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Detail and Transfer of Federal Employees to International Organizations


An agency may detail or transfer an employee to any organization that the Department of State has designated as an international organization (see the list below). A detail or transfer may not exceed 5 years but may be extended 3 additional years upon the approval of the head of the agency. Employees who transfer are entitled to be reemployed (as provided in 5 CFR 352 Subpart C) in his or her former position or; one of like status within 30 days of his or her application for reemployment.

The list below does not determine whether an entity is an international organization for the purpose of other statutes or regulations; and will be updated periodically as new organizations are added or deleted.

Organizational Categories

United Nations (UN Secretariat, Organs and Their Subsidiary Bodies and Special Programs)

  • United Nations Secretariat
  • UN Capital Development Fund
  • UN Center for Human Settlements (UNCHS)
  • UN Children's Fund (UNICEF)
  • UN Development Fund for Women
  • UN Development Program (UNDP)
  • UN Environmental Program (UNEP)
  • UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
  • UN International Training and Research Center (UNITAR)
  • UN Population Fund (UNFPA)
  • UN Office of Drug Control & Crime Prevention (UNODCCP)
  • UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)
  • UN University
  • UN Volunteers
  • International Court of Justice (ICJ)
  • International Civil Service Commission (ICSC)
  • International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
  • International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
  • International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW)
  • World Food Program (WFP)

Note:

Because the UN qualifies as an international organization in which the United States Government participates within the meaning of Public Law 89-554 as amended, organs and special programs of the UN usually also qualify under the statute as well. The above list, therefore, is meant to be illustrative, not exhaustive. Questions as to whether other organs or special programs of the UN not on the above list qualify under the statute should be addressed to the Office of Personnel Management, which will make the necessary determination after consultation with the Department of State.

Specialized Agencies of the United Nations

  • Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
  • International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
  • International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
  • International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD)
  • International Labor Organization (ILO)
  • International Maritime Organization (IMO)
  • International Telecommunications Union (ITU)
  • UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
  • Universal Postal Union (UPU)
  • World Health Organization (WHO)
  • International Agency for Research in Cancer (IARC)
  • World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
  • World Meteorological Organization (WMO)

International Financial Institutions

  • Bank for International Settlements (BIS)
  • International Monetary Fund (IMF)
  • North American Development Bank (NADB)
  • UN Regional Development Banks
    • African Development Bank
    • Asian Development Bank
    • European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
    • Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)
  • World Bank Group
    • International Bank for Reconstruction & Development (IBRD)
    • International Finance Corporation (IFC)
    • Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA)

Inter-American Organizations

  • Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC)
  • Inter-American Center of Tax Administrators (CIAT)
  • Inter-American Indian Institute (IAII)
  • Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA)
  • Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research
  • Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission
  • Organization of American States (OAS)
  • Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)
  • Pan American Institute of Geography and History
  • Pan American Railway Congress Association
  • Postal Union of the Americas, Spain and Portugal (PUASP)

Other Regional Organizations

  • Asia Pacific Energy Research Center (APERC)
  • Colombo Plan Council
  • Great Lakes Fisheries Commission
  • International Energy Agency (IEA)
  • North Atlantic Assembly
  • North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
  • Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA)
  • Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD)
  • South Pacific Commission

Other International Organizations

  • Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR)
  • Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC)
  • Commission for Labor Cooperation
  • Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources
  • Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)
  • COPAS-SARSAT (Search and Rescue Satellite System)
  • Fund for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (World Heritage Fund)
  • Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
  • Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
  • International Agreement on the Maintenance of Certain Lights in the Red Sea
  • International Bureau of Weights and Measures
  • International Bureau for the Permanent Court of Arbitration
  • International Bureau for the Protection of Industrial Property
  • International Bureau for the Publication of Custom Tariffs
  • International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA)
  • International Center for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD)
  • International Center for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM)
  • International Coffee Organization
  • International Committee of the Red Cross
  • International Cotton Advisory Committee
  • International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES)
  • International Council of Scientific Unions and Associate Unions
  • International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL)
  • International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)
  • International Development Law Institute (IDLI)
  • International Energy Forum Secretariat (IEFS)
  • International Fertilizer Development Center
  • International Grains Council (formerly Int'l Wheat Council)
  • International Human Frontier Science Program Organization (HFSP)
  • International Hydrographic Organization
  • International Institute for Cotton
  • International Institute for the Unification of Private Law
  • International Mobile Satellite Organization (IMSO)
  • International North Pacific Fisheries Commission
  • International Organization for Legal Metrology
  • International Organization for Migration (IOM)
  • International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions
  • International Plant Genetics Resources Institute (IPGRI)
  • International Rubber Study Group
  • International Science and Technology Center (ISTC)
  • International Seed Testing Association
  • International Service for National Agriculture Research (ISNAR)
  • International Sugar Council
  • International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO)
  • International Union of Credit and Investment Insurers (Berne Union)
  • International Whaling Commission
  • Interparliamentary Union
  • Iran-United States Claims Tribunal
  • Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO)
  • Multinational Force and Observers (MFO)
  • North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC)
  • Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) (formerly the Preparatory Commission to OPCW)
  • Pacific Aviation Safety Office (PASO)
  • Permanent International Association of Navigation Congresses
  • Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty (PC/CTBT)
  • Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe
  • The Hague Conference on Private International Law
  • Science and Technology Center in Ukraine (STCU)
  • Sierra Leone Special Court
  • The Global Fund (TGF)
  • The World Heritage Fund
  • World Customs Organization (WCC) {formerly the Customs Cooperation Council (CCC)}
  • World Trade Organization (WTO) {formerly the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)}

NOTES:

The preceding list contains the names of a number of small and highly specialized international bodies which do not maintain normal secretariats and are not expected to require the full-time services of Federal personnel. They have been included on the list because they may request the short-term detail of a Federal employee and they do qualify as international organizations under Public Law 85-795.

While the U.S. Government participates in other international organizations not listed here, the degree of participation may not be enough to meet the statutory standard. Therefore, if a detail or transfer is contemplated, the status of these organizations must be considered on a case-by-case basis.

This list does not include the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO). Although it qualifies as an international organization, assignments of Federal personnel are coordinated by the Department of State and are made under statutory authority other than Public Law 85-795.

Request as to whether an organization not on the present list may qualify should be addressed to OPM, which will consult with the Department of State on that determination.