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ECLAC

Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean

The Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLA) -the Spanish acronym is CEPAL- was established by Economic and Social Council resolution 106(VI) of 25 February 1948 and began to function that same year. The scope of the Commission's work was later broadened to include the countries of the Caribbean, and by resolution 1984/67 of 27 July 1984, the Economic Council decided to change its name to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC); the Spanish acronym, CEPAL, remains unchanged.

ECLAC, which is headquartered in Santiago, Chile, is one of the five regional commissions of the United Nations. It was founded with the purpose of contributing to the economic development of Latin America, coordinating actions directed towards this end, and reinforcing economic ties among countries and with other nations of the world. The promotion of the region's social development was later included among its primary objectives.

In June 1951, the Commission established the ECLAC subregional headquarters in Mexico City, which serves the needs of the Central American subregion, and in December 1966, the ECLAC subregional headquarters for the Caribbean was founded in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. In addition, ECLAC maintains country offices in Buenos Aires, Brasilia, Montevideo and Bogotá, as well as a liaison office in Washington, D.C.

ESCAP

Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

ESCAP is the leading inter-governmental platform for regional cooperation in Asia and the Pacific, covering 53 Member States and nine associate members and working closely with them to analyze and address the evolving economic, social and environmental dynamics of the region. By supporting the development of a regional intermodal network, ESCAP works to strengthen connectivity, optimize the use of existing infrastructure and increase the level of integration between the different transport modes. In doing so, ESCAP promotes the unhindered and safe movement of vehicles, goods and people across borders and through countries of the region through the establishment of regional facilitation frameworks, assistance in formulating and implementing facilitation agreements, development of models and standards, provision of facilitation tools and the harmonization of documentation and procedures. In the trade area, ESCAP assists countries, mainly least developed and landlocked developing countries with trade facilitation measures that help simplify processes and regulations.

ESCWA

United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia

The Economic Commission for Western Asia (ECWA) was established on 9 August 1973 pursuant to Economic and Social Council’s resolution 1818 (LV). Its purpose was to stimulate economic activity in member countries, strengthen cooperation between them promote development.

In recognition of the social component of its work, the Commission was renamed the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) under Economic and Social Council resolution 69/1985 of July 1985.

ESCWA was initially located in Beirut (1974-1982), moved to Baghdad (1982-1991) and Amman (1991-1997), and subsequently returned to Beirut, its permanent headquarters, where it has remained to this day.

UNCTAD

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

UNCTAD is the global body within the UN System dealing with trade, investment, finance, technology and sustainable development issues in an integrated manner, as stated in the Nairobi Maafikiano. The mandate derives from the priorities established in relevant General Assembly resolutions and decisions, including the quadrennial sessions of UNCTAD, in particular the principal functions of the Conference outlined in section II, paragraph 3 of General Assembly resolution 1995 (XIX). Accordingly, the agency has a long-standing experience in research and analysis, intergovernmental consensus-building and providing technical assistance and capacity building on trade facilitation, transport, port management, transparency, and commercial law in developing and least-developed countries, with particular emphasis on developing countries, SIDS, LLDCs and LDCs.

UNECA

United Nations Economic Commission for Africa

Established by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations (UN) in 1958 as one of the UN's five regional commissions, ECA's mandate is to promote the economic and social development of its member States, foster intra-regional integration, and promote international cooperation for Africa's development.

Made up of 54 member States, and playing a dual role as a regional arm of the UN and as a key component of the African institutional landscape, ECA is well positioned to make unique contributions to address the Continent’s development challenges.

UNECE

United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

As a multilateral platform that facilitates greater economic integration and cooperation among its fifty-six member States in Europe, North America and Asia, ECE promotes sustainable development and economic prosperity through policy dialogue, negotiation of international legal instruments, development of regulations and norms, exchange and application of best practices as well as economic and technical expertise, and technical cooperation for countries with economies in transition. The ECE Economic Cooperation and Trade Division (ECTD), through ECE’s subsidiary body - the UN/CEFACT - has been working for more than six decades on trade facilitation, defined as "Simplification, harmonization and standardization of procedures and associated information flows required to move goods internationally from buyer to seller and to pass payment in the other direction" with a focus on the standardization of data used in international trade in all UN member States.