International Organizations

18 – INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

International organisations are entities established by formal political agreements between their members that have the status of international treaties; their existence is recognised by law in their member countries; they are not treated as resident institutional units of the countries in which they are located.

The United Nations

• an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace.

• the UN was founded after the end of World War II on October, 24 1945, on the basis of Charter of the UN, by 51 states in San Francisco, nowadays it consists of 191 states

• since 2007, Ban Ki-Moon has been the Secretary General

• the headquarters is in New York, major agencies are also located in Geneva, Hague, Vienna, Montreal, Bonn

1. The Great Assembly - made up of all member states (each state has one vote)

• it meets in regular yearly sessions

1. The Security Council - investigates any situation threatening international peace and recommends procedures for peaceful resolution of a dispute = UN Security Council Resolutions

• the five main victors of World War II are the Security Council permanent members with veto power: The United States of America, Russia, The United Kingdom, France, People's Republic of China

• 10 other members are elected by the Great Assembly for 2-year terms, 5 of them are replaced each year

1. The International Court of Justice

• the principal judicial organ of the United Nations with the seat in the Peace Palace in Hague, Netherlands

• 15 judges elected for 15 years, 5 of them are replaced each 5 years

1. Specialized agencies under the UN

• UNESCO- United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization - its purpose is to contribute to peace and security by promoting international collaboration through education, science, and culture

  • IMF-International Monetary Fund – an international organization entrusted with overseeing the global financial system by monitoring exchange rates and balance of payments, as well as offering technical and financial assistance when asked

  • UNICEF – United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund - provides long-term humanitarian assistance to children and mothers in developing countries

  • Other (WHO-World Health Organization, FAO- Food and Agriculture Organization

The European Union

• an intergovernmental and supranational union of 27 democratic member states from the European continent

• the European Union was established under that name in 1992 by the Treaty on European Union (the Maastricht Treaty), however, many aspects of the Union existed before that date through the series of predecessor relationships, dating back to 1951 (European Coal and Steel Community, European Economic Community,…)

• 2002 – Euro was launched

• its headquarters is in Brussels and its anthem is “Ode to Joy” by Ludwig van Beethoven