The United Nations Industrial Development Organization: UNIDO and Problems of International Economic Cooperation

A number of studies devoted to specialized agencies note that their structure is in general similar, consisting of four parts: a higher organ, an executive organ, an organizational organ, and a technical organ (secretariat, specialized commissions, and committees). According to this classification, main organs of an international organization also could be singled out, as was done in the UN charter (six main organs). The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) is the only specialized agency with three main organs.

In conformity with Article 7 of the Constitution, the main organs of UNIDO are the General Conference, the Industrial Development Board (IDB), and the secretariat. The order in which those organs are mentioned in Article 7 implies their significance, which is not directly stressed in the text of the Constitution but follows from their authorities as determined in Articles 8, 9, and 11. ¹

The highest UNIDO organ -- the General Conference -- has a name similar to the higher organs of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the International Labor Organization. It is not, however, always imperative in specialized agencies; other names of the highest organs are Congress, Assembly, and Plenipotentiary Conference.

As the most representative organ of UNIDO, the General Conference includes representatives of all members of the organization. In compliance with Article 8 of the Constitution, regular sessions of the General Conference are convened every two years. There is, however, an important reservation: "if it does not decide otherwise." This makes it possible to convene the General Conference more often, for instance, once a year, on which developing countries insisted. In this case developing countries would have a real opportunity to impose their decisions using their preponderance

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