International Organization - Wi
International Organization - Wi
International organization
An international organization or international
organisation (see spelling differences), also known as an
intergovernmental organization or an international
institution, is a stable set of norms and rules meant to govern
the behavior of states and other actors in the international
system.[2][3][4] Organizations may be established by a treaty or
be an instrument governed by international law and possessing
its own legal personality, such as the United Nations, the World
Health Organization and NATO.[5][6] International The offices of the United Nations in
organizations are composed of primarily member states, but Geneva (Switzerland), which is the
may also include other entities, such as other international city that hosts the highest number of
organizations, firms, and nongovernmental organizations.[4] international organizations in the
Additionally, entities (including states) may hold observer world.[1]
status.[7]
Notable examples include the United Nations (UN), Organization for Security and Co-operation in
Europe (OSCE), Bank for International Settlements (BIS), Council of Europe (COE), International
Labour Organization (ILO) and International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL).[8]
Terminology
International organizations are sometimes referred to as intergovernmental organizations
(IGOs), to clarify the distinction from international non-governmental organizations (INGOs),
which are non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that operate internationally. These include
international nonprofit organizations such as the World Organization of the Scout Movement,
International Committee of the Red Cross and Médecins Sans Frontières, as well as lobby groups
that represent the interests of multinational corporations.
IGOs are established by a treaty that acts as a charter creating the group. Treaties are formed when
lawful representatives (governments) of several states go through a ratification process, providing
the IGO with an international legal personality. Intergovernmental organizations are an important
aspect of public international law.
In 1935, Pitman B. Potter defined international organization as "an association or union of nations
established or recognized by them for the purpose of realizing a common end". He distinguished
between bilateral and multilateral organizations on one end and customary or conventional
organizations on the other end.[9]
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an administrative apparatus which was not deemed to have been granted binding legal
authority.[10] The broader concept wherein relations among three or more states are organized
according to certain principles they hold in common is multilateralism.[11]
American Nations, Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD), Pacific Islands Forum, South Asian
Association for Regional Cooperation[12] Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization
(AALCO) and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).
Regional organizations
In regional organizations like the European Union, African Union, NATO, and ASEAN, there are
restrictions on membership due to factors such as geography or political regimes. To enter the
European Union (EU), the states require different criteria; member states need to be European,
liberal-democratic political system, and be a capitalist economy.[13]
The oldest regional organization is the Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine, created in
1815 by the Congress of Vienna.
Economic rewards: In the case of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA),
membership in the free trade agreement benefits the parties’ economies. For example,
Mexican companies are given better access to U.S. markets due to their membership.
Political influence: Smaller countries, such as Portugal and Belgium, who do not carry much
political clout on the international stage, are given a substantial increase in influence through
membership in IGOs such as the European Union. Also for countries with more influence such
as France and Germany, IGOs are beneficial as the nation increases influence in the smaller
countries’ internal affairs and expanding other nations dependence on themselves, so to
preserve allegiance.
Security: Membership in an IGO such as NATO gives security benefits to member countries.
This provides an arena where political differences can be resolved.
Democracy: It has been noted that member countries experience a greater degree of
democracy and those democracies survive longer.
Loss of sovereignty: Membership often comes with a loss of state sovereignty as treaties are
signed that require co-operation on the part of all member states.
Insufficient benefits: Often membership does not bring about substantial enough benefit to
warrant membership in the organization.
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immunities are also specified in the Vienna Convention on the Representation of States in their
Relations with International Organizations of a Universal Character of 1975,.[14] which however
has so far not been signed by 35 states and is thus not yet in force (status: 2022).[15]
The immunities also extend to employment law.[20][21] In this regard, immunity from national
jurisdiction necessitates that reasonable alternative means are available to effectively protect
employees’ rights;[22] in this context, a first instance Dutch court considered an estimated duration
of proceedings before the Administrative Tribunal of the International Labour Organization of 15
years to be too long.[23]
The UN agencies have a variety of tasks based on their specialization and their interests. The UN
agencies provide different kinds of assistance to low-income countries and middle-income
countries, and this assistance would be a good resource for developmental projects in developing
countries. The UN has to protect any kind of human rights violation, and in the UN system, some
specialized agencies, like ILO and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),
work in the human rights' protection fields.[26] The UN agency, ILO, is trying to end any kind of
discrimination in the work field and child labor; after that, this agency promotes fundamental
labor rights and to get safe and secure for the laborers.[27]
History
The origin of IGOs can be traced way back from the Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815, which was
an international diplomatic conference to reconstitute the European political order after the
downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon.[28] States then became the main decision makers who
preferred to maintain their sovereignty as of 1648 at the Westphalian treaty that closed the 30
years’ war in Europe.
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The first and oldest international organization—being established employing a treaty, and creating
a permanent secretariat, with a global membership—was the International Telecommunication
Union (founded in 1865). The first general international organization—addressing a variety of
issues—was the League of Nations, founded on 10 January 1920 with a principal mission of
maintaining world peace after World War I. The United Nations followed this model after World
War II. This was signed on 26 June 1945, in San Francisco, at the conclusion of the United Nations
Conference on International Organization, and came into force on 24 October 1945.[29] Currently,
the UN is the main IGO with its arms such as the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), the
General Assembly (UNGA), the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the Secretariat (UNSA), the
Trusteeship Council (UNTC) and the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Other IGOs include
Regional Councils like ICES and the Mediterranean Science Commission (CIESM), and continental
blocks like the European Union (EU), African Union (AU), East African Community (EAC), and
Multi- National Companies (MNCs) like SHELL.
Held and McGrew counted thousands of IGOs worldwide in 2002[30] and this number continues to
rise. This may be attributed to globalization, which increases and encourages the co-operation
among and within states and which has also provided easier means for IGO growth as a result of
increased international relations. This is seen economically, politically, militarily, as well as on the
domestic level. Economically, IGOs gain material and non-material resources for economic
prosperity. IGOs also provide more political stability within the state and among differing
states.[31] Military alliances are also formed by establishing common standards in order to ensure
security of the members to ward off outside threats. Lastly, the formation has encouraged
autocratic states to develop into democracies in order to form an effective and internal
government.[32]
According to a different estimate, the number of IGOs in the world has increased from less than
100 in 1949 to about 350 in 2000.[33][34]
See also
Politics portal
World portal
Intergovernmentalism
International financial institutions
International organisations in Europe
International relations
International trade
Index of international trade topics
List of intergovernmental organizations
List of organizations with .int domain names
List of regional organizations by population
List of supranational environmental agencies
List of trade blocs
Multilateralism
Non-aggression pact
Regional Economic Communities
Regional integration
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Regional organization
Supranational aspects of international organizations
Supranational union
Trade bloc
World government
References
1. (in French) François Modoux, "La Suisse engagera 300 millions pour rénover le Palais des
Nations", Le Temps, Friday 28 June 2013, page 9.
2. Simmons, Beth; Martin, Lisa (2002). International Organizations and Institutions (https://schola
r.harvard.edu/bsimmons/publications/international-organizations-and-institutions). Handbook of
International Relations. Thousand. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. p. 94.
3. Duffield, John (2007). "What Are International Institutions?" (https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-248
6.2007.00643.x). International Studies Review. 9 (1): 1–22. doi:10.1111/j.1468-
2486.2007.00643.x (https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.1468-2486.2007.00643.x). ISSN 1521-9488 (h
ttps://www.worldcat.org/issn/1521-9488). S2CID 29990247 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/Cor
pusID:29990247).
4. Koremenos, Barbara; Lipson, Charles; Snidal, Duncan (2001). "The Rational Design of
International Institutions" (https://www.jstor.org/stable/3078615). International Organization. 55
(4): 761–799. doi:10.1162/002081801317193592 (https://doi.org/10.1162%2F00208180131719
3592). ISSN 0020-8183 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0020-8183). JSTOR 3078615 (https://w
ww.jstor.org/stable/3078615). S2CID 41593236 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:4159
3236).
5. "Articles on the Responsibility of International Organisations" (http://legal.un.org/avl/ha/ario/ari
o.html). legal.un.org. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
6. Bouwhuis, Stephen (1 January 2012). "The International Law Commission's Definition of
International Organizations" (https://brill.com/view/journals/iolr/9/2/article-p451_5.xml).
International Organizations Law Review. 9 (2): 451–465. doi:10.1163/15723747-00902004 (htt
ps://doi.org/10.1163%2F15723747-00902004). ISSN 1572-3747 (https://www.worldcat.org/iss
n/1572-3747).
7. "International Organizations - Research Guide International Law | Peace Palace Library" (http
s://web.archive.org/web/20200513060037/https://peacepalacelibrary.nl/research-guides/interna
tional-organisations-and-relations/international-organizations/). Archived from the original (http
s://www.peacepalacelibrary.nl/research-guides/international-organisations-and-relations/interna
tional-organizations/) on 13 May 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
8. "Intergovernmental organizations having received a standing invitation to participate as
observers in the sessions and the work of the General Assembly and maintaining permanent
offices at Headquarters (https://www.un.org/members/intergovorg.shtml)." United Nations
Department of Public Information, United Nations Secretariat.
9. Potter, Pitman B. (1935). "The Classification of International Organizations, I" (https://www.cam
bridge.org/core/product/identifier/S000305540002760X/type/journal_article). American Political
Science Review. 29 (2): 215. doi:10.2307/1947502 (https://doi.org/10.2307%2F1947502).
ISSN 0003-0554 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0003-0554). JSTOR 1947502 (https://www.jsto
r.org/stable/1947502). S2CID 251095046 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:25109504
6).
10. Roger, Charles B.; Rowan, Sam S. (2022). "Analyzing international organizations: How the
concepts we use affect the answers we get". The Review of International Organizations. 17 (3):
597–625. doi:10.1007/s11558-021-09432-2 (https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs11558-021-09432-2).
hdl:10230/49072 (https://hdl.handle.net/10230%2F49072). ISSN 1559-744X (https://www.world
cat.org/issn/1559-744X).
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25. Alesani, Daniele (17 December 2013). "International Institutions. Classification and main
characteristics". Management of International Institutions and NGOs: Frameworks, practices
and challenges. Routledge. p. 24. ISBN 9780415706650.
26. Blyth-Kubota, Fiona (16 April 1992). "Specialised Agencies and Other United Nations Organs
Working in the Field of Human Rights" (https://brill.com/view/journals/nord/61-62/1-4/article-p19
3_22.xml). Nordic Journal of International Law. 61–62 (1–4): 193–195. doi:10.1163/15718107-
90000022 (https://doi.org/10.1163%2F15718107-90000022). ISSN 0902-7351 (https://www.wo
rldcat.org/issn/0902-7351).
27. The ILO at Work (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJEue9-lTgg), retrieved 7 May 2022
28. Timothy M. R. Kukula, 2021, School of Social Sciences, Nkumba University- Uganda
29. Charter of the United Nations and Statute of the International Court of Justce
30. Held and McGrew, 2002: Introduction, pp. 1–21
31. Lundgren, Magnus (2016). "Which type of international organizations can settle civil wars?".
Review of International Organizations. 12 (4): 613–641. doi:10.1007/s11558-016-9253-0 (http
s://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs11558-016-9253-0). S2CID 152898046 (https://api.semanticscholar.or
g/CorpusID:152898046).
32. Shannon, Megan. "The Expansion of International Organizations" Paper presented at the
annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Hilton Chicago and the Palmer
House Hilton, Chicago, IL, Sep 02, 2004 <Not Available>. 2009-05-26 [1] (http://www.allacade
mic.com) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20091125043303/http://www.allacademic.co
m/) 2009-11-25 at the Wayback Machine
33. Keohane, Robert O. (11 May 2020). "Understanding Multilateral Institutions in Easy and Hard
Times" (https://doi.org/10.1146%2Fannurev-polisci-050918-042625). Annual Review of Political
Science. 23 (1): 1–18. doi:10.1146/annurev-polisci-050918-042625 (https://doi.org/10.1146%2
Fannurev-polisci-050918-042625). ISSN 1094-2939 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1094-293
9).
34. Eilstrup-Sangiovanni, Mette (1 April 2020). "Death of international organizations. The
organizational ecology of intergovernmental organizations, 1815–2015" (https://doi.org/10.100
7%2Fs11558-018-9340-5). The Review of International Organizations. 15 (2): 339–370.
doi:10.1007/s11558-018-9340-5 (https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs11558-018-9340-5). ISSN 1559-
744X (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1559-744X).
Further reading
Barnett, Michael and Finnemore, M. 2004. Rules for the World: International Organizations in
Global Politics. Cornell University Press.
Hurd, Ian. 2018. International Organizations: Politics, Law, Practice. Cambridge University
Press.
Lall, Ranjit. 2017. "Beyond Institutional Design: Explaining the Performance of International
Organizations." International Organization 53: 699-732.
Claude, Inis L. Jr. (1964) [1959]. Swords into Plowshares: The problems and progress of
international organization (3rd ed.). New York: Random House. OCLC 559717722 (https://ww
w.worldcat.org/oclc/559717722).
IGO search (http://www.igo-search.org/) Free service allowing search through websites of all
intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) as recognized and profiled by the Union of
International Associations.
Nedergaard, Peter; Duina, Francesco (August 2010). "Learning in international governmental
organizations: the case of social protection" (https://curis.ku.dk/ws/files/239517095/Learning_in
_International_Governmental_Organizations.pdf) (PDF). Global Social Policy. 10 (2): 193–217.
doi:10.1177/1468018110366617 (https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1468018110366617).
S2CID 144435350 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:144435350).
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External links
Headquarters of International Organisation (http://www.thegeneralknowledge.in/2015/03/headq
uarters-of-international.html) List of International Organisation and their Headquarters
Procedural history and related documents (http://legal.un.org/avl/ha/ario/ario.html) on the
'Articles on the Responsibility of International Organizations in the Historic Archives (http://lega
l.un.org/avl/historicarchives.html) of the United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law
World News related documents (https://web.archive.org/web/20141228214550/http://snn.co.in/
world-news.html) on the World News related documents
IGO Search (https://web.archive.org/web/20120722070858/http://library.stanford.edu/depts/jon
sson/collections/intl/igosearch.html): IGO/NGO google custom search engine built by the Govt
Documents Round Table (GODORT) (https://web.archive.org/web/20080807171534/http://wiki
s.ala.org/godort/) of the American Library Association.
Intergovernmental organization (https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/opia/what-is-public-interest-law/pu
blic-service-practice-settings/public-international-law/intergovernmental-organizations-igos/) at
hls.harvard.edu
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