The International Union of Architects (Union internationale des Architectes, or UIA) is an international non-governmental organization that represents over a million architects in 124 countries. The UIA was founded in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1948. The General Secretariat is located in Paris. It is recognized by most United Nations agencies as the only association in its field, including UNESCO, UNCHS, ESOSOC, UNIDO, and the World Health Organization, as well as the WTO. The current (2014 - 2017) president is Esa Mohamed from Malaysia.