International organization

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An international organisation is, by definition, any organisation with international membership, scope, or presence. However, in common usage, the term is usually reserved for intergovernmental organisations (IGO) such as the U.N., the European Union, the Council of Europe, 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 organisations (NGOs), a generalising term used for privately created organisations with international scope, certainly have international presence and aims, it is in the sense of IGOs that the term "international organisation" 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.

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[edit] Legal nature

Legally speaking, an international organisation 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 organisations so established are subjects of international law, capable of entering into agreements among themselves or with states. Thus international organisations 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 organisations.

International organisations 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 organisation and rely purely on the parties for their administration becoming legally recognised as an ad hoc commission.

[edit] Membership and function

International organisations 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 specialised agencies and the World Trade Organization. Other organisations are only open to members from a particular region or continent of the world, like European Union, African Union, ASEAN and other regional organisations.

Finally, some organisations 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 (Organisation of the Islamic Conference).

The Union of International Associations provides ancillary information on international organisations.

[edit] Historical Development of International Organisations

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International organisations 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 a unified form.

Among the first IOs were the Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine, initiated in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars, and 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 organisations (such as those which maintain the Système international d'unités (metric system))[citation needed].

[edit] Purpose of International organisations

International organisations describe and define their purpose in their charter or other document of creation. International Organisations 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.

[edit] Examples of organisations

[edit] Global organisations

[edit] Regional organisations

The members of a regional organization are generally considered to share a geographic region.

Organisations 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)
Organisations 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 smaller regional organizations with non-overlapping memberships.
Several smaller regional organizations with non-overlapping memberships.
Several non-overlapping large alliances. Softer colours indicate observer/associate or candidate countries.
Several non-overlapping large alliances. Softer colours indicate observer/associate or candidate countries.

Europe:

Asia:

Eurasia:

Africa:

The Americas:

Trans-Atlantic:

Arctic Ocean:

Indian Ocean:

Pacific:

[edit] Organisations with various membership criteria

International organisations that largely represent the independent states formed after the breakup of an empire. La Francophonie has overlapping membership with all three of the other organisations shown in the map.
International organisations that largely represent the independent states formed after the breakup of an empire. La Francophonie has overlapping membership with all three of the other organisations shown in the map.

[edit] Financial international organisations

[edit] See also

[edit] Further reading

  • Claude, I.L. (1959). Swords into Plowshares: The problems and progress of international organization. New York: Random House.