5 International Organization You Need to Know

an international relations is organizations that includes members from more than one nations. Some international organizations are very large, such as corporations. Others are small and dedicated to a specific purpose, such as conservation of a species. In an increasingly interconnected and interdependent world, some issues are too big for countries to handle on their own. Countries need to work together, and they do so in part through international organizations that facilitate cooperation and encourage diplomatic solutions to global problems.

Here 5 international organizations you need to know:

 

• Year Established : 1945
• Member countries : 193 (2 nonmember states, the Holy See and the State of Palestine, are permanent observes)
• Headquarters : New York City, United States
• Mission : To promote international peace and stability, human rights, and economic development

Four months after the San Francisco Conference ended, the United Nations officially began, on 24 October 1945, when it came into existence after its Charter had been ratified by China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and by a majority of other signatories.

Now, more than 75 years later, the United Nations is still working to maintain international peace and security, give humanitarian assistance to those in need, protect human rights, and uphold international law.

At the same time, the United Nations is doing new work not envisioned for it in 1945 by its founders. The United Nations has set sustainable development goals for 2030, in order to achieve a better and more sustainable future for us all. UN Member States have also agreed to climate action to limit global warming.

With many achievements now in its past, the United Nations is looking to the future, to new achievements.

The history of the United Nations is still being written.

 

• Year Established : 1995
• Member countries : 164
• Headquarters : Geneva, Switzerland
• Mission : To manage the rules of international trade and ensure the fair and equitable treatment of all members through negotiations and trade dispute settlements.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the only global international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations. At its heart are the WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world’s trading nations and ratified in their parliaments. The goal is to help producers of goods and services, exporters, and importers conduct their business.

The WTO agreements are lengthy and complex because they are legal texts covering a wide range of activities. But a number of simple, fundamental principles run throughout all of these documents. These principles are the foundation of the multilateral trading system.

 

• Year Established : 1999
• Member countries : 20 (19 individual countries and the European Union)
• Headquarters : Washington D.C.
• Mission : To convene officials from world’s largest economies, both advanced and developing, to jointly address global economics concerns and coordinate economic policies.

The Group of Twenty (G20) is the premier forum for international economic cooperation. It plays an important role in shaping and strengthening global architecture and governance on all major international economic issues.

• The G20 Presidency steers the G20 agenda for one year and hosts the Summit. The G20 consists of two parallel tracks: the Finance Track and the Sherpa Track. Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors lead the Finance Track while Sherpas lead the Sherpa Track after Finance Track.
• The G20 process from the Sherpa side is coordinated by the Sherpas of member countries, who are personal emissaries of the Leaders. Finance Track is led by Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors of the member countries. Within the two tracks, there are thematically oriented working groups in which representatives from the relevant ministries of the members as well as from invited/guest countries and various international organisations participate.
  The Finance Track is mainly led by the Ministry of Finance. These working groups meet regularly throughout the term of each Presidency. The Sherpas oversee negotiations over the course of the year, discussing agenda items for the Summit and coordinating the substantive work of the G20.
• In addition, there are Engagement Groups which bring together civil societies, parliamentarians, think tanks, women, youth, labour, businesses and researchers of the G20 countries.
• The Group does not have a permanent secretariat. The Presidency is supported by the Troika – previous, current and incoming Presidency.

 

• Year Established : 2002  (When Rome Statute, the treaty that created the ICC, came into force)
• Member countries : 123 (The United States signed but did not ratify the Rome Statute, which means it is not a full member. Burundi was a member but withdrew in 2017.
• Headquarters : Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
• Mission : To investigate and try those charged with genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and crimes of aggression.

 

• Year Established : 1969
• Member countries : 157 states, covering four continents.
• Headquarters : The Hague, Netherlands
• Mission : To strengthen cooperation and solidarity between the Member States, to protect the rights and interests of the Islamic World.

History of the Organisation:

The OIC was established by the decision of the First Islamic Summit Conference held in Rabat on 22-25 September 1969, upon the reactions of the Islamic World, provoked by the arson attack against Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holy site in Islam and located in Israeli occupied Jerusalem, by an Australian extremist Jew on 21 August 1969.

The name of the organization was changed to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) at the 38th meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs (CFM) held in Astana on 28-30 June 2011.

The Office of Secretariat General was established at the 1st Meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs in March 1970, a Secretary General was appointed and it was decided that the Secretariat would operate in Jeddah until the liberation of Jerusalem.

OIC Charter:

The new Charter, adopted at the 11th ICO (Islamic Conference Organisation) Summit held in Dakar on 13-14 March 2008 replacing the ICO Charter adopted in the 3rd CFM Meeting held in Rabat in 1972, is the main founding document of the Organisation. The Charter states the Organisation’s objectives and principles and determines the rules for membership, observer status, amicable settlement of disputes, budget, finance as well as operational rules.

The new Charter, which revised and substituted the previous Charter of 1972, has been a crucial milestone for reforming the Organisation. The New Charter establishes the legal basis and the organs necessary for the cooperation and activities among the Islamic countries in accordance with the contemporary requirements of the new environment which have emerged as a result of radical changes in the international fora since 1972.

The Charter can be accessed through the following link:

https://www.oic-oci.org/upload/documents/charter/en/oic charter 2018 en.pdf

 

References

Evers Jenny, et. al. ENCYCLOPEDIC ENTRY: International Organization, https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/international-organization/, October 2023

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Republic of Turkey. ENCYCLOPEDIC ENTRY: International Organization, https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/international-organization/, October 2023