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The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) is mandated to promote inclusive and sustainable industrial development, within the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It was established in 1966 and it became a Specialized Agency of the United Nations in 1985. The Organization currently has 170 Member States and reports on its activity to the General Assembly and to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.
To fulfil its mandate, UNIDO works together with other entities of the UN Development System, in line with the reform promoted by the Secretary General. The cooperation with multilateral institutions, such as the Global Environment Facility, and with regional Organizations, such as the European Union, as well as with the private sector is equally important.
UNIDO is based in Vienna, but it also has liaison Offices in Brussels, Geneva and New York, and a network of 48 Field Offices, mainly based in beneficiary Countries, as well as of 9 Investment and Technology Promotion Offices (ITPOs) – one of which is based in Rome – 8 Regional Sustainable Centres and 65 National Cleaner Production Centers jointly established with United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
UNIDO has two policy-making organs:
– the General Conference (GC), which meets every two years to examine and update the guiding principles and policies of the Organization. The General Conference also approves its programme and budget.
– the Industrial Development Board (IDB), which meets once a year to review the implementation of the work programme and make recommendations to the General Conference on the activities and on the agenda of the Organization. The Board has 53 members and is assisted by the Programme and Budget Committee (PBC), a subsidiary body composed of 27 members.
In promoting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, UNIDO specifically pursues Sustainable Development Goal 9: build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation. UNIDO was also tasked with leading the implementation of the Third Industrial Development Decade for Africa (IDDA III), in collaboration with the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.
The Organization carries out its mandate in the following four priority areas:
– shared prosperity (creating employment opportunities, increasing the participation of women and youth in productive activities, and human security in post-crisis situations);
– economic competitiveness (promoting investments, development of small and medium enterprises, improving market access);
– safeguarding the environment (energy efficiency, reducing industrial pollution, implementing international conventions on environmental issues);
– strengthening knowledge and institutions (which includes the cross-cutting activities in support of the Organization’s strategic objective of promoting inclusive and sustainable industrial development.
Director General Gerd Müller (Germany) took office in 2021.
The current priorities of UNIDO include: supporting the socio-economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic; overcoming climate change through renewable energy, energy efficiency and circular economy in industry; addressing the growing “digital divide” and catching the opportunities of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
UNIDO and Italy
Italy is among the founding members of the Organization and is currently the fourth donor in terms of assessed contributions and among the top three donors taking into account the voluntary contributions. In addition, Italy supports UNIDO through the European Union. These funds are allocated to projects in priority areas for the Italian Development Cooperation (North and Sub-Saharan Africa as well as the Middle East), aimed at creating employment opportunities and sustainable development.
Important partnerships and synergies with the Italian private sector have been developed through the cooperation with UNIDO, thus contributing to make known the Italian entrepreneurship models and practices (branding, geographical indications, small and medium size enterprises consortia, industrial districts) in various fields such as agribusiness, energy and environment. For instance, the Italian Development Cooperation, the Italian company Illy Caffé, the Ernesto Illy Foundation, UNIDO and the Ethiopian Ministry of Industry have established a public-private partnership aimed at fostering social, economic and environmental sustainability by supporting small farmers and cooperatives of the coffee value chain. Such public-private partnership has been extended also to Mozambique.
UNIDO and the European Union
UNIDO was one of the first United Nations Agencies to sign an agreement with the European Union in 1993. Since then the Organization has received strong support from the EU which is currently the second multilateral donor after the Global Environment Facility.
Useful link:
Open Data Platform: https://open.unido.org/