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UNIDO Full Form

UNIDO Full Form

Edited By Team Careers360 | Updated on Jan 06, 2023 10:03 AM IST

What is the full form of UNIDO ?

A specialised department of the UN, the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), aids nations in their industrial and economic development. With a permanent presence in more than 60 nations, its headquarters are in the UN Office in Vienna, Austria. In its 170 member states as of April 2019, UNIDO establishes its policies, programmes, and guiding principles through its biennial General Conference. The UN General Assembly created UNIDO in 1966 to encourage and hasten the industrialization of developing nations, which were leaving colonial rule in historic numbers and with scant to no industrial infrastructure. It joined the UN's 15 specialised agencies in 1979, and in 1985, a new constitution went into effect. Since its inception, the group has undergone numerous reorganisations and reformations; the 2013 Lima Declaration broadened its mandate to include advancing "inclusive and sustainable industrial development" (ISID), which is defined as maximising human well-being while preserving the environment. The United Nations Development Group, a coalition of UN organisations working to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, includes UNIDO as a member.

Historical context

The United Nations Secretariat conducted a number of studies on a plan for the fast industrialization of poor nations in the early 1950s at the request of the UN Economic and Social Council. These studies are where the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) got its start (ECOSOC). These investigations culminated in an industrialization and productivity work programme developed by the UN Secretary-General in 1956 and approved by ECOSOC and the General Assembly the following year. At that time, it was first proposed to create a special body to address the issues associated with industrialization, whose political organs could free ECOSOC and the General Assembly from having to consider these issues in-depth, and whose secretariat could perform more significant work than the currently existing Industry Section of the Bureau of Economic Affairs within the Secretariat. In 1959, the Secretariat's Industry Section was made into a branch, and in 1962 it was renamed the Industrial Development Centre under the direction of a Commissioner for Industrial Development.

In the aftermath, different advisory committees and inter-organizational organisations reviewed ideas for further institutionalising industrial development-related concerns inside the UN. UNIDO was subsequently established as a special arm of the UN by the UN General Assembly in November 1966. The organisation was formally founded in January 1967, with its main office located in Vienna, Austria. The Industrial Development Centre was replaced by UNIDO with the intention of expanding the operations of the former. In addition to normative operations like serving as a debate forum, doing analytical tasks, and disseminating information, UNIDO also got involved in operational activities, or technical cooperation activities.

Overview

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the associated Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which will guide United Nations and national efforts toward sustainable development in the ensuing fifteen years, acknowledge the relevance of ISID as an integrated approach to all three pillars of sustainable development. SDG-9, which urges "Build resilient infrastructure, promote equitable and sustainable industry, and support innovation," fully acknowledges UNIDO's role. But all SDGs, to a greater or lesser extent, are relevant to ISID.

As a result, the organisation's programming focus is divided into four strategic areas, which are described in the organisation's Medium-Term programme framework 2018–2021:

1. fostering shared prosperity.

2. enhancing economic competitiveness.

3. protecting the environment.

4. bolstering institutions and knowledge

The following four enabling functions of UNIDO are applied in a comprehensive manner across each of these programmatic domains of action to generate successful results and impacts:

1. Technical cooperation.

2. Policy advisory services.

3. Normative functions.

4. Activities connected to standards.

5. Meetings and partnerships for knowledge sharing, networking, and industry cooperation.

Over the past ten years, UNIDO has significantly expanded its technical services in order to fulfil the essential objectives of its mission. At the same time, it has also significantly boosted its financial resource mobilisation, demonstrating the growing international recognition of the organisation as a successful provider of services for catalysing industrial development.

Strategic considerations

  • Fostering mutual prosperity: The development of agro-industries, increasing the involvement of women and young people in productive endeavors, and human security in post-crisis situations are the main areas of focus for UNIDO. The Organization's services for agro-industry development centre on enhancing the connections between agriculture, industry, and markets in order to increase the value of agricultural production. UNIDO facilitates the transition of businesses from the informal to the formal economy, with a focus on making administrative company registration services easier to acquire and more readily available. Additionally, it aims to increase the involvement of women in entrepreneurial endeavours. UNIDO responds to complex emergencies by engaging in activities that promote socioeconomic, environmental, and energy security at the national and local levels. This is based on its experience in post-crisis and human security programmes and projects.

  • Increasing economic competition: Assisting in the development of productive capacities, UNIDO offers consultancy services to enhance the business and policy environment for the private sector. With the aid of its programmes, businesses, particularly SMEs, can increase their creativity and productivity while gaining systemic competitive advantages. By enhancing synergies between businesses and with support organisations, UNIDO intends to empower SMEs to take advantage of their distinctive dynamism and flexibility by building on a strong global network designed to stimulate investment, technology, and other cooperation opportunities.

  • The protection of the environment: UNIDO aids nations in their attempts to manage their environments, including the execution of international environmental treaties and the availability of renewable energy sources. By establishing national road maps for greening the supply chain, choosing benchmarks and indicators, distributing and exchanging best practises, managing clean technology programmes, carrying out various capacity-building activities, and providing the necessary research and expertise to international forums, it aids in the creation of new green industries.

Membership

Membership in UNIDO is open to anyone who is a member of the UN, one of its specialised agencies, or the IAEA. Being a party to the Constitution initiates the process of becoming a member of the organisation. Unless the UNIDO General Conference votes differently, anyone with observer status in the General Assembly of the United Nations may request it. According to the applicable norms of procedure and the Constitution's requirements, the Conference has the power to invite additional observers to participate in the organisation's activities. 170 states, all of which are UN members, are members of UNIDO as of April 1, 2019. Four lists make up the UNIDO members. List A includes all UNIDO nations that are members of the UN's African and Asian Groups (along with Israel, while excluding Cyprus and Japan). List B includes all of the UNIDO members of the UN's WEOG group (along with Cyprus and Japan, and excluding Israel). All of the UNIDO members of the UN's GRULAC group are included in List C. All UNIDO nations in the UN's Eastern European group are included in List D.

The lists, which were originally outlined in General Assembly resolution 2152 Archived 5 January 2017 at the Wayback Machine and the UNIDO Constitution, are used to maintain a geographically balanced representation of member states on the Industrial Development Board and the Programme and Budget Committee.The other UN specialised agency is IFAD; however, UNIDO is the only one whose members are divided into groups. The list of the remaining UNIDO members is comparable to the list of the remaining IFAD members, which is made up largely of developing nations, whereas UNIDO List B is similar to IFAD List A, which is made up primarily of developed countries.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is UNIDO's purpose?

The UN's special agency for accelerating and promoting sustainable industrial and economic development is known as UNIDO. UNIDO helps nations industrialise in ways that promote digital and environmentally friendly transitions and hasten the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

2. Is India a part of the UNIDO?

The UNIDO includes India as a founding member. It contributes to the UNIDO programmes as well as receives them. India contributes to UNIDO's operating budget. Additionally, India contributes voluntarily on a yearly basis to the UNIDO Industrial Development Fund (IDF).

3. Who oversees UNIDO?

Gerd Müller has held a number of leadership posts from the beginning of his career, and as of December 10, 2021, he became the Director General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO).

4. Why did the US withdraw from UNIDO?

Without a clear, defined mission, UNIDO is a useless institution. Other nations' analyses in recent years have come to the same conclusion—confirming the U.S. view from the middle of the 1990s—that the UNIDO offers poor value for money. Since the United States withdrew almost two decades ago, it should not do so now.

5. How many United Nations members does India have?

India is now represented in 22 UN bodies.

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