Conferences

The meetings organized by the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) range from large international conferences to small workshops and expert group meetings. The purposes – or “mandates” – of such meetings are defined by the General Assembly or by the Economic and Social Council, or are spelled out in international conventions. Those mandates include:

• Mobilizing Governments and non-governmental organizations to take action on major global problems
• Studying global problems and making recommendations on how to deal with them
• Preparing international conventions, standards and guidelines
• Serving as a forum where new proposals can be debated and consensus sought
• Monitoring compliance with international conventions or treaties
• Reviewing budgets and establishing policy
• Providing expert or technical advice and making recommendations on specific issues
• Seminars and workshops

Most conferences and meetings are limited to elected or designated members or to invited States or organizations. The Conference Management Service of UNOV plans and coordinates conferences and meetings of United Nations bodies such as the following:

• Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice
• Commission on Narcotic Drugs
• Convention against Corruption
• Convention against Transnational Organized Crime
• Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space
• International Narcotics Control Board
• United Nations Commission on International Trade Law
• United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation

UNOV also provides conference and meetings support to the other Vienna-based international organizations at the VIC:

• International Atomic Energy Agency
• United Nations Industrial Development Organization
• Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization