A Beginner’s Guide to the International System, compiled by D. Kauneckis

This is designed to be an overview of some of the most important organizations of the international system. It includes a selection of primarily formal, government-sanctioned organizations, and is not complete. They are organized according to the following categories: United National System, United Nations Regional Commissions, Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, International Financial Institutions, Commodity-Based Organizations, Regional Organizations (Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe, Oceania, Middle East, Polar Regions), and Non-Governmental Organizations. For a short history and membership, consult the Political Reference Almanac (http://www.polisci.com/almanac/organs.htm).

United Nations System Official Organizational chart with hyperlinks to the below Organs and Programs. http://www.un.org/aboutun/chart.html UN Secretariat, Organs and Their Subsidiary Bodies and Special Programs (Links are available via the UN Organization Website Location http://www.unsystem.org/ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) International Court of Justice (ICJ) International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia International Labor Organization (ILO) International Maritime Organization (IMO) International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Sierra Leone Special Court UN Capital Development Fund UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) UN Development Program (UNDP) UN Development Programme (UNDP) UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) UN Environmental Program (UNEP) UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) World Food Program (WFP) World Health Organization (WHO) World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) World Trade Organization (WTO) {formerly the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)} United Nations Regional Commissions Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) CIAT - Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical CIFOR - Center for International Forestry Research CIMMYT - Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maiz y Trigo CIP - Centro Internacional de la Papa ICARDA - International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas ICLARM - International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management ICRAF - International Centre for Research in Agroforestry ICRISAT - International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics IFPRI - International Food Policy Research Institute IITA - International Institute of Tropical Agriculture ILRI - International Livestock Research Institute IPGRI - International Plant Genetic Resources Institute IRRI - International Rice Research Institute ISNAR - International Service for National Agricultural Research IWMI - International Water Management Institute WARDA - West Africa Rice Development Association	Regional Organizations (Non-United Nations) Africa African National Congress (ANC) Organization Of African Unity (OAU) Pan African Development Information System (PADIS) Americas African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States, General Secretariate Andean Community Association of Caribbean States Caribbean Community (Caricom) Inter-American Development Bank MERCOSUL (via Ministério das Relações Exteriores, Brazil) Organization of American States (OAS) Organization of Eastern Caribbean States NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC) North American Development Bank ( NADBank ) Asia Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Asian Development Bank (ADB) Europe Council of the Baltic Sea States Commonwealth of Independent States Council of Europe European Court of Human Rights Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe European Union European Court of Justice European Bank for Reconstruction and Development International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Nordic Council Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe Western European Union (WEU) Western European Armaments Group Middle East Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) League of Arab States Union of Arab Maghreb (UMA) Oceania South Pacific Trade Commission (SPTC) Pacific Community Pacific Islands Development Program (PIDP) South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) Polar Regions Arctic Council Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources
International Financial Institutions Bank for International Settlements (BIS) International Monetary Fund (IMF) North American Development Bank (NADB) UN Regional Development Banks African Development Bank Asian Development Bank European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) World Bank Group International Bank for Reconstruction & Development (IBRD) International Finance Corporation (IFC) Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA)	Commodity-Based Organizations See IMF’s Directory of Economic, Commodity and Development Organizations for a complete list: http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/decdo/contents.htm Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission International Coffee Organization International Cotton Advisory Committee International Rubber Study Group International Sugar Council International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) International Whaling Commission Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) The North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC)
Non-Governmental Organizations Institute for Global Communications-Member Directory (http://www.igc.org/igc/gateway/members/index.html) International Organizations (Links to both IGO's and NGO's from the Yearbook of International Organizations, http://www.uia.org/website.htm). NGO Cafe (http://www.gdrc.org/ngo/) NGONet (Focuses on Eastern and Central Europe, http://www.ngo.org/ )	Other Non-UN International and Regional Organizations International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) Multinational Force and Observers (MFO)