The wordlwide community of Bahá'ís is represented (at the United Nations and in other contacts with the world at large) by a relatively small agency, designated as a non-governmental organization (NGO). There are currently three branches of this organization. The Secretariat is based in Haifa, Israel, which is also the location of the World Center of the Bahá'í Faith. The United Nations Office has its headquarters in New York and a branch office in Geneva. The Office of Public Information is headquartered in Israel and also maintains offices in New York.

This agency voices Bahá'í viewpoints to the United Nations; to the governments of various nations; and at international conferences, including the 1995 World Conference on Women held in Beijing, and the 1992 Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro.

The Bahá'í International Community publishes a newsletter called One Country, which can be accessed online at the following address (although it is not always updated very frequently):

http://www.onecountry.org

The copyrights for the sacred texts of the Bahá'í religion, including the writings of Bahá'u'lláh, of the Báb, and of `Abdu'l-Bahá, are held by this agency. Electronic distribution of these texts is permitted in most cases, so long as it is not for profit.

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