United Nations

The United Nations (UN) is an international intergovernmental organisation founded in 1945 with the aims to: maintain international peace and security; develop friendly relations among nations; and achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all. The organisation currently has 193 member states.

Ever since the 2003-2005 phases of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), the UN has become more and more involved in the Internet governance debates. The Tunis Agenda for the Information Society has established the global Internet Governance Forum (IGF), which has annual meeting, convened by the UN Secretary-General. The follow-up on the implementation of WSIS action lines has been entrusted to specific UN entities and agencies, such as the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). In addition, the Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) has been tasked to follow up on the enhanced cooperation processs.

Various entities in the UN system (organs, programmes, funds, specialised agencies and regional commissions) are active in specific areas of Internet governance:

CSTD | ECA | ECLAC | ECOSOC | ESCAP | ESCWA | FAO | UN General Assembly | ILO | IMF | ITU | ITC | OHCHR | CCPJI | GGE | UNICEF | UNCITRAL | UNCTAD | UN DESA | UNDP | UNECE | UNESCO | UN Women | UNEP | UNGIS | UN Global Pulse | UNHRC | UNIDO | UNIDIR | UNICRI | UNODA | UNODC | UPU | World Bank | WHO | WIPO | WMO