Integrated Framework (IF)
Cadre intégré
Marco Integrado

See Part I (Terms) for a definition.

Inter-American Development Bank (IADB)
Banque interaméricaine de développement (BID)
Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (BID)

The IABD is a regional organisation that aims at promoting economic and social development in the Caribbean and Latin America by granting subsidies to private companies. It also technically and financially assists the countries in their development programmes. The IABD was established in December 1959 and is based in Washington D.C., United States.

Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA)
Institut interaméricain de coopération pour l’agriculture (IICA)
Instituto Interamericano de Cooperación para la Agricultura (IICA)

The IICA is a specialised agency created under the auspices of the Organization of American States. Its objective is to support its members in achieving sustainable agricultural and rural development in the Americas, in particular by:

• promoting integration and cooperation between members;
• modernising the rural sector;
• promoting food security and the elimination of SPS barriers to trade;
• ensuring that the agricultural sectors of members are competitive, technologically developed, environment-friendly and socially equitable for their peoples;
• supporting the ministries of agriculture in adapting their mandate and structure to the new challenges resulting from globalisation;
• promoting training activities for professionals.

The IICA was established in October 1942 and has its headquarters in San Jose, Costa Rica, and offices in each member country.

(See also: Organization of American States)

Interim Commission for the International Trade Organization (ICITO)
Commission intérimaire de l’Organisation internationale du commerce (ICITO)
Comisión Interina de la Organización Internacional de Comercio (ICITO)

The ICITO was created to deal with the administrative issues concerning the future establishment of the International Trade Organization (ITO). Since the latter never came to life, the ICITO then dealt with the GATT and the WTO’s administrative issues as well as with the Secretariat's services. It was established in March 1948 and has not been in operation since December 1998 at which date the WTO established its own Secretariat.

International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD)
Banque internationale pour la reconstruction et le développement (BIRD)
Banco Internacional de Reconstrucción y Fomento (BIRF)

(See: World Bank)

International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)
Centre international pour le règlement des différends relatifs aux investissements (CIRDI)
Centro Internacional de Arreglo de Diferencias Relativas a Inversiones (CIADI)

The ICSID is an international institution that is part of the World Bank Group. It provides assistance for facilitating the settlement of investment disputes between states and foreign investors. It was established in October 1966 (Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States), and has its headquarters in Washington D.C., United States.

(See also: World Bank)

International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD)
Centre international de commerce et de développement durable (ICTSD)
Centro Internacional de Comercio y Desarrollo Sostenible (ICTSD)

The ICTSD is a non-governmental organisation aimed at having a better understanding of development and environment issues in the context of international trade. It was established in September 1996 and has its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

Website: http://www.ictsd.org/

International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)
Chambre de commerce internationale (CCI)
Cámara de Comercio Internacional (CCI)

The ICC is an international business organisation that promotes open international trade and investment by drafting rules and providing certain services such as the ICC International Court of Arbitration to its members, which are private companies. The ICC was established in 1919 and has its headquarters in Paris, France.

Website: http://www.iccwbo.org

International Cocoa Agreement
Accord international sur le cacao
Convenio Internacional del Cacao

The International Cocoa Agreement was signed under the auspices of the UN between cocoa-producing and cocoa-consuming countries to:

• encourage co-operation between parties in all areas related to the cocoa economic sector;
• balance supply of and demand for cocoa in the world market;
• promote transparency in the international cocoa market through the centralisation and distribution of information (statistics, etc.) and documentation on cocoa.

The first International Cocoa Agreement was signed in October 1972. Other Agreements were signed in October 1975, November 1980, July 1986 and July 1993. A new Agreement was signed as the successor of the 1993 Agreement in February 2001. It entered into force in October 2003. The International Cocoa Agreement is administered by the International Cocoa Organization, which is located in London, United Kingdom. Its depositary is the Secretary-General of the UN.

International Coffee Agreement
Accord international sur le café
Convenio Internacional del Café

The International Coffee Agreement is an agreement between coffee-producing and coffee-consuming countries aimed at:

• strengthening co-operation between parties;
• providing a forum for discussion and consultations on matters related to the coffee economy;
• collecting, studying and circulating economic and technical information (e.g. statistics) on coffee, in particular by organising training programmes;
• promoting and analysing projects on coffee;
• encouraging coffee consumption.

The International Coffee Agreement was signed in September 1962 under the auspices of the UN and was revised in October 1968, October 1976, October 1983, October 1994 and October 2001. It is administered by the International Coffee Organization, which is based in London, United Kingdom.

International Coffee Organization (ICO)
Organisation internationale du café (OIC)
Organización Internacional del Café (OIC)

The ICO is a bipartite international organisation of coffee producing and consuming countries to collaborate on coffee-related matters given their economic and trade importance. The ICO seeks to coordinate coffee policies relating to quality improvement, production and environmental standards and to ensure transparency by compiling comprehensive information and statistical data on this commodity. Members account for nearly 97 per cent of the world’s coffee producers and roughly 80 per cent of coffee consumers. It was established in 1963 under the auspices of the UN and is based in London, United Kingdom.

International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT)
Commission internationale pour la conservation des thonidés de l’Atlantique (CICTA)
Comisión Internacional para la Conservación del Atún Atlántico (CICAA)

The ICCAT is an intergovernmental fishery organisation established to carry out the objectives set forth in the Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas. It studies and manages tunas and tuna-like fish of the Atlantic Ocean. It focuses on biometry, ecology and oceanography with respect to tuna fishing. In particular, it collects and analyses statistical data on fishery resources of the area covered by the Convention.

The ICCAT was established in March 1969 and its secretariat is based in Madrid, Spain.

International Development Association (IDA)
Association internationale de développement (IDA)
Asociación Internacional de Fomento (AIF)

The IDA, which is part of the World Bank Group, aims at providing “credits”, which are loans at zero interest with a 10-year grace period and maturities of 35 to 40 years. These concessional loans to a certain number of poor countries aim to finance these countries’ development programmes. It thus promotes relatively easy and equitable access to development. It was established in September 1960 and has its headquarters in Washington D.C., United States.

(See also: World Bank)

International Development Law Institute (IDLI)
Institut international de droit du développement (IIDD)
Instituto Internacional de Derecho del Desarrollo (IIDD)

(See: International Development Law Organization)

International Development Law Organization (IDLO)
Organisation internationale de droit du développement (IDLO)
Organización Internacional de Derecho del Desarrollo (IDLO)

IDLO is an intergovernmental organisation whose objectives are to promote and protect the rule of law in developing countries and economies in transition. It provides countries with documents and other information and organises training courses. IDLO was established in 1983 as the International Development Law Institute (IDLI), a non-governmental organisation, until 1991, when it was converted to its present international status. IDLO has its headquarters in Rome, Italy.

International Federation of Freight Forwarders Association (FIATA)
Fédération internationale des associations de transitaires et assimilés (FIATA)
Federación Internacional de Asociaciones de Transitarios (FIATA)

FIATA is a non-governmental organisation whose main objective is to harmonise rules regulating the freight forwarding industry at the international level. It also assists freight forwarders by organising training courses on various subjects, such as liability insurance, and informs the public on services supplied by freight forwarders. FIATA was established in May 1926 and is based in Zurich, Switzerland. Members are not countries but private companies.

International Federation of Inspection Agencies (IFIA)
Fédération internationale des agences d’inspection (IFIA)
Federación Internacional de Agencias de Inspección (IFIA)

IFIA is a non-profit organisation whose aim is to harmonise professional standards, methods and rules in the field of inspection and to enhance a common interpretation of international treaties among inspection professionals. IFIA was established in 1982 and has its headquarters in London, United Kingdom. Members are not countries but private companies.

International Finance Corporation (IFC)
Société financière internationale (SFI)
Corporación Financiera Internacional (CFI)

The IFC is a member of the World Bank Group that promotes its developing country members’ economic development and raises their peoples’ standards of living by:

• granting loans to private companies who need financing for their projects;
• providing assistance and advice to these private companies.

The IFC was created in 1956 and is based in Washington D.C., United States.

(See also: World Bank)

International Grains Council (IGC)
Conseil international des céréales (CIC)
Consejo Internacional de Cereales (CIC)

The IGC is an intergovernmental organisation concerned with grains trade. It administers the International Grains Agreement, which replaced the International Wheat Agreement in July 1995. The International Grains Agreement comprises a Grains Trade Convention (GTC) and a Food Aid Convention (FAC). The objectives of the GTC are to:

• strengthen international co-operation in all aspects of grains trade;
• promote expansion, openness and fairness in the grains sector;
• contribute to grain market stability and to enhance world food security.

The objectives of the FAC are to participate in world food security and to improve the ability of the international community to respond to emergency food situations and other food needs of developing countries.

The IGC is based in London, United Kingdom.

International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)
Institut international du développement durable (IIDD)
Instituto Internacional para el Desarrollo Sostenible (IIDS, IISD)

The IISD seeks to promote sustainable development by providing policy advice on issues related to trade, investment, economic policy, climate change, and management of natural resources. Based on its research work, the IISD informs decision-makers in government, business, NGOs and other sectors on policy in favour of the environment and the global economy. It was founded in 1990 and is based in Winnipeg, Canada.

International Labour Organization (ILO)
Organisation internationale du travail (OIT)
Organización Internacional del Trabajo (OIT)

The ILO, which is a UN specialised agency, promotes “social justice and internationally recognised human and labour rights” by:

• formulating minimum labour and social standards applicable internationally through conventions and recommendations;
• providing technical assistance to member states in order for them to improve their peoples’ working and living conditions;
• organising training programmes and giving advice to independent employers’ and workers’ organisations so they can have more impact in the member states.

The ILO was established in 1919 (Treaty of Versailles) and its Secretariat is based in Geneva, Switzerland.

International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Fonds monétaire international (FMI)
Fondo Monetario Internacional (FMI)

The IMF, one of the two “Bretton Woods Institutions”, is a specialised agency of the UN system, whose objectives are to:

• encourage international monetary co-operation;
• promote foreign exchange stability and orderly exchange relations among members;
• enhance economic development and increase levels of employment;
• provide temporary financial assistance to countries to help them ajust their balance of payments.

The IMF was established in July 1944 at the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference held at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire and has its headquarters in Washington D.C., United States.

(See also: World Bank)

International Office of Epizootics (OIE)
Office international des épizooties (OIE)
Oficina Internacional de Epizootias (OIE)

The OIE is an intergovernmental organisation whose objectives are to:

• insure that all information on existing or new animal diseases is given by and to all member states;
• inform its members of ways to control animal diseases;
• provide scientific studies to all member states on the control of animal diseases;
• draft international unified rules on trade in animals and animal products.

It was created in January 1924 and is based in Paris, France.

International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
Organisation internationale de normalisation (ISO)
Organización Internacional de Normalización (ISO)

The ISO is a non-governmental organisation whose objectives are:

• to promote the development of international standardisation in order to assist the progress of international trade in goods and services;
• to promote co-operation between member states in “intellectual, scientific, technological and economic” activities.

The ISO publishes International Standards, which are to be used by member countries. The ISO was established in February 1947 and its Secretariat has its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

International Sugar Organization (ISO)
Organisation internationale du sucre (OIS)
Organización Internacional del Azúcar (OIA)

The International Sugar Organization (ISO) is an intergovernmental organisation aimed at improving conditions on the sugar world market through discussions, analysis, specific studies and transparent statistics. It is responsible for administering the International Sugar Agreement signed in 1953 and revised in 1973, 1977, 1985 and 1992. The objectives of the Agreement are to:

• ensure enhanced international co-operation in connection with world sugar matters and related issues;
• provide a forum for intergovernmental consultations on sugar and on ways to improve the world sugar economy;
• facilitate trade by collecting and providing information on the world sugar market and other sweeteners;
• encourage increased demand for sugar, particularly for non-traditional uses.

The ISO was founded in 1968 and has its headquarters in London, United Kingdom.

International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
Union internationale des télécommunications (UIT)
Unión Internacional de Telecomunicaciones (UIT)

The ITU is a UN specialised agency which aims at promoting co-operation between its member states’ governments and private companies for the development of the telecommunication sector. It also promotes the improvement of harmonisation of the telecommunication sector of all member countries. The ITU exists since 1865, is an international organisation since 1947, and is based in Geneva, Switzerland.

International Textiles and Clothing Bureau (ITCB)
Bureau international des textiles et des vêtements (BITV)
Oficina Internacional de los Textiles y las Prendas de Vestir (OITP)

The ITCB is an intergovernmental organisation of developing countries exporters of textiles and clothing, whose objectives are:

• to fight against the discrimination and protectionism faced by developing countries in the textiles sector;
• to fully apply GATT rules and principles to international trade in textiles;
• currently, to provide technical assistance to its members and to control the implementation of the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing negotiated during the WTO’s Uruguay Round.

The organisation was established in 1984, supported by work on textiles and clothing done by UNCTAD. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland.

International Trade Centre (ITC)
Centre du commerce international (CCI)
Centro de Comercio Internacional (CCI)

The ITC is a joint UNCTAD – WTO body specialising in trade promotion for exporters in developing countries and economies in transition. It provides technical co-operation for the developing country members of the two organisations by assisting their private sector to promote exports and improve their import systems. It was created in 1964 and is based in Geneva, Switzerland. All UNCTAD and WTO members are ITC members. If a country is an observer of the WTO but is a member of UNCTAD, it is automatically a member of the ITC.

Website: http://www.intracen.org

International Trade Organization (ITO)
Organisation internationale du commerce (OIC)
Organización Internacional del Comercio (OIC)

(See: General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade)

International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO)
Organisation internationale des bois tropicaux (OIBT)
Organización Internacional de las Maderas Tropicales (OIMT)

The ITTO is an international commodity organisation which acts asa forum for discussion, consultation and co-operation between timber-producing and timber-consuming members regarding all areas of the world timber economy. One of its most important tasks is to assist members to meet its Year 2000 Objective, according to which, by the year 2000, all tropical timber products traded between member states must originate from “sustainably managed sources”.

The ITTO was established by the International Tropical Treaty Agreement, adopted in November 1983, which entered into force in April 1985 and was revised in 1994. A new agreement, known as the International Agreement on Tropical Timber, 2006 was negotiated under the auspices of UNCTAD in January 2006. Its main objective is to:

• "promote the expansion and diversification of international trade in tropical timber from sustainably managed and legally harvested forests and to promote the sustainable management of tropical timber producing forests."

The Agreement was deposited with the Secretary-General of the UN. The ITTO’s headquarters are in Yokohama, Japan.

International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN)
Union internationale pour la conservation de la nature et des ressources naturelles (UICN)
Unión Internacional para la Conservación de la Naturaleza y de las Recursos Naturales (UICN)

(See: World Conservation Union)

International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV)
Union internationale pour la protection des obtentions végétales (UPOV)
Unión Internacional para la Protección de las Obtenciones Vegetales (UPOV)

The purpose of the UPOV is to promote the protection of new varieties of plants by an intellectual property right. It provides a sui generis form of intellectual property adapted for the process of plant breeding. Its objective is to encourage breeders to develop new varieties of plants and provide them with adequate protection. The UPOV was established in 1961 when the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants was signed. It came into force in August 1968 after its ratification by Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. It has been revised since in 1972, 1978 and 1991 to be up to date with the technological development related to plant breeding. It has its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

Islamic Development Bank (IDB)
Banque islamique de développement (BID)
Banco Islámico de Desarrollo (BID, BIsD)

The IDB is a multilateral institution with the purpose of advancing economic and social development in Muslim countries in accordance with the principles of Islamic Law. It aims to enhance foreign trade, especially in capital goods, among member countries and provides technical assistance and capacity-building. The bank was founded during the first conference of Finance Ministers of the OIC and initiated its activities in 1975. Its headquarters are in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.