The Charter established six principal organs of the United Nations: the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council, the International Court of Justice, and the Secretariat. The United Nations family, however, is much larger, encompassing 15 agencies and several programmes and bodies.
General Assembly
The following Bodies report directly to the General Assembly.Main Committees
Subsidiary Bodies
Advisory Subsidiary Body
Programmes and Funds
- International Trade Centre (ITC)
- Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
- United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
- United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
- United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
- United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
- United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
- United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT)
- United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
- United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)
- United Nations World Food Programme (WFP)
Research and Training Institutes
- United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR)
- United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR)
- United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI)
- United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD)
Other UN Entities
- International Computing Centre (ICC)
- Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)
- United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS)
- United Nations System Staff College (UNSSC)
- United Nations University (UNU)
- UN Women
Security Council
The following bodies report directly to the Security Council.Subsidiary Bodies
- 1540 Committee
- Counter-Terrorism Committee
- International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY)
- International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR)
- Military Staff Committee
- Peacekeeping Operations and Missions
- Sanctions Committees
- Standing Committees and Ad Hoc Committees
- UN Compensation Commission
- Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict
- Informal Working Group on Documentation and Other Procedural Questions
Advisory Subsidiary Body
Economic and Social Council
The following bodies report directly to Economic and Social Council.Functional Commissions
- Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice
- Commission on Narcotic Drugs
- Commission on Population and Development
- Commission on Science and Technology for Development
- Commission for Social Development
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Commission on Sustainable Development
- Statistical Commission
- United Nations Forum on Forests
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)
Standing Committees
- Committee on Negotiations with Intergovernmental Agencies
- Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations
- Committee for Programme and Coordination
Ad hoc bodies
- Ad hoc Open-ended Working Group on Informatics
Expert Bodies composed of governmental experts
- Committee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods and on the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals
- United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names
- UN Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (GGIM)
- Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts on International Standards of Accounting and Reporting
Expert Bodies composed of members serving in their personal capacity
- Committee for Development Policy
- Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
- Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters
- Committee of Experts on Public Administration
- Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
Other related Bodies
- Executive Board of the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women
- International Narcotics Control Board
- Committee for the United Nations Population Award
- Programme Coordinating Board of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS
Trusteeship Council
International Court of Justice
Secretariat
Specialized Agencies, Related Organizations, Funds, and other UN Entities
Specialized Agencies
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
- International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
- International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
- International Labour Organization (ILO)
- International Maritime Organization (IMO)
- International Monetary Fund (IMF)
- International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
- United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
- United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)
- Universal Postal Union (UPU)
- World Bank Group
- World Health Organization (WHO)
- World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
- World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
- World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)
Related Organizations
- International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) (2)
- Preparatory Commission for the Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) (3)
- Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) (3)
- World Trade Organization (WTO)
Secretariats of Conventions
- Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)
- United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
UN Trust Funds
- United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF) (4)
- United Nations Fund for International Partnerships (UNFIP) (5)
NOTES:
(1) The United Nations Peacebuilding Commission has a direct reporting relationship with the Security Council and the General Assembly, and non-subsidiary relationship with the Economic and Social Council and the Office of the Secretary-General.(2) The IAEA reports to the Security Council and the General Assembly (GA).
(3) The CTBTO Preparatory Commission and OPCW report to the GA.
(4) UNDEF’s Advisory Board recommends funding proposals for approval by the Secretary-General.
(5) UNFIP is an autonomous trust fund operating under the leadership of the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General.