1

CIVIL SERVICES EXAM 2003

A reference ebook
International Organizations part-2
Created on: September 24, 2002
Author: Rajesh Kumar Bindal
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[email protected]/rajeshbindal_iitm@yahoo.
com


This book has been downloaded from
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Nordic Council of Ministers
organization of the Nordic states of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden for the
purpose of consultation and cooperation on matters of common interest. The Council was
established in February 1971 under an amendment to the Helsinki Convention (1962) between
the Nordic countries. It consists of the ministers of state of the member countries, as well as other
ministers with responsibility for the subject under discussion. Formal decisions are usually binding
on the member governments. The Council of Ministers provides funds for a large number of joint
Nordic institutions and projects in such fields as investment finance, scientific research and
development, culture, education, and social welfare and health. A related organization, the Nordic
Council, serves as an advisory body.

The Basel Group
The Basel Group In 1930 a Bank for International Settlements was established at Basel, Switz.;
its main duty was to supervise and organize the transfer of German reparations to the recipient
countries. This "transfer problem" had caused much trouble during the 1920s. There may also
have been a hope in the minds of some that this institution might one day develop into something
like a world central bank. Not long after it was set up the Germans gained a moratorium on their
reparations payments. By then, however, the Bank for International Settlements had become a
convenient place for the heads of the European central banks to meet together and discuss
current problems. This practice was resumed after the war, and the United States, although not a
member, was invited to join in the deliberations. When Marshall Plan aid was furnished by the
United States to help European countries in their postwar reconstruction, a European Payment s
Union was established to facilitate multilateral trade and settlements in advance of the time when
it might be possible to reestablish full multilateralism on a world scale. The war had left a jumble
of trade restrictions that could not be quickly abolished. The European Payments Union also
contained a plan for the provision of credit to European debtors. The United Kingdom was a
member, and with it was associated the whole sterling area. Responsibility for working the
machinery of the European Payments Union was assigned to the Bank for International
Settlements. The European Payments Union was ultimately wound up after the countries of
Europe were able to eliminate the last restrictions and make their currencies fully convertible in
1958. In January and February 1961 there was a serious sterling crisis, due partly to the British
deficit of 1960 and partly to a large movement of funds in anticipation of an upward valuation of
the West German mark, which happened, and thereafter in anticipation of a second upward
valuation, which did not happen at that time. To help the British, the Basel Group of central banks
provided substantial credits. These were liquidated when the United Kingdom transferred its
indebtedness to the International Monetary Fund the following July. The Basel Group has
provided further credits from time to time. The problems involved have continued to be discussed
at the monthly meetings. The arrangement made for the support of the sterling area in 1968 is
noteworthy. After the devaluation of sterling in 1967 it was feared that the monetary authorities of
the countries composing the sterling area might wish to reduce their holdings of sterling. Because
there was a continuing problem of world liquidity and sterling played an important part as a
reserve currency, the international consensus was that any substantial reduction in the holding of
sterling as a reserve currency would be damaging to the international monetary system. Under
the arrangement made in 1968 the United Kingdom on its side agreed to give a dollar guarantee
to the value of the greater part of the sterling-area reserves; there were slightly different
arrangements with each monetary authority. On its side the Bank for International Settlement
agreed to organize credits to finance payments deficits for some countries of the sterling area,
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should these occur at times when the United Kingdom might find it difficult to handle them.

Irish Republican Army
(ira), unofficial semimilitary organization based in the Republic of Ireland that sought complete
Irish independence from the United Kingdom. In its later stages it and several successor
organizations strove for the unification of the Republic of Ireland with Northern Ireland, which had
remained a part of the U.K. The IRA was created in January 1919 as successor to the Irish
Volunteers, which was a militant nationalist organization founded in 1913. The IRA's purpose was
to render British rule in Ireland ineffective by the use of armed force and thus to assist in
achieving the broader political objective of an independent republic, an objective being pursued at
the political level by Sinn Fin, the Irish nationalist party. From its inception, however, the IRA has
operated independently, and in times of crisis it has rarely been under effective political control,
even though its membership overlaps that of Sinn Fin. During the Irish War of Independence
(1919-21), the IRA employed guerrilla tactics that included ambushes and raids, by groups of
from 15 to 30 men, and sabotage. This activity forced the British to negotiate a political
settlement, the terms of which provided for the creation of an Irish Free State having dominion
status within the British Empire. These terms, however, proved unacceptable to a substantial
number of IRA members. The organization consequently split into two factions: one supporting
the peace settlement, the other opposing it. The former group became the core of the official Irish
Free State Army, while the latter group, who came to be known as "the Irregulars," began to
organize armed resistance against the new independent government. In the ensuing civil war
(1922-23), the two groups engaged in a bitter conflict, which ended with the surrender of the
Irregulars. The Irregulars did not surrender their arms or disband as an organization but remained
in the background as a constant reminder to successive governments that the aspiration for a
united, republican Ireland, achieved by force if necessary, was still alive. Recruiting and illegal
drilling by the IRA continued, as did intermittent acts of violence. The organization was
consequently declared illegal in 1931 and again in 1936. In 1939 it organized a series of
bombings in England, and the Dil ireann (Irish house of represent atives) took stringent
measures against it, including provision for internment without trial. Its activities against the British
during World War II severely embarrassed the government of the Free State, and five IRA
leaders were executed and many more interned. After the withdrawal of the Irish Free State from
the British Commonwealth and its reconstitution as a republic (December 1948), the IRA turned
its attention to agitating for the unification of the Irish republic with predominantly Protestant
Northern Ireland, which remained a part of the United Kingdom. Sporadic incidents occurred
during the 1950s and early '60s, but lack of active support by Roman Catholics in Northern
Ireland rendered such efforts futile. The situation changed in the late 1960s, when Catholics in
Northern Ireland (Ulster) began a civil-rights campaign against discrimination in voting, housing,
and employment by the dominant Protestant majority. Violence by Protestant extremists against
the demonstrations prompted units of the IRA composed of Ulster Catholics, supported by the
organization in the Republic of Ireland, to begin a campaign of violence against both Ulster
Protestants and British governmental personnel. A conflict over the extent to which widespread
violence should be employed quickly led to a split in the IRA. Following a Sinn Fin conference
held in Dublin in December 1969, the IRA divided into an Official and a Provisional wing. Both
wings were committed to the union of all Irish and Ulster Catholics and Protestants in a socialist
Irish republic. The Official wing was Marxist, however, and eschewed violence after 1972. By
contrast, the Provisionals, also called Provos, consisted of younger, overtly sectarian Ulster
Catholics who remained steadfastly committed to the use of terror tactics in an effort to force the
withdrawal of British troops from Northern Ireland as a necessary prelude to the latter's unification
with the rest of (Catholic) Ireland. From 1970 the Provos carried out bombings, ambushes, and
assassinations that killed or wounded many Ulster Protestant civilians and British troops who
were stationed in Northern Ireland to try to keep the peace there. The Provos carried their terror
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campaign to England itself intermittently beginning in 1973. One of their most publicized attacks
was the assassination of Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, aboard his fishing
boat in Donegal Bay, Ire., on Aug. 27, 1979. The Provisional IRA's continuing conflict with British
troops and Protestant paramilitary forces resulted in at least 3,000 deaths from 1970 to the mid-
1990s but failed to convince the British government to withdraw its troops. In August 1994 the
Provisional IRA announced a cease-fire in its terror campaign following secret talks with British
officials, and formal negotiations on ending the sectarian violence in Northern Ireland began
between the IRA and the British government that December. In February 1996, however, the IRA
ended the cease-fire and resumed bomb attacks in England and Northern Ireland.

World Food Council
French CONSEIL MONDIAL DE L'ALIMENTATION, United Nations organization established by
the UN General Assembly in December 1974 upon recommendation of the World Food
Conference. The council meets annually and consists of 36 members, elected by the General
Assembly. Rome-based, the organization coordinates information and suggests strategies for
food policy, which it reports to the General Assembly. The council's priorities divide into five major
categories within the developing countries: (1) increased food production, (2) increased and more
efficient food-aid systems, (3) improved international nutritional conditions, (4) buildup of an
international grain reserve as part of a global food security system, and (5) reduced food-trade
barriers between developing and developed countries.

Industrial Workers of the World
(iww), byname WOBBLIES, radical labour organization founded in Chicago in 1905 by
representatives of 43 groups in opposition to such policies of the American Federation of Labor
as its acceptance of capitalism and its refusal to include unskilled workers in craft unions. Among
the founders of the IWW were William D. Haywood of the Western Federation of Miners, Daniel
De Leon of the Socialist Labor Party, and Eugene V. Debs of the Socialist Party. In 1908 the IWW
split into two factions, one advocating political action to attain its goals, the other eschewing
politics and advocating general strikes, boycotts, and sabotage. The latter faction, under the
leadership of Haywood, prevailed, and the IWW became a revolutionary organization dedicated
to gaining control of the means of production by the workers. Its tactics often led to arrests and
sensational publicity; when IWW organizer Joe Hill was executed in 1915 on a disputed murder
charge, he became a martyr and folk hero in the labour movement. The organization won its
greatest victories in the mining and lumbering industries of the Pacific Northwest. The IWW was
the only labour organization to oppose U.S. participation in World War I, and during the war IWW
leaders sought to tie up copper production in western states. The federal government responded
by prosecuting and convicting some of those leaders under newly enacted Sabotage and
Espionage Acts. In the postwar years, the IWW was subject to harassment and further
prosecution by local officials responding to widespread antiradical sentiments. By 1925
membership in the IWW had dwindled to insignificance.





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World Intellectual Property Organization
(wipo), French ORGANISATION MONDIALE DE LA PROPRIT INTELLECTUELLE,
organization designed to promote the worldwide protection of both industrial property (inventions,
trademarks, and designs) and copyrighted materials (literary, musical, photographic, and other
artistic works). The organization was established by a convention signed in Stockholm in 1967
and came into force in 1970. It became a specialized agency of the United Nations in December
1974. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switz. The origins of WIPO can be traced to the United
International Bureau for the Protection of Intellectual Property (BIRPI). BIRPI, in turn, grew out of
the merger of the secretariats of the Paris Union (International Union for the Protection of
Industrial Property, 1883) and the Berne Union (International Union for the Protection of Literary
and Artistic Works, 1886). The policy-making body of the WIPO, its General Assembly, convenes
every three years. The aims of WIPO are twofold. Through international cooperation, WIPO
promotes the protection of intellectual property. Secondly, the organization supervises
administrative cooperation between the Paris, Berne, and other intellectual unions regarding
agreements on trademarks, patents, and protection of artistic and literary work.

Central Intelligence Agency
(cia), principal intelligence and counterintelligence agency of the U.S. government. Formally
created in 1947, the agency grew out of the World War II Office of Strategic Services (OSS).
Previous U.S. intelligence and counterintelligence efforts had been conducted by the army and
navy and by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and suffered from duplication, competition,
and lack of coordination. U.S. allies had criticized the lack of any central intelligence function.

Western European Union
(weu), association of 10 nations (Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, The
Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom) that operates as a forum for the
coordination of matters of European security and defense. It contributed to the creation of the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and works in cooperation with that organization. The
WEU grew out of the Brussels Treaty of 1948--an agreement between the nations of Belgium,
France, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, and the United Kingdom to provide for collective defense
and to facilitate cooperation in economic, social, and cultural matters. NATO and the Council of
Europe, both of which were formed in 1949, developed out of that framework. In 1954 the
Brussels Treaty was strengthened and modified to include West Germany and Italy, to end the
occupation of West Germany, and to include West Germany in NATO; and the WEU came into
being on May 6, 1955. In 1960 the activities of committees for social and cultural affairs were
transferred to the Council of Europe. In 1984 the union was "reactivated" and a new agenda was
established: it recognized the significance of U.S. arms to the defense of Europe and resolved to
increase regional military cooperation. In 1988 Portugal and Spain joined the union; Greece
joined in 1992. The WEU is administered by a council consisting of the ministers of foreign affairs
and of defense of the member nations. The council is responsible for policy formulation and holds
meetings (twice a year at the ministerial level, more often at the ambassadorial level) to discuss
problems of common concern. Three internal agencies are also involved. The assembly of the
WEU, which has a number of permanent committees, consists of the delegates of the member
nations to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Headquarters of the WEU are in
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London.

Organization of American States
(oas), organization formed to promote economic, military, and cultural cooperation among its
members, which include almost all of the independent states of the Western Hemisphere. (Cuba's
membership was suspended in 1962.) The OAS's main goals are to prevent any outside state's
intervention in the Western Hemisphere and to maintain peace between the various states within
the hemisphere. The OAS grew out of an earlier U.S.-sponsored international organization for the
Western Hemisphere, the Pan-American Union, which held a series of nine Pan-American
conferences from 1889-90 to 1948 to reach agreement on various commercial and juridical
problems common to the United States and Latin America. (See Pan-American conferences.) In
World War II, most Latin American nations sided with the United States and declared war against
the Axis powers. After this global conflict, all 21 independent nations of the Western Hemisphere
agreed in 1947 on a formal mutual -defense pact called the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal
Assistance. By 1948, with the start of the Cold War, it had become apparent that a stronger
security system was needed in the Western Hemisphere to meet the perceived threat of
international communism. At the urging of the United States, the OAS Charter was signed on
April 30, 1948, at the conclusion of the Ninth Pan-American Conference held in Bogot,
Colombia. The aims of the organization were to strengthen the peace and security of the Western
Hemisphere, to promote the peaceful settlement of disputes among member states, to provide for
collective security, and to encourage cooperation in economic, social, and cultural matters. Most
of the newly independent nations of the Caribbean joined the OAS in the 1960s, and the last
major holdout, Canada, joined in 1990. The OAS has traditionally been strongly anticommunist in
its orientation. The founding of the OAS was based on the general acceptance of the principles of
the U.S. Monroe Doctrine by the countries of the Western Hemisphere, especially the principle
that an attack upon one American state would be considered as an attack upon all. The OAS
attempted to "continentalize" the Monroe Doctrine, creating obligations for the other states
without restricting the right of the United States to take immediate action in self-defense. The
General Secretariat is the administrative backbone of the OAS and is headed by a secretary-
general elected to a five-year term. The chief policy-making body of the OAS is the General
Assembly, which holds annual meetings at which member states are represented by their foreign
ministers or chiefs of state. The General Assembly controls the OAS's budget and supervises
various specialized organizations. In case of attack or an act of aggression within or between
member states, the Permanent Council, composed of an ambassador from each member state,
acts as the provisional organ of consultation until all the member states' ministers of foreign
affairs can assemble. At this consultation meeting of foreign ministers, collective action cannot be
undertaken without the approval of two-thirds of the foreign ministers present. The General
Secretariat and the Permanent Council are based in Washington, D.C. The OAS provided the
framework for a truce and subsequent resolution of the Soccer War (1969) between Honduras
and El Salvador, and it has settled border conflicts between various other Latin American nations
since the late 1940s. After Cuba declared itself Marxist-Leninist in 1961, its membership in the
OAS was suspended, and the OAS supported U.S. President John F. Kennedy in 1962 in the
quarantine against the shipment of Soviet missiles to Cuba. In the face of Cuban attempts to
subvert neighbouring countries, the OAS ordered trade sanctions and the breaking of diplomatic
ties with that nation from 1964 to 1975. The OAS supported the United States' unilateral military
intervention in the Dominican Republic in 1965 to prevent a left-wing government from coming to
power. In the wake of the U.S. invasion, the OAS created an inter-American military force that
kept the peace in the Dominican Republic until new elections were held there in 1966. The left-
wing Sandinista movement that held power in Nicaragua between 1979 and 1990 was not
opposed by the OAS because it did not seem to offer any potential for Soviet intervention in the
Western Hemisphere, despite the United States' claims to the contrary. Since the end of the Cold
7
War in the early 1990s, the OAS has become more active in encouraging democratic government
in member states, and it has become a leader in observing and monitoring elections to safeguard
against fraud and irregularities. In the economic and social field, its most notable achievement
was its adoption of the Charter of Punta del Este (1961), establishing the Alliance for Progress.
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights was established at San Jos, Costa Rica, in 1979.

Central American Common Market
(cacm), Spanish MERCADO COMN CENTROAMERICANO (mcca), association of five Central
American nations that was formed to facilitate regional economic development through free trade
and economic integration. It came into existence through the General Treaty on Central American
Economic Integration signed by Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua in December
1960; Costa Rica joined in July 1962. The Central American Common Market was formed in
response to the necessity of cooperation among these smaller nations in order to attract industrial
capital and diversify their economies. By the late 1960s the CACM had made considerable
progress in stimulating the expansion of the region's commerce and manufacturing. Many trade
barriers between its member states were eliminated or reduced, and between 1961 and 1968
trade among them increased to a figure seven times its previous level. But in 1969 Honduras and
El Salvador engaged in a war that resulted in a break in their commercial and diplomatic
relations. After cutting off El Salvador's access to the Pan-American Highway, Honduras virtually
withdrew from the CACM in early 1971 and imposed tariffs on imports from the other common-
market countries. The other members agreed to continue the CACM in spite of growing
discontent within the group, but in 1983 Guatemala as well imposed many restrictions on trade
within the region. The CACM entered a state of suspension in the mid-1980s owing to internal
political instability and violence in some member countries and mounting debt and protectionist
pressures.

Southern African Development Community
(sadc), originally (197992) SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COORDINATION
CONFERENCE, regional organization of southern African countries that works to promote
economic cooperation and integration among the member states and to preserve their economic
independence. The member states are Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius,
Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The first
conference was held in 1979, on the eve of Zimbabwe's (Rhodesia's) independence under black
majority rule. The SADC's activities are coordinated at annual conferences of the heads of
government and of a council of ministers from all the member states. The SADC plans,
coordinates, and finances various projects in agriculture and animal husbandry, energy, mining,
disease control, telecommunications, and regional trade. Among the SADC's earliest priorities
were projects to improve the existing rail and road networks between the member states so they
could reduce their dependence on South African ports and transport routes for the shipment of
their imports and exports. These projects greatly improved the region's transportation
infrastructure. With the advent of majority black rule in South Africa and that country's
membership in the SADC (1994), however, the focus of the organization shifted toward greater
regional economic integration.



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Organization of Islamic Conference
(oic), Arabic MUNAZAMAT AL-MUTAMIR AL-ISLAMI, an Islamic organization established in
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in May 1971, following summits by Muslim heads of state and government
in 1969 and by Muslim foreign ministers in 1970. The membership includes Afghanistan, Algeria,
Bahrain, Bangladesh, Benin, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt,
Gabon, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon,
Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine
Liberation Organization (PLO), Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, The Sudan,
Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. The conference aims at
promoting Islamic solidarity by coordinating social, economic, scientific, and cultural activities.
Under the banner of strengthening the struggle of Muslims, the conference pledges to eliminate
racial segregation and discrimination, especially in regard to the PLO. Projects include the
International Islamic News Agency, the Islamic Development Bank, the Islamic Solidarity Fund,
and the World Centre for Islamic Education. Egypt was suspended in 1979 after it signed the
agreement known as the Camp David Accords with Israel; in 1984 it accepted an offer to rejoin
the organization.

World Federation of Trade Unions
(wftu), French FDRATION SYNDICALE MONDIALE, leftist-oriented international labour
organization founded in 1945 by the World Trade Union Congress. Its principal organizers were
the British Trades Union Congress, the U.S. Congress of Industrial Organizations, and the All-
Union Central Congress of Trade Unions. The organization was initially oriented toward the
Soviet Union. Despite vigorous attempts to reconcile the differences between communist and
noncommunist factions within the WFTU, the intensification of the Cold War finally led to a split.
The noncommunist elements withdrew from the WFTU and in 1949 formed the International
Confederation of Free Trade Unions. The largest WFTU affiliates are now in the developing
nations of Asia, Latin America, and Africa, although France and Italy also have sizable affiliates.
The WFTU maintains its headquarters in Prague, Czech Republic.

International Confederation of Free Trade Unions
(ICFTU), the world's principal organization of national trade union federations. The ICFTU was
formed in 1949 by Western trade union federations that had withdrawn from the World Federation
of Trade Unions (WFTU) after bitter disagreements with the communist-led unions in the WFTU.
The chief founders of the new organization were the American Federation of Labor-Congress of
Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) of the United States and the Trades Union Congress of Great
Britain. The stated purpose of the new federation was to ensure "collaboration between the free
and democratic trade union movements throughout the world." The primary strength of the ICFTU
lies in the trade union federations of western Europe, North America, the Commonwealth, and
Latin America. The AFL-CIO withdrew from the ICFTU in 1969 but later rejoined the federation.
Other major members are the German Trade Union Federation, the (French) General
Confederation of Labour-Workers' Force, three Italian labour federations, and Poland's Solidarity
union. By the late 20th century the ICFTU had more than 200 member organizations representing
125,000,000 workers in 140 countries and territories. The ICFTU's headquarters are in Brussels,
Belg.
(


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International Association of Universities
(iau), nongovernmental educational organization founded in 1950 to promote cooperation at the
international level among the universities of all countries as well as among other bodies
concerned with higher education and research. Membership consists of individual universities
and institutions of university rank in 96 countries. The General Conference, convened every five
years, elects an administrative board composed of the president and 14 members. The
association is supported by members' dues and grants from Unesco and maintains information
centres in 120 countries, carrying out a research program with Unesco. English and French are
official languages of the association, but German, Russian, and Spanish are also used.
Publications include International Handbook of Universities (triennially) and International List of
Universities and Other Institutions of Higher Education (biennially).

International Fund for Agricultural Development
(ifad), United Nations specialized agency that supports increased food production in poor
communities. The World Food Conference adopted a resolution in November 1974 that brought
IFAD into existence in June 1976. IFAD's members fall into three categories: Category I,
"industrialized countries," includes most of the developed nations of western Europe as well as
Japan, the United States, and others; Category II, "petroleum-exporting developing countries,"
includes the major petroleum producers of the Middle East, Africa, and elsewhere; Category III
includes more than 100 "recipient developing countries." Countries in Categories I and II are
obliged to provide revenue for the fund; countries in Category III may contribute but are not
obliged to do so, though recipient countries must be members of IFAD. IFAD is committed to
bringing about worldwide recognition that, as well as being a technical problem, food production
is determined by both political and social issues. In view of this attitude, IFAD assists only
underdeveloped agricultural countries and their poorer communities. The fund's priorities are
three-fold: first, to raise food production in developing countries; second, to employ farmers who
are either poor or landless; third, to reduce malnutrition. IFAD's headquarters are in Rome, Italy.

International Federation for Information and Documentation
French FDRATION INTERNATIONALE D'INFORMATION ET DE DOCUMENTATION (fid),
international library organization that was founded in 1895 as the Institut International de
Bibliographie (IIB) to promote a unified and centralized approach to bibliographic classification.
The IIB was founded by two Belgian lawyers, Paul Otlet and Henri Lafontaine. In 1905 the IIB
published the Universal Decimal Classification, a classificatory system for publications that was
an expanded version of the Dewey Decimal Classification. The IIB was renamed the Fdration
Internationale de Documentation in 1938. The FID's current aims are to promote, through
international cooperation, research in and development of information science and documentation
management in the physical sciences, social sciences, and humanities. It is concerned with
problems in the organization, storage, retrieval, dissemination, and evaluation of information by
both mechanical and electronic means. The FID has consulting status with many international
organizations. In the late 20th century it had national members in more than 65 countries and
more than 300 affiliated organizations and individuals. Its headquarters are in The Hague, Neth.


10
International Bureau of Weights and Measures
French BUREAU INTERNATIONAL DES POIDS ET MESURES (bipm), international organization
founded to bring about the unification of systems of measurement, to establish and preserve
fundamental international standards and prototypes, to verify national standards, and to
determine fundamental physical constants. The bureau was established by a convention signed
in Paris on May 20, 1875, effective January 1876. In 1921 a modified convention was signed. The
convention provides for a General Conference that meets every four years to consider required
improvements or modifications in standards, an International Committee of Weights and
Measures composed of 18 scientists elected by the Conference (meets annually), and several
consultative committees. The bureau headquarters at Svres, France, serves as a depository for
the primary international standards and as a laboratory for certification and intercomparison of
national standard copies.

International Organization for Standardization
(ISO), specialized international organization founded in Geneva in 1947 and concerned with
standardization in all technical and nontechnical fields except electrical and electronic
engineering (the responsibility of the International Electrotechnical Commission). Its membership
extends to more than 100 countries, and each member is the national body "most representative
of standardization in its country"--in Western industrial countries usually a private organization,
such as the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the British Standards Institution
(BSI), but in most other countries a governmental organization. Standardization affects units of
measurement; alphabetization and transliteration; specifications for parts, materials, surfaces,
processes, tools, methods of testing, and machines; and even the form in which specifications
are presented. Upon request, the ISO establishes international "technical committees" to
investigate and resolve specific issues of standardization and publishes the results as
"International Standards" (IS). Because of technological evolution, ISO standards are optimally
reviewed (and, if necessary, revised) every five years.

International Telecommunication Union
(itu), specialized agency of the United Nations that was created to encourage international
cooperation in all forms of telecommunication. Its activities include maintaining order in the
allocation of radio frequencies, setting standards on technical and operational matters, and
assisting countries in developing their own telecommunication systems. The origin of the ITU can
be traced to 1865, when the International Telegraph Union was established by a convention
signed in Paris. The International Telecommunication Convention of 1932, which merged the
International Telegraph Convention and the International Radiotelegraph Convention, provided
that the International Telecommunication Union would succeed the International Telegraph Union
when the convention became effective in 1934. It was made a specialized agency of the United
Nations in 1947, and the convention has been revised several times. The organization of the ITU
includes: (1) the Plenipotentiary Conference, which is the supreme organ of the ITU and meets
every four years; (2) World Administrative Conferences, which meet according to technical needs;
(3) the ITU Council, which meets annually and is responsible for executing decisions of the
Plenipotentiary Conference; (4) the General Secretariat, responsible for administrative and
financial services; (5) the Radiocommunications Sector, which was formed by the merger of those
activities of the former International Consultative Radio Committee and the former International
Frequency Registration Board that were concerned with the assignment of radio frequencies; (6)
the Telecommunication Standardization Sector, which was formed by the merger of the former
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International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee with the standards-setting
activities of the International Consultative Radio Committee and conducts technical studies and
sets international standards for telecommunications; and (7) the Telecommunication
Development Sector, which facilitates the growth of telecommunications in developing nations.
The ITU has had its headquarters in Geneva since 1948, when it was moved from Bern.

International Maritime Organization
formerly (194882) INTER-GOVERNMENTAL MARITIME CONSULTATIVE ORGANIZATION
(imco), United Nations specialized agency created to provide machinery for cooperation in
establishing technical regulations and practices in international shipping, to encourage the
adoption of the highest possible standards for maritime safety and for navigation, and to
discourage discriminatory and restrictive practices in international trade and unfair practices by
shipping concerns. The establishment of the organization was provided for in a convention
prepared by the United Nations Maritime Conference held in 1948. The convention came into
force on March 17, 1958, and the organization held its first assembly in January 1959. Its current
name was adopted on May 22, 1982. The Assembly is the policymaking body and meets every
two years. The Council, consisting of 24 member states, meets twice a year and is responsible
for governing between Assembly sessions. Safety proposals are submitted to the Assembly by
the 16-member Maritime Safety Committee, which meets annually. There are a number of
subcommittees to deal with specific issues, such as the carriage of dangerous goods,
radiocommunications, fire protection, ship design and equipment, lifesaving appliances, and
cargoes and containers. A Marine Environment Protection Committee was established in 1973. A
secretariat is also maintained, with headquarters in London.

International Ice Patrol
patrol established in 1914 by the agreement of 16 nations with shipping interests in the North
Atlantic Ocean after the Titanic collided with an iceberg and sank (1912). The patrol locates
icebergs in the North Atlantic, follows and predicts their drift, and issues warnings to ships in the
vicinity. Reconnaissance is conducted by the U.S. Coast Guard, using planes equipped with
radar that can detect icebergs in all but the roughest sea conditions. The Coast Guard exchanges
information with the Canadian Ice Services and also receives reports from passing ships. During
the patrol season, which normally extends from March through August, the Coast Guard
broadcasts twice daily by Inmarsat satellite and by high-frequency radio facsimile, issuing reports
on the locations of all known sea ice and icebergs. Approximately 1,000 icebergs are tracked
each year. Destruction of dangerous icebergs has been attempted, but with little success.

Organization of the modern Olympics
The International Olympic Committee At the Congress of Paris in 1894, the control and
development of the modern Olympic Games was entrusted to the International Olympic
Committee (IOC; Comit International Olympique), with headquarters to be established in
Switzerland. It is responsible for maintaining the regular celebration of the Olympic Games,
seeing that the Games are carried out in the spirit that inspired their revival, and promoting the
development of amateur sport throughout the world. The original committee in 1894 consisted of
14 members and Coubertin, and membership since then has been self-perpetuating.
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International Council of Women
ICW organization, founded in 1888, that works with agencies around the world to promote health,
peace, equality, and education. Founded by Susan B. Anthony, May Wright Sewell, and Frances
Willard, among others, the ICW held its first convention March 25-April 1, 1888, in Washington,
D.C. Nine countries--England, Ireland, France, Norway, Denmark, Finland, India, Canada, and
the United States--sent 49 delegates. Though the council's primary goal was the advancement of
women, it did not demand woman suffrage so as not to alienate the more conservative members.
A constitution was drafted with international assemblies to be held every five years and national
meetings occurring every three. The early international conferences were extensively covered by
the press, especially the 1899 meeting in which Anthony met Queen Victoria. In the 1920s the
ICW and its standing committees worked with the League of Nations, and following World War II
it became a consultant to the United Nations. With more than 70 member countries, the ICW has
been headquartered in Paris since 1963. Officers are elected by delegates from national boards
at triennial international congresses. The council is affiliated with numerous agencies, including,
from 1981, the World Health Organization.

International Finance Corporation
(ifc), United Nations specialized agency affiliated with but legally separate from the International
Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank). It was founded to stimulate the
economic development of its members by providing capital for private enterprises when sufficient
private capital is not available. The corporation officially came into existence on July 24, 1956,
and its aid has been aimed at less developed areas. Executive directors of the World Bank also
serve as directors of the IFC. Headquarters are in Washington, D.C. In financing only
predominantly private enterprises, it makes loans without government guarantee of repayment.
Unlike most other organizations of its kind, the IFC cannot stipulate where the proceeds of its
loans will be spent. The IFC seeks to diversify its investments; commitments have been made in
the fields of tourism development, animal feeds, iron and steel, fertilizers, and textiles.

International Development Association
(ida), United Nations specialized agency affiliated with but legally and financially distinct from the
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank). It was instituted in
September 1960 to make loans on more flexible terms than those of the World Bank. IDA
members must be members of the bank, and the bank's officers serve as IDA's ex officio officers.
Headquarters are in Washington, D.C. Most of the IDA's resources have come from the
subscriptions and supplementary contributions of member countries, chiefly the 26 wealthiest.
Although the wealthier members pay their subscriptions in gold or freely convertible currencies,
the less developed nations may pay 10 percent in this form and the remainder in their own
currencies.




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Author: Rajesh Kumar Bindal
Email id :
[email protected]/rajeshbindal_iitm@yahoo.
com