Where does ELSA send delegates to?

The Council of Europe is a regional intergovernmental organisation which promotes human rights, democracy and the rule of law in its 47 member states. The organisation advocates freedom of expression and of the media, freedom of assembly, equality, and the protection of minorities. It has launched campaigns on issues such as child protection, online hate speech, and the rights of the Roma, Europe's largest minority. The Council of Europe helps member states fight corruption and terrorism and undertake necessary judicial reforms. Its group of constitutional experts, known as the Venice Commission, offers legal advice to countries throughout the world.

The Council of Europe promotes human rights through international conventions, such as the Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence and the Convention on Cybercrime. It monitors member states' progress in these areas and makes recommendations through independent expert monitoring bodies.

The United Nations Economic and Social Council is a principal body for coordination, policy review, policy dialogue and recommendations on economic, social and environmental issues, as well as for implementation of the internationally agreed development goals. The Council is responsible for coordinating the work of 14 UN specialised agencies, their functional commissions and five regional commissions.

UN ECOSOC engages a wide variety of stakeholders – policymakers, parliamentarians, academics, major groups, foundations, business sector representatives and more than 3000 registered non-governmental organisations – in a productive dialogue on sustainable development through a programmatic cycle of meetings. The work of the Council is guided by an issue-based approach, and there is an annual theme that accompanies each programmatic cycle, ensuring a sustained and focused discussion among multiple stakeholders.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialised agency of the UN. Its aim is to contribute to peace and security by promoting international collaboration through educational, scientific, and cultural reforms in order to increase universal respect for justice, the rule of law and human rights along with the fundamental freedom proclaimed in the United Nations Charter.

UNESCO is based on a premise that peace must be established on the basis of humanity’s moral and intellectual solidarity. Therefore, it strives to build networks among nations that enable this solidarity by mobilising for education, building intercultural understanding, pursuing scientific cooperation and protecting freedom of expression.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes is a global leader in the fight against illicit drugs and international crime. Established in 1997 through a merger between the United Nations Drug Control Programme and the Centre for International Crime Prevention, UNODC operates in all regions of the world through an extensive network of field offices. UNODC relies on voluntary contributions, mainly from Governments, for 90 per cent of its budget.

Its jurisdiction is global and involves many regional offices. It has several focus areas, which covers organised crime and trafficking corruption, crime prevention, criminal justice reform, drug abuse prevention and health and terrorism prevention.

The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law is a core legal body of the United Nations system in the field of international trade law, specialising in commercial law reforms worldwide for over 40 years.

Its main task is the modernisation and harmonisation of rules on international business. Trade means faster growth, higher living standards and new opportunities through commerce. In order to increase these opportunities worldwide, UNCITRAL is formulating modern, fair, and harmonised rules on commercial transactions.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights represents the world’s commitment to universal ideals of human dignity. They have a unique mandate from the international community to promote and protect all human rights.

As the principal United Nations office mandated to promote and protect human rights for all, OHCHR leads global human rights efforts and speaks out objectively in the face of human rights violations worldwide. The OHCHR provides a forum for identifying, highlighting and developing responses to today’s human rights challenges and acts as the principal focal point of human rights research, education, public information and advocacy activities in the United Nations system.

The World Intellectual Property Organization is the United Nations specialised agency dedicated to the development of intellectual property rights (IPR), services, policy, information and cooperation in order to foster innovation and creativity. WIPO's mission is 'to lead the development of a balanced and effective international intellectual property (IP) system that enables innovation and creativity for the benefit of all' (WIPO).

Since its foundation in 1967, WIPO's fields of activities have grown considerably. This reflects the steadily increasing importance of IPRs for knowledge-based societies as well as for sustainable economic development in those countries that decide to transition towards such.

The International Trademark Association is a not-for-profit membership association dedicated to the support and advancement of trademarks and related intellectual property as elements of fair and effective commerce. The Association was founded in 1878 by 17 merchants and manufacturers who saw a need for an organisation 'to protect and promote the rights of trademark owners, to secure useful legislation and to give aid and encouragement to all efforts for the advancement and observance of trademark rights.' Today, 5,900 trademark owners, professionals and academics from more than 190 countries make INTA a powerful network of powerful brands. Members of INTA find true value in the Association’s global trademark research, policy development and education and training.

The Coalition for the International Criminal Court includes 2,500 civil society organisations in 150 different countries working in partnership to strengthen international cooperation with the ICC; ensure that the Court is fair, effective and independent; make justice both visible and universal; and advance stronger national laws that deliver justice to victims of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

The mission of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is to promote policies that will improve the economic and social wellbeing of people around the world. The OECD provides a forum in which governments can work together to share experiences and seek solutions to common problems.

The organisation works with governments to understand what drives economic, social and environmental change. It measures productivity and global flows of trade and investment and analyses and compares data to predict future trends. The OECD also sets international standards on a wide range of things, from agriculture and tax to the safety of chemicals.