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Holy See (Vatican City) - Foreign Relations (Notes)

FOREIGN RELATIONS The Holy See conducts an active diplomacy. As noted, it maintains formal diplomatic relations with 174 nations; 68 of these maintain permanent resident diplomatic missions accredited to the Holy See in Rome. The rest have missions located outside Italy with dual accreditation. The Holy See maintains 106 permanent diplomatic missions to nation-states. Furthermore, The Holy See has two separate permanent diplomatic missions: one to the European Union, another to the Russian Federation. The Holy See is especially active in international organizations. The Holy See has diplomatic relations with the European Union (EU) in Brussels, it is a permanent observer of the United Nations Organization (UN), Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington, Organization of African Unity (OAU), World Tourist Organization (WToO), World Trade Organization (WTO), World Health Organization (WHO), World Food Programe (WFP), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), United Nations International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP), United Nations Center for Human Settlements (UNCHS), Latin Union (LU), International Organization for Migration (IOM), International Labor Organization (ILO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The Holy See is also an observer on an informal basis of the World Meteorological Organization in Geneva (WMO), United Nations Committee of Peaceful Use of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS), International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR), International Maritime Organization (IMO), African Asian Legal Consultative Committee (AALCC) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The Holy See is a member of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), International Telecommunication Union (ITU), International Telecommunication Satellite Organization (ITSO), World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Universal Postal Union (UPU), International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), International Grains Council (IGC), International Committee for Military Medicine (ICMM), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO). [info from 2002 Holy See official website] In 1971, the Holy See announced the decision to adhere to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in order to 'give its moral support to the principles that form the base of the treaty itself.' The Holy See is also a participating state in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe: it is a guest of honor to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Furthermore, the Holy See has a delegate to the Arab League in Cairo (AL).