Established in 1948, the International Council on Archives (ICA) is a decentralised organisation governed by a General Assembly and administered by an Executive Committee. Its branches provide archivists with a regional forum in all parts of the world (except North America), its sections bring together archivists and archival institutions interested in particular areas of professional interest, and its committees and working groups are engaged in the deployment of experts to solve specific problems. The ICA Secretariat serves the administrative needs of the organisation and maintains relations between members and co-operation with related bodies and other international organisations. ICA is the professional organisation for the world archival community, dedicated to promoting the preservation, development, and use of the world's archival heritage. It brings together national archive administrations, professional associations of archivists, regional and local archives and archives of other organisations as well as individual archivists. ICA currently has some 1,700 members in 174 countries and territories, making it truly international. It is a non-governmental organisation, which means that it maintains an independence from the political process and that its members include both public and private archive institutions and individuals. ICA works closely with inter-governmental organisations such as UNESCO and the Council of Europe. It also has strong links with other non-governmental organisations. To further the aims of ICA and to strengthen co-operation within the South East Asian region, a regional branch of the ICA known as SARBICA has been established to carry out the policy and programmes of ICA in this region.