At present the UN has in total 15 specialized agencies that carry out various functions on behalf of the UN. The specialized agencies are listed below.

The United Nations (UN) sole function is to provide humanitarian aid around the world.

The founders of the League of Nations were desperate to avoid a repetition of the horrors of the Great War. The main aims of the organisation included disarmament, preventing war through collective security, settling disputes between countries through negotiation and diplomacy, and improving global welfare.

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Here are 14 important UN agencies and their roles as per their order of establishment:

• International Development Association (IDA)
• United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
• United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP)
• World Trade Organisation (WTO)
• United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
• UN Women.

The main bodies of the United Nations are the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council, the International Court of Justice, and the UN Secretariat. All were established under the UN Charter when the Organization was founded in 1945.

The UN is funded in two ways—through mandatory payments and voluntary contributions. Each of the organization’s 193 members is required to pay a percentage of both the UN’s regular operating budget and the peacekeeping budget.

International Fund for Agricultural Development. International Labour Organization.

Although the WTO is not a UN specialized agency, it has maintained strong relations with the UN and its agencies since its establishment. The WTO Director General participates to the Chief Executive Board which is the organ of coordination within the UN system.

The United Nations System consists of the United Nations’ six principal organs (the General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Trusteeship Council, International Court of Justice (ICJ), and the UN Secretariat), the Specialized Agencies and related organizations.

UN specialized agencies are international organizations working with the UN, in accordance with relationship agreements between each organization and the UN. Article 58 of the Charter states that the UN will make “recommendations for the co-ordination of the policies and activities of the specialized agencies”.

The UN has 4 main purposes

• To keep peace throughout the world;
• To develop friendly relations among nations;
• To help nations work together to improve the lives of poor people, to conquer hunger, disease and illiteracy, and to encourage respect for each other’s rights and freedoms;

Vatican City

The Roman Catholic Church was elected to participate in the UN as the “Holy See”. Unlike any other modern nation, the Vatican City does not support its citizen; rather it provides a base for the central administration of the Roman Catholic Church. The “Holy See” was regarded as a “nonmember state” in the UN.