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India gets elected to 4 UN ECOSOC bodies

India gets elected to 4 UN ECOSOC bodies

What is the news :

  • India has been elected to the United Nations Economic and Social Council’s (ECOSOC) four major bodies, including the Commission on Science and Technology for Development.
  • To the Committee for Economic, Social and Cultural Right, Ambassador Preeti Saran has been re-elected.
  • In 2018, she was first elected to the Asia Pacific seat on the UN’s Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights.
  • On 1st January 2019 her first four-year term began.

The 4 bodies to which India has been elected

  • The Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights
  • The Commission for Social Development
  • The Committee on Non-Governmental Organisations
  • The Commission on Science and Technology for Development

ECOSOC Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

  • It is a body of 18 independent experts that looks to monitor the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights by its State Parties implementation. This committee lays down the rights to adequate education, adequate food, housing, health, sanitation, water, and work.

About Commission of Social Development (CSocD)

  • The Commission for Social Development (CSocD), since the World Summit for Social Development that was held in Copenhagen, has become the United Nation’s key body in charge of the implementation and follow-up of the Copenhagen Declaration and Programme for Action. The CSocD’s purpose is to advise ECOSOC on various social policies along with pieces of advice on all social field-related matters that are not covered by the specialized inter-governmental agencies.

About Committee on Non-Governmental Organisations

  • This is ECOSOC’s standing committee and was established in 1946. The committee’s main tasks include considering petitions for consultative status and reclassification requests that are submitted by non-governmental organizations.

About UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development

  • It is a subsidiary body of the ECOSOC that holds an annual intergovernmental forum to discuss pertinent issues that are affecting science, technology, and development. It also provides the ECOSOC and the UNGA with high-level advice that is related to the fields of science and technology issues.

About United Nations (UN):

  • The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization aiming to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations.
  • It is the world’s largest and most familiar international organization.
  • Headquarter – New York city
  • Founded – 24 october 1945
  • Members – 193 member states, 2 observer states
  • Secretary General – Antonio guterres.

Recent news about united nations and india :

India Contributes $500,000 To UN Agency For Women Empowerment

  • India has contributed USD 500,000 to the UN Women, the United Nations agency for gender equality and women empowerment for their core budget.

UN cuts India growth forecast to 4.6% in 2022

  • India’s projected economic growth for 2022 has been downgraded by over 2% to 4. 6% by the United Nations.
  • The downgrade is attributed to the war in Ukraine, with New Delhi expected to face restraints on energy access and prices, reflexes from trade sanctions, food inflation, tightening policies and financial instability.

India ranks 136th on the World Happiness report compiled by United Nations

  • India ranked 136th on the World Happiness Report compiled and released by the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network on Saturday.
  • It has ranked a total of 150 countries.
  • Finland was deemed the happiest country
  • Afghanistan ranked last on the list.

UN-FAO: Mumbai and Hyderabad recognized as ‘2021 Tree City of the World’

  • Mumbai and Hyderabad have been jointly recognised as ‘2021 Tree City of the World’ by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (UN-FAO) and Arbor Day Foundation.

Indian economist Jayati Ghosh named by UN to high-level advisory board on multilateralism

  • UN chief Guterres announced the establishment of the Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism to be co-chaired by former Liberian president and Nobel Laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and former Swedish prime minister Stefan Lofven.
  • Ghosh has been named to the 12-member board, which will be supported in its work by the Centre for Policy Research of the United Nations University in close coordination with the Executive Office of the Secretary-General.

Important Organizations related to United Nations :

UNDP

  • Headquarters: New York City, USA
  • The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) works in nearly 170 countries and territories, helping to eradicate poverty, reduce inequalities and build resilience so countries can sustain progress. As the UN’s development agency, UNDP plays a critical role in helping countries achieve the Sustainable Development Goals

UN-HABITAT

  • Headquarters: Nairobi, Kenya
  • The mission of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) is to promote socially and environmentally sustainable human settlements development and the achievement of adequate shelter for all.

UNEP

  • Headquarters: Nairobi, Kenya
  • The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) established in 1972, is the voice for the environment within the United Nations system. UNEP acts as a catalyst, advocate, educator and facilitator to promote the wise use and sustainable development of the global environment.

UNICEF

  • Headquarters: New York City, USA
  • The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) works in 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, to defend their rights, and to help them fulfil their potential, from early childhood through adolescence.

UNFPA

  • Headquarters: New York City, USA
  • The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is the lead UN agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe, and every young person’s potential is fulfilled.

WFP

  • Headquarters: Rome, Italy
  • The World Food Programme aims to eradicate hunger and malnutrition. The world’s largest humanitarian agency, WFP helps almost 100 million people in approximately 88 countries with assistance every year through food or cash distributions and more. The World Food Programme was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2020.

FAO

  • Headquarters: Rome, Italy
  • The Food and Agriculture Organization leads international efforts to fight hunger. It is both a forum for negotiating agreements between developing and developed countries and a source of technical knowledge and information to aid development.

UNIDO

  • Headquarters: Vienna, Austria
  • The United Nations Industrial Development Organization is the specialized agency of the United Nations that promotes industrial development for poverty reduction, inclusive globalization and environmental sustainability.

UNWTO

  • Headquarters: Madrid, Spain
  • The World Tourism Organization is the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.

WHO

  • Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland
  • The World Health Organization is the directing and coordinating authority on international health within the United Nations system. The objective of WHO is the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health. Health, as defined in the WHO Constitution, is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

IMF

  • Headquarters: Washington, DC, USA
  • The International Monetary Fund fosters economic growth and employment by providing temporary financial assistance to countries to help ease balance of payments adjustment and technical assistance. The IMF currently has $28 billion in outstanding loans to 74 nations.

IMO

  • Headquarters: London, United Kingdom
  • The International Maritime Organization has created a comprehensive shipping regulatory framework, addressing safety and environmental concerns, legal matters, technical cooperation, security, and efficiency.

UNESCO

  • Headquarters: Paris, France
  • The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization focuses on everything from teacher training to helping improve education worldwide to protecting important historical and cultural sites around the world.

WORLD BANK

  • Headquarters: Washington, DC, USA
  • The World Bank focuses on poverty reduction and the improvement of living standards worldwide by providing low-interest loans, interest-free credit, and grants to developing countries for education, health, infrastructure, and communications, among other things. The World Bank works in over 100 countries.
  • International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)
  • International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)
  • International Development Association (IDA)
  • International Finance Corporation (IFC)
  • Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA)

UNAIDS

  • Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland
  • The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths.
  • UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals.

UN WOMEN

  • Headquarters: New York City, USA
  • UN Women merges and builds on the important work of four previously distinct parts of the UN system, which focus exclusively on gender equality and women’s empowerment.

WTO

  • Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland
  • The World Trade Organization is a forum for governments to negotiate trade agreements, and a place where member governments try to sort out the trade problems they face with each other.

ITC

  • Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland
  • The International Trade Centre (ITC) is the only development agency that is fully dedicated to supporting the internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Established in 1964, the ITC is the joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations.