International organizations and international co-operation
- What international organizations do you know?
- The formation of international organizations has been a 20th- century phenomenon. Nowadays there are more than 2,500 inter national organizations. Among them are more than 130 intergovernmental unions. The United Nations Organization is the most notable. Other important organizations are the European Economic Community, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the Organization of American States, and the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance.
- Why did people create international organizations?
- The creation of international organizations on a wide scale in the 20th-century is the result of the progress in the technology of communication, transportation, warfare, and the spread of industrialization. These developments gave rise to a sense of interdependence among the peoples of the world, and made people recognize the importance of international co-operation to avoid the dangers, solve the problems, and use the opportunities which confront the society of nations on a world-wide scale. Some organizations are concerned only with single and relatively narrow problems, while others, such as the United Nations and the UNESCO, deal with a great variety of matters. Moreover, international organizations function as either intergovernmental or nongovernmental agencies.
- Can you dwell on one of the international organizations?
- Yes, I can tell you about the European Union.
- When was the European Union created?
- The European Union was created November 1, 1993 out of the European Economic Community.
- How did the European Economic Community come into being?
- The European Economic Community (EEC) was founded in 1957-58 to oversee the economic integration of the nations of Western Europe. In 1967 the EEC united together with the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Atomic Energy Community to form the European Communities, or EC.
- What are member-states of the European Union?
- The European Union is an organization of most of the states of western Europe that works toward and oversees the economic and political integration of these states. The European Union consists of the European Community. The original members of the EEC were Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom joined in 1973. Greece was admitted in 1981. Portugal and Spain entered in 1986. The former East Germany entered as part of re unified Germany in 1990. Greenland, a dependent state of Den mark that had been brought into the EC when under full Danish rule, withdrew in 1985. The Maastricht Treaty paved the way for other European countries to join the EU. Austria, Finland, and Sweden - all members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) - became members of the EU in 1995.
- How often do the members of the European Union meet?
- The European Union General Assembly meets once in four years. As a rule the European Union member-states have regular annual meetings.
- What role do the international organizations play today?
- The influence of the international organizations is great. They deal with political, social, and economic problems. They are concerned with the environmental problems as well. For example, such international organization as the United Nations is aimed at modifications of the national and international laws for the good of the people. The chief modification introduced by the United Nations Charter is the limitation of the rights of subjects of international law under international customary law to threaten or resort to armed reprisals and war.
- What are the results of the activity of the international organizations?
- The results of the activity of the international organizations are significant The UN General Assembly passed a number of resolutions and declarations. They are the Nuremberg Principles that dealt with crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity; genocide; the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; the right of peoples and nations to self-determination; permanent sovereignty over natural resources; denuclearization; and non-intervention. The most important of them is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This general agreement that all human beings are entitled to some basic rights marked the birth of the international and universal recognition of human rights.