Specialized Agency
A1. The IMO and the international regulatory frameworkDefinition
Status of IMO within the UN system under a 1948 relationship agreement.
The IMO is one of the United Nations specialized agencies, a group of autonomous bodies linked to the UN through agreements with the Economic and Social Council. The IMO’s relationship agreement was concluded in 1948 and brought into effect when the organization began work in 1959. Specialized-agency status gives the IMO its own membership, budget, and treaty-making capacity while keeping it within the UN system.
Source: UN-IMO relationship agreement, 1948