| Notes |
liaisons
ISO and the UN
Working together for
international standardization
ISO and the UN –
1
ISO has been actively engaged
with the United Nations (UN) since
1947. The long-established history
of collaboration between the two
organizations has been essential
to tackling global challenges
and will continue to be a
transformative force in the future,
as we pursue the implementation
of the UN’s Sustainable
Development Goals.
Standard
:
Document, established by consensus and approved
by a recognized body, that provides, for common and
repeated use, rules, guidelines or characteristics for
activities or their results, aimed at the achievement of
the optimum degree of order in a given context.
Source: ISO/IEC Guide 2:2004, Standardization and related
activities – General vocabulary
ISO is proud of the close relationship its technical committees
enjoy with the United Nations. UN organizations participate
in many ISO committees over a wide range of sectors (refer to
page 8).
The active involvement of UN experts shaping ISO standards
and supporting their implementation is central to achieving
worldwide success. ISO hopes to extend this cooperation in
years to come.
Photo: UN – François Vioud
2 – ISO and the UN ISO and the UN – 3
In addition, ISO works with more than 700 international and regional organizations to develop and
publish international standards and other deliverables
for products, services, processes, conformity assessment, managerial and organizational practice. With
a collection of more than 22000 standards spanning
practically every sector, ISO is the leading producer of
international standards.
Because ISO standards are developed in a multistakeholder environment, this ensures that a wide
range of technical views are represented, including those relating to social and economic interests.
To this end, this brochure is aimed at UN organizations that want
to know how ISO works, what are the benefits of international
standardization, and how to get involved.
What makes ISO so special?
The need for truly global standards has expanded as new markets,
new actors and new powerful economies emerge. ISO provides
tailored mechanisms to establish international consensus that
result in globally and market-relevant standards. Organized as a
worldwide network of more than 160 national standards bodies
(with one member per country), ISO invests considerable efforts to
ensure that all members can effectively participate in international
standardization, for example by providing extensive training and
technical assistance programmes for developing countries.
“Closer cooperation with ISO
is essential […] to be aligned
and correctly interlinked for
the benefit of governments,
businesses and traders around
the world.”
Michael Møller, Director-General
of the United Nations Office
Photo
at Geneva
: UN
The international standards developed by ISO are voluntary. And
while they do not seek to establish, drive or motivate public policy,
regulations, or social or political agendas, they can certainly provide
valuable support to the implementation of public policy.
Source : Using and referencing ISO and IEC standards to support public policy
4 – ISO and the UN ISO and the UN – 5
Different perspectives come from the
national level, through a network
of liaisons and cooperation with
international governmental and nongovernmental organizations. Thanks
to this robust process, ISO standards
reflect a double layer of consensus –
among experts from market players at
the drafting stages of the standards,
and among countries at the formal
commenting and voting stages of the
standards.
How can ISO standards
contribute to advancing
the 2030 Agenda?
Society today faces many challenges
that cut across national borders, and
which cannot be solved by one company, individual or government alone.
Many of these challenges appear in the
Sustainable Development Goals as part
of the 2030 Agenda.
ISO standards are key tools that can be used to tackle
these challenges, because they promote the development and deployment of innovative technologies and
support the three pillars of sustainable development:
economic sustainability by facilitating international
trade, improving a country’s national quality infrastructure and supporting sustainable business practices ; social sustainability by helping countries and
communities to improve the health and well-being of
their citizens; and environmental sustainability by
helping businesses and countries manage their environmental impact.
ISO standards
are key tools that
can be used to
tackle challenges.
“An integrated global economy,
with a strong and dynamic
multilateral trading system,
supported by international
standards, is a better world for
everyone.”
Alan Wolff, Deputy Director General,
World Trade Organization
6 – ISO and the UN ISO and the UN – 7
The World Trade Organization’s (WTO)
Agreement on Technical Barriers to
Trade (TBT) recognizes the key role
that international standards can play
in regulatory harmonization and trade
facilitation and instructs its members
to use them as a basis for their national
technical regulations and conformity
assessment procedures. This means
that policy makers can have confidence
when using ISO standards to support
their policy initiatives that they are
fulfilling their WTO obligations and not
creating any technical barriers to trade.
How to get involved
ISO standards are developed in specialized technical committees,
in which partner organizations can participate as liaisons free of
charge. Liaison status comes with a range of benefits from simply
monitoring a committee’s activity, to proposing new projects, participating in the drafting of standards or even leading the work.
For details on the different categories of liaison in ISO, the eligibility criteria, rights and obligations of each, and the approval
process, see Clause 1.17 of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1.
Policy makers can
have confidence using
ISO standards.
Photo: WTO/ Cuika Foto
8 – ISO and the UN ISO and the UN – 9
UN agencies already participating in the development of ISO standards include:
• FAO Food and Agriculture
Organization of the
United Nations
• ICAO International Civil Aviation
Organization
• ILO International Labour
Organization
• IMO International Maritime
Organization
• ITU International
Telecommunication Union
• UN Habitat United Nations Centre for
Human Settlements
• UNCTAD United Nations Conference
on Trade and Development
• UNDP United Nations
Development Programme
• UNECA United Nations Economic
Commission for Africa
• UNECE United Nations Economic
Commission for Europe
• UNEP United Nations Environment
Programme
• UNESCAP United Nations Economic
and Social Commission for
Asia and the Pacific
• UNESCO United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural
Organization
• UNESCWA United Nations Economic
and Social Commission
for Western Asia
• UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change
• UNFPA United Nations Population Fund
• UNGEGN United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names
• UNGIWG United Nations Geographic Information Working Group
• UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund
• UNIDO United Nations Industrial Development Organization
• UNISDR United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction
• UNWTO World Tourism Organization
• UPU Universal Postal Union
• WHO World Health Organization
• WIPO World Intellectual Property Organization
• WMO World Meteorological Organization
For the full list of organizations in cooperation with ISO, see www.iso.org/
organizations-in-cooperation-with-iso.html.
Need more information
or assistance?
Further details on ISO’s technical
committees, their scopes and
membership are available on
the ISO Website
at www.iso.org/technicalcommittees.html.
If you have any questions,
ISO’s external relations team
will be happy to help.
Please contact the team at
externalrelations@iso.org.
iso.org
© ISO, 2018
All rights reserved
ISBN 978-92-67-10820-9
International Organization
for Standardization
ISO Central Secretariat
Ch. de Blandonnet 8
Case Postale 401
CH – 1214 Vernier, Geneva
Switzerland
About ISO
ISO (International Organization for Standardization)
is an independent, non-governmental international
organization with a membership of 161* national
standards bodies. Through its members, it brings
together experts to share knowledge and develop
voluntary, consensus-based, market-relevant International Standards that support innovation and
provide solutions to global challenges.
ISO has published more than 22 000* International
Standards and related documents covering almost
every industry, from technology to food safety, to
agriculture and healthcare.
For more information, please visit www.iso.org.
*August 2018 |