Top Global intergovernmental organizations

1. United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945.  It is currently made up of 193 Member States.  The mission and work of the United Nations are guided by the purposes and principles contained in its founding Charter.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations is a symbol of the Organization’s ideals and a spokesman for the interests of the world’s peoples, in particular the poor and vulnerable. The current Secretary-General of the UN, and the ninth occupant of the post, is Mr António Guterres of Portugal, who took office on 1 January 2017. The UN Charter describes the Secretary-General as “chief administrative officer” of the Organization.

The UN system, also known unofficially as the ‘UN family’, is made up of the UN itself and many programmes, funds, and specialized agencies, all with their own leadership and budget.  The programmes and funds are financed through voluntary rather than assessed contributions. The Specialized Agencies are independent international organizations funded by both voluntary and assessed contributions.

UN Specialized Agencies

• World Bank

The world bank group has two goals,

to end extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity in a sustainable way

• International Monetary Fund

The International Monetary Fund, or IMF, promotes international financial stability and monetary cooperation. It also facilitates international trade, promotes employment and sustainable economic growth, and helps to reduce global poverty. The IMF is governed by and accountable to its 189 member countries.  The organization fosters economic growth and employment by providing temporary financial assistance to countries to help ease balance of payments adjustment and technical assistance

• World Bank & IMF e-Library

Direct access to the IMF’s periodicals, books, working papers and studies, and data and statistical tools. Includes content not available through the IMF public website.

• FAO: Food and Agriculture Organization

Focuses on efforts to alleviate hunger through better agricultural practices

• IFAD: International Fund for Agricultural Development

Promotes agricultural development to alleviate rural poverty and hunger.

• ILO: International Labour Organization

Promotes international labour rights by formulating international standards on the freedom to associate, collective bargaining, the abolition of forced labour, and equality of opportunity and treatment.

• IMO: International Maritime Organization

Advocates for a comprehensive shipping regulatory framework, addressing safety and environmental concerns, legal matters, technical cooperation, security, and efficiency.

• ITU: International Telecommunications Union

Focuses on telecommunications and information technology issues.

• UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization
• UNIDO: UN Industrial Development Organization

Focuses on issues of industrial development and poverty reduction

• WHO: World Health Organization

Monitors public health around the world and responds to global health emergencies, pandemics, and works to eradicate diseases.

• WIPO: World Intellectual Property Organization

Protects intellectual property throughout the world through 23 international treaties.

• WMO: World Meteorological Organization

Promotes the free international exchange of meteorological data and information

2. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an international organisation that works to build better policies for better lives. Our goal is to shape policies that foster prosperity, equality, opportunity and well-being for all. We draw on almost 60 years of experience and insights to better prepare the world of tomorrow.

Together with governments, policymakers and citizens, we work on establishing international norms and finding evidence-based solutions to a range of social, economic and environmental challenges. From improving economic performance and creating jobs to fostering strong education and fighting international tax evasion, we provide a unique forum and knowledge hub for data and analysis, exchange of experiences, best-practice sharing, and advice on public policies and global standard-setting.

OECD iLibrary

Full-text book and serial publications not available on the public website. Also includes substantial data sets

3. G7 or G8

The responsibility of host rotates throughout the summit cycle at the end of the calendar year, as follows: France, United States, United Kingdom, Russia (as of 2006), Germany, Japan, Italy and Canada. Throughout the year, the leaders’ personal representatives – known as sherpas – meet regularly to discuss the agenda and monitor progress.

In addition, the G7/8 has developed a network of supporting ministerial meetings, which allow ministers to meet regularly throughout the year in order to continue the work set out at each summit; these include the meetings of the finance ministers, foreign ministers and environment ministers, among others. G7/8 ministers and officials also meet on an ad hoc basis to deal with pressing issues, such terrorism, energy, and development; from time to time the leaders also create task forces or working groups to focus intensively on certain issues of concern, such as a drug-related money laundering, nuclear safety, and transnational organized crime.

4. IAEA: International Atomic Energy Agency

Overseas and monitors the peaceful use of atomic energy around the world.

5. Interparliamentary Union

Everything you need to know about parliaments around the world

6. IOM: International Organization for Migration

Help manage challenges of migration, explores migration issues, and encourages social and economic development through migration.

7. World Trade Organization

A global organization that coordinates trade rules worldwide.

8. Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)

The OPEC MOMR provides a detailed analysis of oil market developments, including oil supply and demand levels, and trends in the world economy.

9. Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

Southeast Asian Nations, international organization established by the governments of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand in 1967 to accelerate economic growth, social progress, and cultural development and to promote peace and security in Southeast Asia.

10. North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO

This is a Political and Military Alliance. Security in our daily lives is key to our well-being. NATO’s purpose is to guarantee the freedom and security of its members through political and military means.

POLITICAL – NATO promotes democratic values and enables members to consult and cooperate on defence and security-related issues to solve problems, build trust and, in the long run, prevent conflict.

MILITARY – NATO is committed to the peaceful resolution of disputes. If diplomatic efforts fail, it has the military power to undertake crisis-management operations. These are carried out under the collective defence clause of NATO’s founding treaty – Article 5 of the Washington Treaty or under a United Nations mandate, alone or in cooperation with other countries and international organisations.

11. African Union (AU)

The African Union (AU) is a continental body consisting of the 55 member states that make up the countries of the African Continent. It was officially launched in 2002 as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU, 1963-1999).

The main objectives of the OAU were to rid the continent of the remaining vestiges of colonisation and apartheid; to promote unity and solidarity amongst African States; to coordinate and intensify cooperation for development; to safeguard the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Member States and to promote international cooperation.

12. Europion Union (EU)

All countries that are part of the European Union work together
to make sure that:

• there is peace in Europe
• people have good lives
• things are fair for all people and nobody is left out
• the languages and cultures of all people
  are respected
• there is a strong European economy
  and countries use the same coin
  to do business together.

The countries of the European Union
share some important values.
For example, they work to make sure that all people are equal and their rights are respected.

13. Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation is an international organization founded in 1969, consisting of 57 member states, with a collective population of over 1.8 billion as of 2015 with 53 countries being Muslim-majority countries. The organisation states that it is “the collective voice of the Muslim world” and works to “safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony”.

The OIC has permanent delegations to the United Nations and the European Union. The official languages of the OIC are Arabic, English, and French.

14. South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)

 The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is the regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union of states in South Asia. Its member states are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. SAARC comprises 3% of the world’s area, 21% of the world’s population and 3.8% (US$2.9 trillion) of the global economy, as of 2015.

SAARC was founded in Dhaka on 8 December 1985. Its secretariat is based in Kathmandu, Nepal. The organization promotes development of economic and regional integration. It launched the South Asian Free Trade Area in 2006. SAARC maintains permanent diplomatic relations at the United Nations as an observer and has developed links with multilateral entities, including the European Union.

15. G20

The Group of Twenty, or the G20, is the premier forum for international economic cooperation. The G20 brings together the leaders of both developed and developing countries from every continent. ​

Collectively, G20 members represent around 80% of the world’s economic output, two-thirds of global population and three-quarters of international trade. Throughout the year, representatives from G20 countries gather to discuss financial and socioeconomic issues.​

16. Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), or Shanghai Pact, is a Eurasian political, economic, and security alliance, the creation of which was announced on 15 June 2001 in Shanghai, China by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan; the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Charter, formally establishing the organisation, was signed in June 2002 and entered into force on 19 September 2003. The original five nations, with the exclusion of Uzbekistan, were previously members of the Shanghai Five group, founded on 26 April 1996. Since then, the organisation has expanded its membership to eight countries when India and Pakistan joined SCO as full members on 9 June 2017 at a summit in Astana, Kazakhstan. The Heads of State Council (HSC) is the supreme decision-making body in the SCO, it meets once a year and adopts decisions and guidelines on all important matters of the organisation. Military exercises are also regularly conducted among members to promote cooperation and coordination against terrorism and other external threats, and to maintain regional peace and stability.

The SCO is widely regarded as the “alliance of the East”, due to its growing centrality in Asia-Pacific, and has been the primary security pillar of the region. It is the largest regional organisation in the world in terms of geographical coverage and population, covering three-fifths of the Eurasian continent and nearly half of the human population.