The International Council for Science, still known by the initials of its former name, International Council of Scientific Unions or ICSU, is a nongovernmental organization (NGO) that includes more than one hundred national scientific bodies and close to thirty international scientific unions. The ICSU mission is to:

• Identify and address major issues of importance to science and society.
• Facilitate interaction among scientists across all disciplines and from all countries.
• Promote the participation of all scientists—regardless of race, citizenship, language, political stance, or gender—in the international scientific endeavor.
• Provide independent, authoritative advice to stimulate constructive dialogue between the scientific community and governments, civil society, and the private sector.

The main philosophy of the organization is perhaps best reflected in section 5 of its statutes, where the principle of the universality of science is expressed:

This principle entails freedom of association and expression...