The United Nations Industrial Development Organization

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization is a specialized agency in the United Nations system, headquartered in Vienna, Austria. The Organization's primary objective is the promotion and acceleration of industrial development in developing countries and countries with economies in transition and the promotion of international industrial cooperation. It is also a member of the United Nations Development Group. The UNIDO

The 1 of January 2013, 172 states are members of UNIDO. The organization employs some 670 staff at Headquarters and in field representations in about 80 countries, and draws on the services of some 2,800 international and national experts (approx. 50% from developing countries) annually, who work in project assignments throughout the world. The estimated total volume of UNIDO operations for the biennium is €460 million, the value of technical cooperation delivery in 2012 amounted to $189.2 million. Facts and Figures

The origins of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) can be traced to a series of studies on a program of rapid industrialization of developing countries that the United Nations Secretariat carried out during the early 1950s at the request of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). These studies culminated in a program of work on industrialization and productivity prepared by the United Nations Secretary-General in 1956 and endorsed the next year by ECOSOC and the General Assembly. Historical Background

Members of the UN, or of UN specialized agencies, or of the IAEA, are eligible for membership with UNIDO. The process of becoming a Member of the Organization is achieved by becoming a party to the Constitution. Observer status is open, upon request, to those enjoying such status in the General Assembly of the United Nations, unless the UNIDO General Conference decides otherwise. The Conference has the authority to invite other observers to participate in the work of the Organization in accordance with the relevant rules of procedure and the provisions of the Constitution. Governance

UNIDO's system of field representation includes four categories of offices: --Regional offices, which cover the country of their location as well as a number of countries in the same region, in which the Organization assumes the status of a non-resident agency --Country Offices, which cover their host country --Focal point offices maintained within national governments --UNIDO Desks in UNDP offices. Country Level Representation

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JUAN MANUEL ESPINAR & VICTOR J. CABELLOS