Revision

International Organisations and Headquarters

A compact, tabular revision of major international and regional organisations, their headquarters, founding years and heads, plus UN bodies and groupings, for CAPF current events and international relations

CAPF wiki3 min read8 sections
At a glance
SubjectCurrent Events
RevisionInternational RelationsOrganisationsHeadquartersUnPaper 1

One screen per section. Cover the right column and test yourself. Headquarters and founding years are durable; heads of organisations rotate, so for any named office-holder verify the latest. Group memberships occasionally change, so confirm the current roster of bodies like the UN Security Council non-permanent seats and the G20 chair.

United Nations: the core

Body Headquarters Note
United Nations (UN) New York, USA Founded 24 October 1945; 193 member states
UN General Assembly New York All members, one vote each
UN Security Council New York 5 permanent (US, UK, France, Russia, China) plus 10 non-permanent
International Court of Justice The Hague, Netherlands Principal judicial organ of the UN
UN Secretariat New York Headed by the Secretary-General

UN specialised agencies and programmes

Agency Headquarters Focus
WHO Geneva, Switzerland Health
UNESCO Paris, France Education, science, culture
ILO Geneva Labour standards
FAO Rome, Italy Food and agriculture
IMF Washington DC, USA Monetary stability, balance of payments
World Bank Washington DC Development finance
UNICEF New York Children's welfare
UNHCR Geneva Refugees
IAEA Vienna, Austria Atomic energy, nuclear safeguards
WIPO Geneva Intellectual property
UNIDO Vienna Industrial development
WMO Geneva Meteorology

Trade, finance and economic bodies

Body Headquarters Note
WTO Geneva, Switzerland Multilateral trade rules; founded 1995
OECD Paris, France Group of developed economies
OPEC Vienna, Austria Oil-exporting countries
Asian Development Bank (ADB) Manila, Philippines Regional development bank
AIIB Beijing, China Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
New Development Bank Shanghai, China BRICS bank

Security, defence and political bodies

Body Headquarters Note
NATO Brussels, Belgium North Atlantic military alliance
Interpol Lyon, France International criminal police cooperation
OPCW The Hague, Netherlands Chemical weapons prohibition; won Nobel Peace Prize 2013
Amnesty International London, UK Human rights advocacy
ICRC (Red Cross) Geneva, Switzerland Humanitarian law and aid

Regional and plurilateral groupings

Grouping Headquarters / seat Note
ASEAN Jakarta, Indonesia Southeast Asian nations
SAARC Kathmandu, Nepal South Asian regional cooperation
European Union Brussels, Belgium Political and economic union
African Union Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Continental body
Arab League Cairo, Egypt Arab states
BIMSTEC Dhaka, Bangladesh Bay of Bengal cooperation
Commonwealth London, UK Former British territories

Groupings without a fixed secretariat

Grouping Note
G7 Seven major advanced economies; no permanent secretariat
G20 Major economies plus EU and African Union; rotating presidency (India hosted in 2023)
BRICS Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, with newer members; rotating chair
QUAD India, USA, Japan, Australia; Indo-Pacific consultation
SCO Shanghai Cooperation Organisation; secretariat in Beijing
NAM Non-Aligned Movement; no permanent secretariat

Environment and other notable bodies

Body Headquarters Focus
UNEP Nairobi, Kenya Environment
IUCN Gland, Switzerland Conservation; publishes the Red List
IRENA Abu Dhabi, UAE Renewable energy
International Olympic Committee Lausanne, Switzerland Olympic movement
International Solar Alliance Gurugram, India Solar-rich nations; co-founded by India and France

Cross-references

← BackAll of Revision