Internet Governance Glossary - 7.1 Intergovernmental organizations
The UN (established 1945) together with many of its specialized agencies is forming a system of intergovernmental organizations with all kinds of sub-organizations/institutions which to some degree are all involved in Internet governance activities.
The OHCR (established 1993) is the UN institution of global scope formally responsible for the UN Human Rights Programme.
UNCTAD (established 1964) is the principal organ of the UN General Assembly dealing with trade, investment, and development issues – incl. those related to the Internet.
CSTD (established 1993), a subsidary body of ECOSOC (see below), is inter alia responsible for many follow-up activities to WSIS, the World Summit on Information Society. It is also connected to UNCTAD.
ECOSOC (established 1945) is one of the principal organs of the United Nations (UN). In regard to Internet Governance, its primarily relevant sub-body is the Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD). (see above)
UNDP (established 1965) is a UN institution providing expert advice, training, and grant support to developing countries – incl. Internet implementation and utilization. [Siochrú 2007a]
WIPO (established 1967) is a UN institution of high authority especially with respect to the negotiation of international treaties in the field of intellectual property rights (IPR) and related topics. [Gross 2007]
http://www.wipo.int/portal/en/index.html
UNESCO (established 1946) is a specialized agency of the UN highly influential among others on the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) as well as in follow-up activities, such as the WSIS Forum. Among international Internet governance institutions, there is one topic that appears to be addressed practically exclusively by UNESCO: cultural participation, cultural diversity and record of historical heritage including multilingualism and languages in danger of extinction.
ITU (established 1965) today is a specialized agency of the UN and one of the key international organisations involved in the regulation of telecommunications. It is developing rules for coordination among national telecommunication systems, the allocation of the radio spectrum, and the management of satellite positioning.
WTO (established 1995), an intergovernmental organization (IGO) setting global rules of trade between nations, is one of the key international organisations involved in the regulation of telecommunications by playing a key role in the liberalisation of telecommunication markets worldwide.
UNECE was established 1947 as a UN institution to encouraging economic cooperation among its member states.
OECD is an intergovernmental organization (IGO) established (1948; reformed 1961) with the stated goal "to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world" seek answers to common problems, identify good practices and co-ordinate domestic and international policies of its members. OECD potentially covers all Internet governance topics.
CoE is an international organisation established 1949 to promote co-operation in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and culture.
ICC (established 1919) is the largest, most representative business organization in the world with hundreds of thousands of member companies in over 130 countries. It keeps in touch with the UN, the World Trade Organization (WTO), and many other intergovernmental bodies, both international and regional, to voice the views of international business.
ALECSO works to coordinate Educational, Cultural and Scientific activities in the Arab world. It is premised on the values of tolerance, moderation, respect for others and cultural diversity. ALECSO organization was established and officially announced in Cairo on 25 July 1970.
The Economic Commission for Western Asia (ECWA) was established on 9 August 1973 pursuant to the Economic and Social Council’s resolution 1818 (LV). The purpose of setting up the Commission was to raise the level of economic activity in member countries and strengthen cooperation among them.
The Commission was entrusted with new responsibilities in the social field by virtue of Economic and Social Council resolution 69/1985 of July 1985. Its name therefore become the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA). http://www.escwa.un.org