Intergovernmental organization
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==Intergovernmental vs International Organizations==
Intergovernmental organizations are institutions of public [[international law]] whose members are sovereign States and other IGOs. Intergovernmental organizations are sometimes called [[International organization]]s, an expression which is less specific.
==Legal nature==
Legally speaking, an intergovernmental 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 international [[Juristic person|legal personality]]. Intergovernmental organizations so established are [[subject of international law|subjects of international law]], capable of entering into agreements among themselves or with States. Thus, intergovernmental organizations in a legal sense should be distinguished from mere groupings of states, such as the [[G-8]] and the [[Group of 77|G-77]]. Such groups or associations have not been founded by a constituent document and exist only as [[task group]]s. However, in non-legal contexts, these are sometimes referred erroneously as international or intergovernmental organizations.
Intergovernmental 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 organization and rely purely on the parties for their administration becoming legally recognised as an ''[[ad hoc]]'' commission. Other treaties have established an administrative Secretariat which was not deemed to have be granted international legal personality.
==Membership and function==
Intergovernmental organizations differ in function, membership and membership criteria. Membership of some organizations ([[global organization]]s) is open to all the nations of [[Earth|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, as well as the [[World Trade Organization]]. Other organizations are only open to members from a particular [[subregion|region]] or [[continent]] of the world, such as the [[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''' ([[Organisation of the Islamic Conference]]).
The [[Union of International Associations]] publishes an annual directory of organizations and provides ancillary information on most international organizations, both intergovernmental and non-governmental.
==Historical Development of International Organisations==
{{Expand|date=August 2007}}
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 IGOs 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 IGOs 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 other intergovernmental organizations (such as those which maintain the ''[[SI|Système international d'unités]]'' ([[metric system]])){{Fact|date=December 2007}}.
==Purpose of Intergovernmental Organizations==
Intergovernmental organizations describe and define their purpose in their charter or other document of creation. These 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 Intergovernmental Organizations==
===Global organizations===
*[[United Nations]], its [[:Category:United Nations specialized agencies|specialized agencies]], and associated organisations
*[[International Hydrographic Organization]]
*[[International Seabed Authority]]
*[[Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons]]
*[[World Trade Organization]]
*[[INTERPOL]]
===Regional organizations===
The members of a '''regional organization''' are generally considered to share a [[geographic region]].
[[Image:Continental Orgs Map.png|450px|right|thumb|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 [[Cuban relations with the Organization of American States|''suspended'' member]] of the [[Organization of American States]] (OAS)]]
[[Image:Regional Organizations Map.png|450px|right|thumb|Several smaller regional organizations with non-overlapping memberships.]]
[[Image:Alliances expansive Map.png|450px|right|thumb|Several non-overlapping large alliances. Softer colours indicate observer/associate or candidate countries.]]
'''Europe''':
*[[European Union]] (EU)
*[[Council of Europe]] (COE)
*[[European Free Trade Association]] (EFTA)
*[[European Patent Organization]] (EPO)
*[[Western European Union]]
*[[Eiroforum]]
:*[[European Space Agency]] (ESA)
:*[[European Organization for Nuclear Research|CERN]](CERN)
:*[[European Southern Observatory]] (ESO)
*[[Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission]]
*[[Benelux]]
*[[Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union]]
*[[British-Irish Council]]
*[[Nordic Council]]
*[[Nordic Investment Bank]]
*[[Organisation conjointe de coopération en matière d'armement]](OCCAR)
*[[Agency for international trade information and cooperation]](AITIC)
'''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 Organization]] (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]]
===Organizations with various membership criteria===
[[Image:Postempire Orgs Map.png|450px|right|thumb|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.]]
*[[Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development]] (OECD)
*[[OPEC|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]]
*[[Organisation of the Islamic Conference]]
*[[Advisory Centre on WTO Law]]
===Financial international organizations & Intergovernmental Banks===
* [[World Bank Group]] The World Bank group is actually a group of 3 IGOs
* [[International Monetary Fund]] (IMF)
* [[Bank for International Settlements]] (not strictly speaking an IGO as the members are [[Central Bank]]s)
* [[European Bank for Reconstruction and Development]]
===Educational Organizations and Universities===
* [[United Nations University]]
* [[Academy of European Law]] (ERA)
* [[European University Institute]] (IMF)
* [[UNIDROIT]]
* [[International Bureau of Education]] IBE, now a part of UNESCO
==See also==
* [[List of international organisations]]
* [[International organisations in Europe]]
* [[Supranationalism]]
* [[Supranational aspects of international organizations]]
* [[Supranational union]]
* [[World government]]
* [[Intergovernmentalism]]
* [[International decoration]]
* [[Environmental organizations]]
* [[Trade bloc]]
* [[Organizations with .INT domain names]]
* [[List of international trade topics]]
* [[Energie-Cités]]
* [[Multilateral Development Bank]]
* [[International University]]
==Further readings and External References==
* Claude, I.L. (1959). ''Swords into Plowshares: The problems and progress of international organization''. New York: Random House
http://untreaty.un.org/English/Seminar/Laos_03/intorganizations.ppt<br />http://www.aallnet.org/sis/fcilsis/Syllabi/kuehl/Introduction%20to%20Intergovernmental%20Organizations%20and%20Non-Governmental.ppt
[[Category:International organizations|*]]
[[Category:Intergovernmental organizations]]
[[Category:International relations]]
[[Category:Lists of organizations]]
[[Category:International trade]]
[[Category:World government]]
[[Category:International law]]
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