Monaco: a welcoming host for international organisations

Over more than a century, a number of international bodies have established their headquarters in Monaco. Below is an overview of that history.

The Principality’s international commitment dates back to the early twentieth century when Prince Albert I founded the International Institute for Peace, an early forerunner of the United Nations, in Monaco in 1903, and contributed to the creation of Interpol.

At his behest, two international institutions for the ocean then set up their headquarters in Monaco. Established in 1919 to promote international research in the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea, the Mediterranean Science Commission (CIESM) was one of the very first international organisations devoted to maritime issues. Today chaired by Prince Albert II, it has 23 member states.

Two years later, with support from the Monegasque Government, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) established the International Laboratory of Radioactivity in the Principality, designed to promote the use of nuclear and isotope techniques to protect the marine environment. Today, this laboratory is home to the Ocean Acidification International Coordination Centre and measures the impact of climate change on the environment.

Prince Rainier also helped to develop the first international mechanisms for protecting the marine world, which are now known as marine protected areas. A pilot zone was established between Saint-Raphaël and Genoa (expanded to Marseille–La Spezia), creating a genuine laboratory of ideas for protecting the environment.

At the initiative of Prince Albert II, the Permanent Secretariat of the Pelagos Agreement moved to the Principality in 2017.

The Permanent Secretariat of the Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Contiguous Atlantic Area (ACCOBAMS), which came into force on 1 June 2001, is also based in Monaco. The Agreement covers the maritime waters of the Black Sea, the Mediterranean and the contiguous Atlantic area to the west of the Straits of Gibraltar.