• The highest decision-making body of UNCTAD is the quadrennial conference, at which member States make assessments of current trade and development issues, discuss policy options and formulate global policy responses. The conference also sets the organization’s mandate and work priorities.
  
  
  • The conference is a subsidiary organ of the United Nations General Assembly.
    
    
  • The conferences serve an important political function: they allow intergovernmental consensus building regarding the state of the world economy and development policies, and they play a key role in identifying the role of the United Nations and UNCTAD in addressing economic development problems.

• In the four years between the meetings of the conferences, UNCTAD’s work is guided by the Trade and Development Board. Board membership is open to all States members of UNCTAD, and accredited intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations enjoy observer status.
  
  
• The Board meets in Geneva once a year in regular session and up to three times a year in executive sessions to deal with ad hoc policy and institutional issues.

• The Trade and Development Board currently has three Commissions that meet once a year to address policy issues in specific areas and provide guidance for the work of the secretariat. These Commissions are:
  
  
  • The Commission on Trade in Goods and Services, and Commodities
    
    
  • The Commission on Investment, Technology and Related Financial Issues
    
    
  • The Commission on Enterprise, Business Facilitation and Development
    
    
• The UNCTAD secretariat also services the Commission on Science and Technology for Development, which is a subsidiary body of the United Nations Economic and Social Council.
  
  
• These Commissions allow Governments to exchange views on policy issues in their respective ambits.
  
  
• As in all of UNCTAD’s intergovernmental bodies, decisions of the Commissions are taken by consensus, and thus agreed conclusions and recommendations reflect the collective political will of UNCTAD’s membership.

• The work of the Commissions is supported by discussions among specialized technical experts in specific fields. Up to 10 such Expert Meetings are convened by the Commissions every year. They allow the Government representatives attending the Commissions to take advantage of valuable technical input from academics, practitioners and the private sector.

• The UNCTAD secretariat is headed by a Secretary-General. Subsequent to the departure of Mr. Rubens Ricupero (Brazil), who was Secretary-General of UNCTAD until 14 September 2004, the Officer-in-Charge of UNCTAD is Mr. Carlos Fortin (Chile).
  
  
• The secretariat has around 400 staff members and is divided into five divisions, of which four are focused on the substantive research and technical assistance work of the secretariat, while the fifth handles management and intergovernmental affairs and outreach. In addition, a Special Programme is dedicated to dealing with issues affecting the least developed countries.

The Division on Globalization and Development Strategies (GDS) covers macroeconomic and development policies. It also houses the UNCTAD statistical office and a special unit covering issues related to Africa. The division is responsible for the publication of UNCTAD's annual Trade and Development Report, which is discussed at the regular sessions of the Trade and Development Board.

The Division on Investment, Technology and Enterprise Development (DITE) covers investment issues, enterprise development and technology matters. It is responsible for UNCTAD's annual World Investment Report and services the Commission on Investment, Technology and Related Financial Issues, as well as the Commission on Science and Technology for Development.

The Division on International Trade in Goods and Services, and Commodities (DITC) covers trade in goods and services, commodities, competition policies and the link between trade and the environment. The division also carries out capacity-building activities on trade-related matters for developing countries, and it provides substantive services to the Commission on Trade in Goods and Services, and Commodities.

The Division on Services Infrastructure for Development and Trade Efficiency (SITE) covers a variety of trade facilitation issues, including transport, customs procedures, provision of trade-related information, and e-commerce. The work of the division has a strong technical assistance component. The division is responsible for the publication of the annual E-Commerce and Development Report and the Review of Maritime Transport.

The Special Programme for Least Developed, Landlocked and Island Developing Countries (LDCs) coordinates UNCTAD’s work on these categories of countries. It also provides analyses of the broad development challenges facing these countries and delivers technical assistance. Every two years, the Special Programme publishes The Least Developed Countries Report.

The Division of Management includes the Administrative Service, the Technical Cooperation Services and the Intergovernmental Affairs and Outreach Service, which services the intergovernmental meetings taking place at UNCTAD.

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