The International Amateur Radio Club (IARC) maintains and operates the amateur radio station 4U1ITU at the International Telecommunication Union building in Geneva, Switzerland. Intended to serve as a model of amateur radio operation, the station was created under the auspices of the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
In many radio contests, amateur radio operators are allowed to consider the International Telecommunication Union station 4U1ITU a special entity and because of its significance to world telecommunications it is given similar status to a separate country when making a radio contact. IARC is one of two UN stations considered for such status, the other being 4U1UN at the Headquarters of the United Nations.