United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific


The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific is one of the five regional commissions under the jurisdiction of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. It was established in order to increase economic activity in Asia and the Far East, as well as to foster economic relations between the region and other areas of the world.
The Commission is composed of 53 Member States and nine Associate members, mostly from the Asia and Pacific regions. In addition to countries in Asia and the Pacific, the Commission's members includes France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The region covered by the Commission is home to 4.1 billion people, or two thirds of the world’s population, making ESCAP the most comprehensive of the United Nations' five regional commissions.

History

The Commission was first established by the Economic and Social Council on 28 March 1947 as the United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East to assist in post-war economic reconstruction. Its main mandate was to "initiate and participate in measures for facilitating concerted action for the economic reconstruction and development of Asia and the Far East."
On 1 August 1974, the Commission was renamed to the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific by the Economic and Social Council to reflect both the economic and social aspects of the Commission's work, as well as geographic location of its members.

Scope

The Commission works to address some of the greatest challenges facing the region through results oriented projects, technical assistance and capacity building to Member States in the following areas:
Additionally, the Commission provides a forum for its Member States to promote regional cooperation and collective action in pursuit of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Member States

Full members

The following are all full members of the Commission:

Associate members

The following are all associate members of the Commission:

Headquarters

The Commission was originally located in Shanghai, Republic of China, from its foundation until 1949, when it moved it headquarters to Bangkok, Thailand.

Subregional Offices

The Commission maintains five subregional offices in order to better target and deliver programs, given the large size of the region. The subregions are as follow:
The following is a list of the Executive Secretaries of the Commission since its foundation:
SecretaryCountryTerm
Armida S. AlisjahbanaIndonesia2018–present
Shamshad AkhtarPakistan2014–2018
Noeleen HeyzerSingapore2007–2014
Kim Hak-Su Republic of Korea2000–2007
Adrianus MooyIndonesia1995–2000
Rafeeuddin AhmedPakistan1992–1994
Shah A M S KibriaBangladesh1981–1992
J. B. P. MaramisIndonesia1973–1981
U NyunMyanmar1959–1973
Chakravarthi V. NarasimhanIndia 1956–1959
Palamadai S. LokanathanIndia1947–1956

Publications

The Commission releases a variety of publications detailing its work and updates on its mandate, as well as on a wide variety of issues affecting its Member States. Some of these publications include: