Editing Holy See (section)

=== Relationship with Vatican City and other territories ===
{{Vatican city}}
The Holy See participates as an observer to [[African Union]], [[Arab League]], [[Council of Europe]], the [[Non-Aligned Movement]] (NAM), [[Organization of American States]], [[International Organization for Migration]] and in the United Nations and its agencies [[FAO]], [[ILO]], [[UNCTAD]], [[UNEP]], [[UNESCO]], [[UN-HABITAT]], [[UNHCR]], [[United Nations Industrial Development Organization|UNIDO]], [[World Tourism Organization|UNWTO]], [[WFP]], [[WHO]], [[WIPO]]. and as a full member in [[IAEA]], [[OPCW]], [[Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe]] (OSCE).

Although the Holy See is closely associated with Vatican City, the independent territory over which the Holy See is [[sovereignty|sovereign]], the two entities are separate and distinct. After the Italian seizure of the [[Papal States]] in 1870, the Holy See had no territorial sovereignty. In spite of some uncertainty among jurists as to whether it could continue to act as an independent personality in international matters, the Holy See continued in fact to exercise the right to send and receive diplomatic representatives, maintaining relations with states that included the major powers Russia, [[Prussia]], and [[Austria-Hungary]].<ref name="30giorni.it">[http://www.30giorni.it/it/articolo.asp?id=10264 Lecture by Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo, 16 February 2006] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927014138/http://www.30giorni.it/it/articolo.asp?id=10264 |date=27 September 2007 }}. 30giorni.it. Retrieved 11 September 2011.</ref>

Where, in accordance with the decision of the 1815 [[Congress of Vienna]], the [[Nuncio]] was a member of the Diplomatic Corps and its dean, this arrangement continued to be accepted by the other ambassadors. In the course of the 59 years during which the Holy See held no territorial sovereignty, the number of states that had diplomatic relations with it, which had been reduced to 16, increased to 29.<ref name="30giorni.it"/>

The State of the Vatican City was created by the [[Lateran Treaty]] in 1929 to "ensure the absolute and visible independence of the Holy See" and "to guarantee to it indisputable sovereignty in international affairs." Archbishop [[Jean-Louis Tauran]], the Holy See's former Secretary for Relations with States, said that Vatican City is a "minuscule support-state that guarantees the spiritual freedom of the Pope with the minimum territory".<ref>[https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/secretariat_state/documents/rc_seg-st_doc_20020422_tauran_en.html Lecture by Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran, 22 April 2002] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140215051159/https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/secretariat_state/documents/rc_seg-st_doc_20020422_tauran_en.html |date=15 February 2014 }}. The Holy See. Retrieved 11 September 2011.</ref>

The Holy See, not Vatican City, maintains diplomatic relations with states.<ref>[https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/secretariat_state/documents/rc_seg-st_20010123_holy-see-relations_en.html Bilateral and Multilateral Relations of the Holy See] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140709142833/https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/secretariat_state/documents/rc_seg-st_20010123_holy-see-relations_en.html |date=9 July 2014 }}. The Holy See. Retrieved 11 September 2011.</ref> Foreign embassies are accredited to the Holy See, not to Vatican City, and it is the Holy See that establishes treaties and [[concordat]]s with other sovereign entities. When necessary, the Holy See will enter a treaty on behalf of Vatican City.

Under the terms of the Lateran Treaty, the Holy See has extraterritorial authority over [[Properties of the Holy See|various sites in Rome and two Italian sites outside of Rome]], including the [[Papal Palace of Castel Gandolfo|Pontifical Palace at Castel Gandolfo]]. The same authority is extended under international law over the [[Apostolic Nunciature]] of the Holy See in a foreign country.