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International organization
An international organization is, by definition, any organization with international membership, scope, or presence. However, in common usage, the term is usually reserved for intergovernmental organizations (IGO) such as the U.N., the European Union, or the World Trade Organization, with sovereign states or other IGOs as members. Their scope and aims are most usually in the public interest but may also have been created with a specific purpose.
While many non-governmental organizations (NGOs), a generalizing term used for privately created organizations with international scope, certainly have international presence and aims, it is in the sense of IGOs that the term "international organization" is used in the remainder of this article.NGOs tend to relate more to global issues on individual levels rather than state problems on systemic levels.
Contents
- 1 Legal nature
- 2 Membership and function
- 3 Historical Development of International Organizations
- 4 Purpose of International organizations
- 5 Examples of organizations
- 5.1 Global organizations
- 5.2 Regional organizations
- 5.3 Organizations with various membership criteria
- 5.4 Financial international organizations
Legal nature
Legally speaking, an international organization may be established by a constituent document such as a charter, a treaty or a Convention, which when signed by the founding members, provides the IGO with legal recognition. International organizations so established are subjects of international law, capable of entering into agreements among themselves or with states. Thus international organizations in a legal sense are distinguished from mere groupings of states, such as the G-8 and the G-77, neither of which have been founded by a constituent document and exist only as task groups, though in non-legal contexts these are sometimes referred erroneously as international organizations.
International organizations must also be distinguished from treaties. Many treaties (e.g., the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) or, in the 1947-1995 period, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)) do not establish an international organization and rely purely on the parties for their administration becoming legally recognized as an ad hoc commission.
Membership and function
International organizations differ in function, membership and membership criteria. Membership of some organisations (global organizations) is open to all the nations of the world as far as they comply with membership criteria and after approval by a general assembly or similar body. This category includes the United Nations and its specialized agencies and the World Trade Organization. Other organizations are only open to members from a particular region or continent of the world, like European Union, African Union, ASEAN and other regional organizations.
Finally, some organizations base their membership on other criteria: cultural or historical links (the Commonwealth of Nations, La Francophonie, the Community of Portuguese Language Countries, the Latin Union), level of economic development or type of economy (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Organization of Petroleum-Exporting Countries (OPEC), or religion (Organization of the Islamic Conference).
The Union of International Associations provides ancillary information on international organizations.
Historical Development of International Organizations
International organizations developed mainly from the need of nations and governments to have a neutral forum where to debate and consider matters of importance to more than one particular nation. However, some IOs also developed from the need of an either executive or enforcement body which could carry on multinational interests in an unified form.
Among the first IOs was the future International Telecommunications Union, which was founded by the signing of the International Telegraph Convention by twenty countries in May 1865.
In the nineteenth century, France showed interest in the creation of many international organizations (such as those which maintain the Système international d'unités (metric system))Purpose of International organizations
International organizations describe and define their purpose in their charter or other document of creation. International Organizations exist with diverse aims, including but not limited to increase international relations, promote education, health care, economic development, environmental protection, human rights, humanitarian efforts, inter-cultural approach and conflict resolution.
Examples of organizations
Global organizations
- United Nations, its specialized agencies, and associated organizations
- International Hydrographic Organization
- International Seabed Authority
- Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
- World Trade Organization
- INTERPOL
- FIFA
Regional organizations
Organizations grouping almost all the countries in their respective continents. Note that Russia is member of both the Council of Europe (COE) and the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD), and Cuba is currently a suspended member of the Organization of American States (OAS)
Several non-overlapping large alliances. Softer colors indicate observer/associate or candidate countries.
Several smaller regional organizations with non-overlapping memberships.
Europe:
- European Union (EU)
- Council of Europe (COE)
- Economic Commission for Europe (ECE)
- European Free Trade Association (EFTA)
- European Space Agency (ESA)
- European Patent Organisation (EPO)
Asia:
- Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD)
- Asian Development Bank (ADB)
- East Asian Summit (EAS)
- Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
- South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)
- Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO)
- Gulf Cooperation Council
- Colombo Plan
Eurasia:
- Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
- Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)
- Eurasian Economic Community
- Central Asian Cooperation Organization
- TRACECA
- GUAM
- Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC)
Africa:
- African Union
- Conseil de l'Entente
- Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
- West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA)
- Southern African Development Community (SADC)
- Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)
- Arab Maghreb Union
The Americas:
- Organization of American States (OAS)
- Union of South American Nations
- Mercosur
- Andean Community
- Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
- Association of Caribbean States (ACS)
- Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS)
- Central American Parliament
- Rio Group
- Cooperation System of the American Air Forces(SICOFAA)
Trans-atlantic:
- North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)
- Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)
- South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone (ZPCAS)
Arctic Ocean:
- Arctic Council
Indian Ocean:
- Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC)
- Indian Ocean Commission (IOC)
Pacific:
- ANZUS
- Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
- Pacific Islands Forum
- Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP)
- Secretariat of the Pacific Community
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Organizations with various membership criteria
International organizations that largely represent the independent states formed after the breakup of an empire. La Francophonie has overlapping membership with all three of the other organizations shown in the map.
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
- Organization of Petroleum-Exporting Countries (OPEC)
- Commonwealth of Nations
- La Francophonie
- Comunidade dos países de língua portuguesa (CPLP)
- Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI)
- Unión Latina
- Non-Aligned Movement
- Arab League
- Organization of the Islamic Conference
- Advisory Centre on WTO Law
- International Parliament for Safety and Peace (IPSP)
Financial international organizations
- Bank for International Settlements
- International Monetary Fund (IMF)
- World Bank Group
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