeping and India's contribution of troops
UN Human Rights Council (2006) and the Universal Periodic Review

Specialised agencies: WHO (Geneva), ILO (1919, Geneva), FAO (Rome), UNESCO (Paris), ICAO, IMO, ITU, WIPO, IFAD, UNIDO, WMO
Funds and programmes: UNDP, UNICEF, UNEP (Nairobi), World Food Programme, UNFPA, UNHCR
Related organisations: International Atomic Energy Agency
WHO: International Health Regulations; the pandemic agreement adopted by the World Health Assembly in 2025
UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (scientific assessments)

International Monetary Fund: quotas, voting shares, Special Drawing Rights, surveillance and lending; quota reform
World Bank Group: IBRD, IDA, IFC, MIGA and ICSID
IMF Article IV consultations with member countries; India's graduation from World Bank IDA lending (2014)
World Trade Organization (1995, after the Uruguay Round): most-favoured-nation and national treatment rules, Agreement on Agriculture, dispute settlement and the stalled Appellate Body, India's position on public stockholding for food security

Asian Development Bank (1966, Manila), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (2016, Beijing), New Development Bank (2015, Shanghai)
Financial Action Task Force (1989, Paris): grey and black lists
Bank for International Settlements; OECD; Interpol
International Criminal Court (India not a party to the Rome Statute)
Bodies headquartered in India: International Solar Alliance (Gurugram), Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (New Delhi)

Representation of developing countries in voting and leadership
Funding constraints and dependence on major donors
Effectiveness in conflicts, pandemics and climate change; calls for reformed multilateralism