Amnesty International From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Amnesty International

Motto It is better to light a candle than to curse

the darkness.[1]

Founded July 1961 by Peter Benensonin the United

Kingdom

Type Non-profit

NGO

Headquarters London, United Kingdom

Location Global

Services Protecting human rights

Fields Legal advocacy, Media attention, direct-

appeal campaigns, research, lobbying

Members More than 7 million members and

supporters[2]

Key people Salil Shetty (Secretary-General)

Website www.amnesty.org

Amnesty International (commonly known as Amnesty and AI) is a non-governmental organisation focused on human

rights with over 7 million members and supporters around the world. The stated objective of the organisation is "to conduct

research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights

have been violated."[3]

Amnesty International was founded in London in 1961, following the publication of the article "The Forgotten Prisoners"

in The Observer 28 May 1961,[4] by the lawyer Peter Benenson. Amnesty draws attention to human rights abuses and

campaigns for compliance with international laws and standards. It works to mobilise public opinion to put pressure on

governments that let abuse take place. [3] The organisation was awarded the 1977 Nobel Peace Prize for its "campaign

against torture,"[5] and the United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights in 1978.[6]

In the field of international human rights organisations Amnesty has the longest history and broadest name recognition, and

is believed by many to set standards for the movement as a whole. [7]

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

United Nations Conference on Trade and

Development

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

The headquarters of the United Nations Conference on Trade and

Development are located in the Palace of Nations (United

Nations Office at Geneva,Switzerland).

Abbreviation UNCTAD

Formation 1964

Headquarters Geneva, Switzerland

Website www.unctad.org

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) (French Conférence des Nations unies sur le

Commerce et le Développement (CNUCED)) was established in 1964 as a permanent intergovernmental body.

UNCTAD is the principal organ of the United Nations General Assembly dealing with trade, investment, and development

issues. The organization's goals are to: "maximize the trade, investment and development opportunities of developing

countries and assist them in their efforts to integrate into the world economy on an equitable basis."[1]

The primary objective of UNCTAD is to formulate policies relating to all aspects of development including trade, aid,

transport, finance and technology. The conference ordinarily meets once in four years; the permanent secretariat is in

Geneva.

One of the principal achievements of UNCTAD has been to conceive and implement the Generalised System of

Preferences(GSP). It was argued in UNCTAD that to promote exports of manufactured goods from developing countries, it

would be necessary to offer special tariff concessions to such exports. Accepting this argument, the developed countries

formulated the GSP scheme under which manufacturers' exports and some agricultural goods from the developing countries

enter duty-free or at reduced rates in the developed countries. Since imports of such items from other developed countries

are subject to the normal rates of duties, imports of the same items from developing countries would enjoy a competitive

advantage.

The creation of UNCTAD in 1964 was based on concerns of developing countries over the international market, multi-

national corporations, and great disparity between developed nations and developing nations. The United Nations

Conference on Trade and Development was established to provide a forum where the developing countries could discuss

the problems relating to their economic development. The organisation grew from the view that existing institutions like

GATT (now replaced by the World Trade Organization, WTO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and World

Bank were not properly organized to handle the particular problems of developing countries. Later, in the 1970s and 1980s,

UNCTAD was closely associated with the idea of a New International Economic Order (NIEO).

The first UNCTAD conference took place in Geneva in 1964, the second in New Delhi in 1968, the third in Santiago in

1972, fourth in Nairobi in 1976, the fifth in Manila in 1979, the sixth in Belgrade in 1983, the seventh in Geneva in 1987,

the eighth inCartagena in 1992, the ninth at Johannesburg (South Africa) in 1996, the tenth in Bangkok (Thailand) in 2000,

the eleventh inSão Paulo (Brazil) in 2004, the twelfth in Accra in 2008 and the thirteenth in Doha (Qatar) in 2012.

Currently, UNCTAD has 194 member states and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. UNCTAD has 400 staff

members and a bi-annual (2010–2011) regular budget of $138 million in core expenditures and $72 million in extra-

budgetary technical assistance funds. It is a member of the United Nations Development Group.[2] There are non-

governmental organizations participating in the activities of UNCTAD. [3]

North American Free Trade Agreement From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"NAFTA" redirects here. For other uses, see Nafta (disambiguation).

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this

article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and

removed. (December 2012)

North American Free Trade Agreement

Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del

Norte (Spanish)

Accord de Libre-échange Nord-Américain (French)

Coat of arms

Administration

centers

Ottawa, Canada

Mexico City, Mexico

Washington, D.C., United

States

Languages English

Spanish

French

Membership

Canada

Mexico

United States

Establishment

- Formation January 1, 1994[1]

Area

- Total 21,578,137 km2

8,331,362 sq mi

- Water (%) 7.4

Population

- 2013 estimate 471,964,016

- Density 23.5/km2

54.3/sq mi

GDP (PPP) 2013 (IMF) estimate

- Total $20.162 trillion

- Per capita $42,719

GDP (nominal) 2013 (IMF) estimate

- Total $19.951 trillion

- Per capita $42,272

HDI (2011) 0.868[2]

very high

Website

www.naftanow.org

NAFTA GDP – 2012 : IMF – World Economic Outlook Databases (Oct 2013)

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA; Spanish: Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del

Norte, TLCAN; French:Accord de libre-échange nord-américain, ALÉNA) is an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and

the United States, creating a trilateral rules-based trade bloc in North America. The agreement came into force on January

1, 1994.[3] It superseded theCanada–United States Free Trade Agreement between the U.S. and Canada. [4]

NAFTA has two supplements: the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC) and the North

American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC).

Economic Community of West African States From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Economic Community of West African States

Communauté économique des États de l'Afrique de

l'Ouest (French)

Comunidade Económica dos Estados da África

Ocidental (Portuguese)

Flag Emblem

Headquarters Abuja, Nigeria

9°2′N 7°31′E

Official languages French

English

Portuguese

Membership 15 members[show]

Leaders

- Chairman Macky Sall

- President of the

Commission

Kadré Désiré

Ouédraogo

- Speaker of the

Parliament

Ike Ekweremadu

Establishment

- Treaty of Lagos 28 May 1975[1]

Area

- Total 5,112,903 km2 (7th)

1,974,103 sq mi

Population

- 2013 estimate 340,000,000 (4th)

- Density 49.2/km2

127.5/sq mi

GDP (PPP) 2013 estimate

- Total US$ 1,322

billion [2] (18th)

- Per capita US$ 3,888[3]

GDP (nominal) estimate

- Total $ 675 Billion[4] 2013

- Per capita $ 1,985

Currency

Escudo (CVE)

Cedi (GHS) b

Dalasi (GMD) b

Franc (GNF) b

Dollar (LRD) c

Naira (NGN) b

Leone (SLL) c

W. African CFA

franc (XOF)

Time zone (UTC+0 to +1)

Website

http://www.ecowas.int/

a. If considered as a single entity.

b. To be replaced by the eco.

c. Liberia and Sierra Leone have expressed an interest in joining

the eco.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS; French: Communauté économique des États de l'Afrique

de l'Ouest, CEDEAO) is a regional group of fifteen West African countries. Founded on 28 May 1975, with the signing of

the Treaty of Lagos, its mission is to promote economic integration across the region.

Considered one of the pillars of the African Economic Community, the organization was founded in order to achieve

"collective self-sufficiency" for its member states by creating a single large trading bloc through an economic and trading

union. It also serves as a peacekeeping force in the region. [5] The organization operates officially in three co-equal

languages—French,English, and Portuguese.

The ECOWAS consists of two institutions to implement policies—the ECOWAS Commission and the ECOWAS Bank for

Investment and Development, formerly known as the Fund for Cooperation until it was renamed in 2001.

A few members of the organization have come and gone over the years. In 1976 Cape Verde joined ECOWAS, and in

December 2000 Mauritania withdrew, having announced its intention to do so in December 1999.

Caribbean Community

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Caribbean Community

Comunidad del Caribe (Spanish)

Communauté Caribéenne (French)

Caribische Gemeenschap (Dutch)

Flag

Anthem: Celebrating CARICOM

Dark green: Full CARICOM members.

Lime green: Associate CARICOM members.

Pistachio: Observers.

Seat of Secretariat Georgetown, Guyana

Official languages English, French, Dutch,Spanish

Type Supranational organisation

Member states

15 full members[show]

5 associates[show]

8 observers[show]

Leaders

-

Secretary-

General

Irwin LaRocque

-

Chairman Perry Christie

Establishment

-

Treaty of

Chaguaramas

4 July 1973

-

Revised Treaty

of Chaguaramas

2001

Area

-

Total 458,480 km2

177,020 sq mi

Population

-

2010 estimate 16,743,693

-

Density 34.8/km2

90/sq mi

GDP (PPP) 2012 estimate

-

Total $107.82 billion

-

Per capita $6,439

GDP (nominal) 2010 estimate

-

Total $64,771 billion (65)

-

Per capita $8,116 (67)

HDI (2012) 0.719[1]

high

Website

CARICOM.org

Established in 1973, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is an organization of 15 Caribbean nations and

dependencies. CARICOM's main purposes are to promote economic integration and cooperation among its members, to

ensure that the benefits of integration are equitably shared, and to coordinate foreign policy. [2] Its major activities involve

coordinating economic policies and development planning; devising and instituting special projects for the less-developed

countries within its jurisdiction; operating as a regional single market for many of its members (Caricom Single Market);

and handling regional trade disputes. The secretariat headquarters is based in Georgetown, Guyana.

Since the establishment of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) mainly by the English-speaking parts of the Caribbean

region, CARICOM has become multilingual in practice with the addition of Dutch-speaking Suriname on 4 July 1995

and French- (andHaitian Kreyòl-) speaking Haiti on 2 July 2002. Furthermore, it was suggested that Spanish should also

become a working language. [3] In July 2012, CARICOM announced that they were considering making French and Dutch

official languages.[4]

In 2001, the heads of government signed a Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas thus clearing the way for the transformation of

the idea for a Common Market aspect of CARICOM into instead a Caribbean (CARICOM) Single Market and Economy.

Part of the revised treaty among member states includes the establishment and implementation of the Caribbean Court of

Justice. Since 2013 the CARICOM-bloc along with the Dominican Republic is tied to the European Commission via

an Economic Partnership Agreements known as CARIFORUM signed in 2008.[5] The treaty grants all members of the

European Union and CARIFORUM equal rights in terms of trade and investment. Within the agreement under Article 234,

the European Court of Justice also carries dispute resolution mechanisms between CARIFORUM and the European Union

states.[6]

BRICS From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Not to be confused with BRIC.

BRICS

(Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa)

Brazil

Russia

India

China

South Africa

Finance ministers[show]

Central bank governors[show]

GDP (nominal) in US dollars[show]

GDP (PPP) in US dollars[show]

Area[show]

Population[show]

BRICS is the acronym for an association of five major emerging national economies: Brazil, Russia, India,

China and South Africa.[4] The grouping was originally known as "BRIC" before the inclusion of South Africa in 2010.

The BRICS members are alldeveloping or newly industrialised countries, but they are distinguished by their large, fast-

growing economies and significant influence on regional and global affairs; all five are G-20 members.[5] Since 2010, the

BRICS nations have met annually at formal summits. Russia currently holds the chair of the BRICS group, and hosted

the group's seventh summit in July 2015.

As of 2015, the five BRICS countries represent over 3 billion people, or 42% of the world population; as all five members

are in the top 25 of the world by population, and four are in the top 10. The five nations have a combined nominal GDP of

US$16.039 trillion, equivalent to approximately 20% of the gross world product, and an estimated US$4 trillion in

combined foreign reserves. [6][7] The BRICS have received both praise and criticism from numerous

commentators.[8][9][10] Bilateral relations among BRICS nations have mainly been conducted on the basis of non-interference,

equality, and mutual benefit (win-win).[11] It is estimated that the combined GDP (PPP) of BRICS would reach US$50

trillion mark by 2020.

Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and

Economic Cooperation

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bay of Bengal Initiative for

Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic

Cooperation

(BIMSTEC)[show]

Flag

Members of BIMSTEC.

Headquarters Dhaka

Membership

Bangladesh

Bhutan

Burma (Myanmar)

India

Nepal

Sri Lanka

Thailand

Leaders

- Chairmanship Nepal (since 2014)

Establishment June 6, 1997

Website

www.bimstec.org

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is an international

organisation involving a group of countries in South Asia and South East Asia. These are: Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri

Lanka,Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal.

Background[edit]

In 6 June 1997, a new sub-regional grouping was formed in Bangkok and given the name BIST-EC (Bangladesh, India, Sri

Lanka, and Thailand Economic Cooperation). Myanmar attended the inaugural June Meeting as an observer and joined the

organization as a full member at a Special Ministerial Meeting held in Bangkok on 22 December 1997, upon which the

name of the grouping was changed to BIMST-EC. Nepal was granted observer status by the second Ministerial Meeting in

Dhaka in December 1998. Subsequently, full membership has been granted to Nepal and Bhutan in 2003.

In the first Summit on 31 July 2004, leaders of the group agreed that the name of the grouping should be known as

BIMSTEC or the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation. [1]

Bimstec Headquarters is situated in Dhaka Bangladesh and opened by Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina (13th

September, 2014)

African Union From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article's lead section may not adequately summarize key points of its

contents. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all

important aspects of the article. (December 2013)

African Union

[show]

Flag Emblem

Motto:

"A United and Strong Africa"

Dark green: member states

Light green: suspended members

Political centres Addis Ababaa

Johannesburg b

Largest city Lagos

Working languages Arabic

English

French

Portuguese

Demonym African

Type Continental union

Membership 54 member states

Leaders

-

Assembly Chair Robert Mugabe

-

Commission Chair N. Dlamini-Zuma

-

Parliamentary

President

B. N. Amadi

Legislature Pan-African Parliament

Establishment

-

OAU Charter 25 May 1963; 52 years

ago

-

Abuja Treaty 3 June 1991

-

Sirte Declaration 9 September 1999

-

African Union

Founded

9 July 2002

Area

-

Total 29,865,860 km2

11,531,273 sq mi

Population

-

2013 estimate 1,053,136,000

-

Density 33.9/km2

87.8/sq mi

GDP (PPP) 2014 estimate

-

Total US$3.757 trillion[2][3]

-

Per capita $3,568

GDP (nominal) 2014 estimate

-

Total $2.390 trillion[4][5]

-

Per capita $2,173

Currency 42 currencies

Time zone (UTC-1 to +4)

Calling code 57 codes

Internet TLD .africa c

Website

au.int

The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 54 countries in Africa. The only African state that is not a

member isMorocco. The AU was established on 26 May 2001 in Addis Ababa and launched on 9 July 2002 in South

Africa,[6] with the aim of replacing the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). The most important decisions of the AU are

made by the Assembly of the African Union, a semi-annual meeting of the heads of state and government of its member

states. The AU's secretariat, theAfrican Union Commission, is based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Overview[edit]

The objectives of the AU are:

To achieve greater unity and solidarity between the African countries and Africans.

To defend the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of its Member States.

To accelerate the political and social-economic integration of the continent.

To promote and defend African common positions on issues of interest to the continent and its peoples.

To encourage international cooperation, taking due account of the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

To promote peace, security, and stability on the continent.

To promote democratic principles and institutions, popular participation and good governance.

To promote and protect human and peoples' rights in accordance with the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rightsand other relevant human rights instruments.

To establish the necessary conditions which enable the continent to play its rightful role in the global economy and in international negotiations.

To promote sustainable development at the economic, social and cultural levels as well as the integration of African economies.

To promote co-operation in all fields of human activity to raise the living standards of African peoples.

To coordinate and harmonize the policies between the existing and future Regional Economic Communities for the gradual attainment of the objectives of the Union.

To advance the development of the continent by promoting research in all fields, in particular in science and technology.

To work with relevant international partners in the eradication of preventable diseases and the promotion of good health on the continent.

Arab Maghreb Union From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

حاد غرب ات م ي ال عرب ال

Union du Maghreb arabe

Arab Maghreb Union

Seat of Secretariat Rabat, Morocco

Largest city Casablanca [1]

Official languages Arabic

Berber

Demonym Maghrebis

Member states

Algeria

Libya

Mauritania

Morocco

Tunisia

Leaders

-

Secretary General Habib Ben Yahia

Area

-

Total 6,041,261 km2 (7th)

2,332,544 sq mi

Population

-

2010 estimate 92,517,056 (13th)

-

Density 14.71/km2 (207th)

38.1/sq mi

GDP (PPP) 2010 estimate

-

Total $607.631 billion (24th)

-

Per capita $6,835.46 (100th)

GDP (nominal) 2010 estimate

-

Total $375.932 billion (26th)

-

Per capita $4,229.00 (97th)

Currency

Dinar

Dinar

Ouguiya

Dirham

Dinar

Website

http://www.maghrebarabe.org/en/

The Arab Maghreb Union (AMU; Arabic: اتحاد المغرب العربي Ittiḥād al-Maghrib al-‘Arabī; French: Union du Maghreb

arabe, UMA) is a trade agreement aiming for an economic and future political unity among Arab countries of

the Maghreb in North Africa. Its membership is the countries Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia.[2]

The union is often stalling due to deep political and economical disagreements between Morocco and Algeria regarding,

among others, the issue of Western Sahara.

Creation[edit]

The idea for an economic union of the Maghreb began with the independence of Tunisia and Morocco in 1956. It was not

until thirty years later, though, that five Maghreb states - Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia - met for the

first Maghreb summit in 1988. [3] The Union was established on 17 February 1989 when the treaty was signed by the

member states in Marrakech.[4][3]According to the Constitutive Act, its aim is to guarantee cooperation “with similar regional

institutions... [to] take part in the enrichment of the international dialogue... [to] reinforce the independence of the member

states and... [to] safeguard... their assets....” Strategic relevance of the region is based on the fact that, collectively, it boasts

large phosphate, oil, and gas and it is a transit centre to southern Europe. The success of the Union would, therefore be

economically important. [5]

Arab League From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Not to be confused with Arab world or Muslim world.

League of Arab States

ية عرب دول ال جامعة ال

Jāmiʻat ad-Duwal al-ʻArabīyah

Flag Emblem

Administrative center Cairoa

Official languages Arabic

Membership 22 members[show]

Leaders

- Arab League Secretariat Bandar bin Sultan

- Arab Parliament Ali Al-Daqbaashi

- Council Presidency Lebanon

Legislature Arab Parliament

Establishment

- Alexandria Protocol 22 March 1945

Area

- Total area 13,132,327 km2

5,070,420 sq mi

Population

- 2014 estimate 410,000,000[3]

- Density 27.17/km2

70.37/sq mi

GDP (PPP) 2014 estimate

- Total $3.335 trillion

- Per capita $9347

GDP (nominal) 2011 estimate

- Total $3.526 trillion

- Per capita $4,239

Currency 21 currencies[show]

Time zone (UTC+0 to +4)

Website

www.LasPortal.org

a. From 1979 to 1989, Tunis, Tunisia.

b. Suspended. The Syrian National Coalition currently

represents Syria.

Part of a series on

Arab League

Issues[show]

Geography[show]

Governance[show]

Unity[show]

Foreign relations [show]

Military[show]

Economy[show]

Transportation[show]

Culture[show]

Demographics[show]

V

T

E

This article

contains Arabic

text.Without

proper rendering support,

you may see question

marks, boxes, or other

symbols.

The Arab League (Arabic: الجامعة العربية al-Jāmiʻah al-ʻArabīyah), formally, the League of Arab States (Arabic: جامعة الدول

Jāmiʻat ad-Duwal al-ʻArabīyah), is a regional organization of Arab countries in and around North Africa, the Horn of العربية

Africa and Arabia. It was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945 with six members: Kingdom of Egypt, Kingdom of

Iraq, Transjordan (renamed Jordan in 1949),Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Syria.[4] Yemen joined as a member on 5 May 1945.

Currently, the League has 22 members, althoughSyria's participation has been suspended since November 2011, as a

consequence of government repression during the ongoing uprising and civil war.[5]

The League's main goal is to "draw closer the relations between member States and co-ordinate collaboration between

them, to safeguard their independence and sovereignty, and to consider in a general way the affairs and interests of the Arab

countries".[6]

Through institutions such as the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) and the

Economic and Social Council of the Arab League's Council of Arab Economic Unity (CAEU), the Arab League facilitates

political, economic, cultural, scientific and social programmes designed to promote the interests of the Arab world.[7][8] It has

served as a forum for the member states to coordinate their policy positions, to deliberate on matters of common concern, to

settle some Arab disputes and to limit conflicts such as the 1958 Lebanon crisis. The League has served as a platform for

the drafting and conclusion of many landmark documents promoting economic integration. One example is the Joint Arab

Economic Action Charter, which outlines the principles for economic activities in the region.

Each member state has one vote in the League Council, while decisions are binding only for those states that have voted for

them. The aims of the league in 1945 were to strengthen and coordinate the political, cultural, economic and social

programs of its members, and to mediate disputes among them or between them and third parties. Furthermore, the signing

of an agreement onJoint Defence and Economic Cooperation on 13 April 1950 committed the signatories to coordination of

military defence measures. In March 2015 the Arab League General Secretary announced the establishment of a Joint Arab

Force with the aim of counteracting extremism and other threats to the Arab States. The decision was reached while

Operation Decisive Storm was intensifying in Yemen. The participation in the project is voluntary and the army intervenes

only at the request of one of the member states. The growing militarization of the region and the increase in violent civil

wars as well as terrorist movements are the reason behind the creation of the JAF, financed by the rich Gulf countries. [9]

In the early 1970s, the Economic Council of the League of Arab States put forward a proposal to create the Joint Arab

Chambers of Commerce across the European states. This led, under the decree of the League of Arab States no.

K1175/D52/G, to the decision by the Arab governments to set up the Arab British Chamber of Commerce which was

mandated to: "promote, encourage and facilitate bilateral trade" between the Arab world and its major trading partner,

the United Kingdom.

The Arab League has similarly played a role in shaping school curricula, advancing the role of women in the Arab societies,

promoting child welfare, encouraging youth and sports programs, preserving Arab cultural heritage and fostering cultural

exchanges between the member states. [citation needed] Literacy campaigns have been launched, intellectual works reproduced and

modern technical terminology is translated for the use within member states. The league encourages measures against crime

and drug abuse, and deals with labour issues—particularly among the emigrant Arab workforce.

Nuclear Suppliers Group From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) is a multinational body concerned with reducing nuclear proliferation by controlling the

export and re-transfer of materials that may be applicable to nuclear weapon development and by improving safeguards and

protection on existing materials.

History[edit]

The NSG was founded in response to the Indian nuclear test in May 1974 and first met in November 1975. The test

demonstrated that certain non-weapons specific nuclear technology could be readily turned to weapons development.

Nations already signatories of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) saw the need to further limit the export of

nuclear equipment, materials or technology. Another benefit was that non-NPT and non-Zangger Committee nations, then

specifically France, could be brought in.

A series of meetings in London from 1975 to 1978 resulted in agreements on the guidelines for export, these were

published as INFCIRC/254 (essentially the Zangger "Trigger List") by theInternational Atomic Energy Agency. Listed

items could only be exported to non-nuclear states if certain International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards were agreed

to or if exceptional circumstances relating to safety existed.

The name of the "London Club" was due to the series of meetings in London. It has also been referred to as the London

Group, or the London Suppliers Group.

The NSG did not meet again until 1991. The "Trigger List" remained unchanged until 1991, although the Zangger list was

regularly updated. The revelations about the Iraqi weapons program following the first Gulf War led to a tightening of the

export of so-called dual-use equipment. At the first meeting since 1978, held at the Hague in March 1991, the twenty-six

participating governments agreed to the changes, which were published as the "Dual-use List" in 1992, and also to the

extension of the original list to more closely match the up-to-date Zangger list. A regular series of plenary meetings was

also arranged as was the regular updating of the two key lists.

UNESCO From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

UNESCO

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural

Organization

Organisation des Nations unies pour l'éducation, la science et la

culture (French)

Abbreviation UNESCO

ONUESC

Formation 16 November 1945[1]

Type Specialized agency

Legal status Active

Headquarters Place de Fontenoy, Paris,France

Membership 195 member states

Head Irina Bokova

Director-General of UNESCO

Website www.unesco.org

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (French:Organisation des Nations unies pour

l'éducation, la science et la culture;UNESCO; /juːˈnɛskoʊ/) is aspecialized agency of theUnited Nations (UN). Its purpose

is to contribute to peace and security by promoting international collaboration through education, science, and culture to

further universal respect for justice, the rule of law, and human rights along with fundamentalfreedom proclaimed in

theUnited Nations Charter.[1] It is the heir of the League of Nations' International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation.

UNESCO has 195 member states [2] and nine associate members. [3][4] Most of its field offices are "cluster" offices covering

three or more countries; national and regional offices also exist.

UNESCO pursues its objectives through five major programs: education,natural sciences, social/human sciences, culture,

andcommunication/information. Projects sponsored by UNESCO include literacy, technical, and teacher-training

programmes; international science programmes; the promotion of independent media and freedom of the press; regional

and cultural history projects; the promotion ofcultural diversity; translations of world literature; international cooperation

agreements to secure the world cultural and natural heritage (World Heritage Sites) and to preserve human rights, and

attempts to bridge the worldwide digital divide. It is also a member of theUnited Nations Development Group.[5]

UNESCO's aim is "to contribute to the building of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development and

intercultural dialogue through education, the sciences, culture, communication and information". [6]Other priorities of the

organization include attaining quality Education For All and lifelong learning, addressing emerging social and ethical

challenges, fostering cultural diversity, a culture of peace and building inclusive knowledge societies through information

and communication. [7]

The broad goals and concrete objectives of the international community — as set out in the internationally agreed

development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) — underpin all UNESCO's strategies and

activities.

Agenda 21 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Agenda 21

Cover of the first edition (paperback)

Author United Nations

Cover artist United Nations (1992)

Country United States

Language English, Chinese, Japanese, Russian,

French, Spanish

Genre Non-fiction

Publisher United Nations

Publication date April 23, 1993

Media type Print (Paperback) & HTML

Pages 300 pp

ISBN 978-92-1-100509-7

Agenda 21 is a non-binding, voluntarily implemented action plan of the United Nations with regard to sustainable

development.[1] It is a product of the Earth Summit (UN Conference on Environment and Development) held in Rio de

Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992. It is an action agenda for the UN, other multilateralorganizations, and individual governments

around the world that can be executed at local, national, and global levels. The "21" in Agenda 21 refers to the

21st Century. It has been affirmed and modified at subsequent UN conferences.

Structure and contents[edit]

Agenda 21 is a 700-page document divided into 40 chapters that have been grouped into 4 sections:

Section I: Social and Economic Dimensions is directed toward combating poverty, especially in developing countries,

changing consumption patterns, promoting health, achieving a more sustainable population, and sustainable settlement in decision making.

Section II: Conservation and Management of Resources for Development Includes atmospheric protection,

combatingdeforestation, protecting fragile environments, conservation of biological diversity (biodiversity), control of pollution and the management of biotechnology, and radioactive wastes.

Section III: Strengthening the Role of Major Groups includes the roles of children and youth, women, NGOs, local

authorities, business and industry, and workers; and strengthening the role ofindigenous peoples, their communities, and farmers.

Section IV: Means of Implementation: implementation includesscience, technology transfer, education, international institutions and financial mechanisms.

Interpol From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the police organization. For the band, seeInterpol (band). For other uses, see Interpol

(disambiguation).

International Criminal Police Organization –

INTERPOL

Common name Interpol

Abbreviation ICPO

Logo of the International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL

Motto Connecting police for a safer world

Agency overview

Formed 7 September 1923

Employees 756 (2013)[1]

Annual budget €78 million (2013)[1]

Legal personality Governmental: Government agency

Jurisdictional structure

International agency

Countries 190 member countries

Map of International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL's

jurisdiction.

Governing body Interpol General Assembly

Constituting

instrument

ICPO-INTERPOL Constitution and General

Regulations

General nature Law enforcement

Civilian agency

Operational structure

Headquarters Lyon, France

Agency executives Mireille Ballestrazzi, President

Jürgen Stock, Secretary General

Facilities

National Central

Bureaus

190

Website

interpol.int

Footnotes

Languages (4)[show]

Interpol headquarters in Lyon.

Coordinates: 45.78219°N 4.84838°EThe International Criminal Police Organization(French:Organisation internationale de

police criminelle,OIPC - ICPO), orINTERPOL, is anintergovernmental organizationfacilitating international police

cooperation. It was established as theInternational Criminal Police Commission (ICPC) in 1923 and adopted its

telegraphic address as its common name in 1956. [2]

Interpol has an annual budget of around €78 million, most of which is provided through annual contributions by its

membership of 190 countries (as of 2015). The organization's headquarters is inLyon, France. It is the second largest

political organization after the United Nations in terms of international representation. In 2013, the Interpol General

Secretariat employed a staff of 756, representing 100 member countries. [1] Its current Secretary-General is Jürgen Stock, the

former deputy head of Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office. He replaced Ronald Noble, a former United States Under

Secretary of the Treasury for Enforcement, who stepped down in November 2014 after serving 14 years. [3]Succeeding Khoo

Boon Hui, Interpol's current President is former Deputy Central Director of the French Judicial Police Mireille Ballestrazzi.

To keep Interpol as politically neutral as possible, its charter forbids it, at least in theory, from undertaking interventions or

activities of a political, military, religious, or racial nature or involving itself in disputes over such matters. [4] Its work

focuses primarily on public safety and battlingterrorism, crimes against humanity, environmental crime, genocide, war

crimes,[5] organized crime, piracy, illicit traffic in works of art, illicit drugproduction, drug trafficking, weapons

smuggling, human trafficking,money laundering, child pornography, white-collar crime, computer crime, intellectual

property crime and corruption.

World Meteorological Organization From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"WMO" redirects here. For other uses, see WMO (disambiguation).

World Meteorological Organization

ة جوي صاد ال ألر ية ل م عال نظمة ال م ال

World Meteorological Organization

Organisation météorologique mondiale

Organización Meteorológica Mundial

Всемирная Метеорологическая Организация

世界气象组织

WMO flag

Abbreviation WMO

OMM

Formation 1950

Type UN agency

Legal status Active

Headquarters Geneva, Switzerland

Head Michel Jarraud (Secretary-General)

David Grimes (President)

Website www.wmo.int

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is anintergovernmental organization with a membership of 191

Member States and Territories. It originated from the International Meteorological Organization (IMO), which was founded

in 1873. Established in 1950, WMO became the specialised agency of the United Nations for meteorology(weather

and climate), operational hydrology and related geophysical sciences. It has its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, and is

a member of the United Nations Development Group.[1] The current Secretary-General is Michel Jarraud. [2] The current

president is David Grimes.[3]

The organization[edit]

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations. It is the UN system's

authoritative voice on the state and behavior of the Earth's atmosphere, its interaction with the oceans, the climate it

produces and the resulting distribution of water resources. [4]

WMO has a membership of 191 member states and territories, as of February 2014. The Convention of the World

Meteorological Organization was signed 11 October 1947[5] and established upon ratification in 1950. WMO became the

specialized agency of the United Nations in 1951 for meteorology (weather and climate), operational hydrology and related

geophysical sciences. It originated from theInternational Meteorological Organization (IMO), which was founded in 1873.[4]

World Health Organization From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"WHO" redirects here. For other uses, see Who (disambiguation).

World Health Organization

World Health Organization

Organisation mondiale de la santé (French)

Flag of the World Health Organization

Abbreviation WHO

OMS

Formation 7 April 1948

Type Specialized agency of the United

Nations

Legal status Active

Headquarters Geneva, Switzerland

Head Margaret Chan, Director General

Parent

organization United Nations Economic and Social

Council (ECOSOC)

Website www.who.int

The World Health Organization (WHO; /huː/) is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that is concerned with

international public health. It was established on 7 April 1948, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. The WHO is a

member of the United Nations Development Group. Its predecessor, the Health Organization, was an agency of the League

of Nations. The constitution of the World Health Organization had been signed by 61 countries on 22 July 1946, with the

first meeting of the World Health Assembly finishing on 24 July 1948. It incorporated the Office International d'Hygiène

Publique and the League of Nations Health Organization. Since its creation, it has played a leading role in the eradication of

smallpox. Its current priorities includecommunicable diseases, in particular HIV/AIDS, Ebola, malaria andtuberculosis; the

mitigation of the effects of non-communicable diseases; sexual and reproductive health, development, and aging; nutrition,

food security and healthy eating; occupational health; substance abuse; and driving the development of reporting,

publications, and networking. The WHO is responsible for the World Health Report, a leading international publication on

health, the worldwide World Health Survey, and World Health Day (7 April of every year). The head of WHO is Margaret

Chan.

The 2014/2015 proposed budget of the WHO is about US$4 billion. [1]About US$930 million are to be provided by member

states with a further US$3 billion to be from voluntary contributions. [1]

UNICEF From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

UNICEF

United Nations Children's Fund

Abbreviation UNICEF

Formation December 1946

Type Fund

Legal status Active

Headquarters New York City

Head Anthony Lake

Parent

organization

United Nations Economic and Social

Council

Website UNICEF official site

The United Nations Children's Fund(UNICEF; /ˈjuːnɨsɛf/ EW-ni-sef)[1] is a United Nations Program headquartered inNew

York City that provides long-termhumanitarian and developmental assistance to children and mothers indeveloping

countries. It is one of the members of theUnited Nations Development Group and its Executive Committee. [2]

UNICEF was created by the United Nations General Assembly on December 11, 1946, to provide emergency food and

healthcare to children in countries that had been devastated by World War II. Ludwik Rajchman, a Polish bacteriologist, is

regarded as the founder of UNICEF and was its first chairman from 1946 to 1950. [3] In 1953, UNICEF became a permanent

part of the United Nations Systemand its name was shortened from the original United Nations International Children's

Emergency Fund but it has continued to be known by the popular acronym based on this previous title.

UNICEF relies on contributions from governments and private donors and UNICEF's total income for 2008 was

$3,372,540,239.[4]Governments contribute two thirds of the organization's resources; private groups and some 6 million

individuals contribute the rest through the National Committees. It is estimated that 91.8% of their revenue is distributed to

Program Services. [5] UNICEF's programs emphasize developing community-level services to promote the health and well-

being of children. UNICEF was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1965 and the Prince of Asturias Award of Concord in

2006.

Most of UNICEF's work is in the field, with staff in over 190 countries and territories. More than 200 country offices carry

out UNICEF's mission through a program developed with host governments. Seventeen regional offices provide technical

assistance to country offices as needed.

Overall management and administration of the organization takes place at its headquarters in New York. UNICEF's Supply

Division is based inCopenhagen and serves as the primary point of distribution for such essential items

as vaccines, antiretroviral medicines for children and mothers with HIV, nutritional supplements, emergency

shelters, family reunification, educational supplies, among others. A 36-member Executive Board establishes policies,

approves programs and oversees administrative and financial plans. The Executive Board is made up of government

representatives who are elected by the United Nations Economic and Social Council, usually for three-year terms.

UNICEF School in a box contains basic educational items for 1 teacher and 40 students

Recent executive directors of UNICEF include Carol Bellamy(1995–2005), a former head of the Peace Corps, and Ann

Veneman (2005-2010), a formerUnited States Secretary of Agriculture whose mandate included increasing the

organization's focus on theMillennium Development Goals. Since 2010, the current Executive Director of UNICEF has

been Anthony Lake, a former US National Security Advisor.

UNICEF is an intergovernmental organization (IGO) and thus is accountable to those governments. UNICEF’s salary and

benefits package[6] is based on the United Nations Common System.

United Nations Human Rights Council From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Not to be confused with United Nations Human Rights Committee orUnited Nations Human Rights Commission.

"UNHRC" redirects here. It is not to be confused with UNHCR, theUnited Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

United Nations Human Rights Council

Human Rights Council

Abbreviation UNHRC

Formation 2006

Type United Nations System inter-

governmental body

Region served Worldwide

Official language English, French

Parent United Nations

organization

Website UN Human Rights Council

The Human Rights and Alliance of Civilizations Room, used by the United Nations Human Rights Council, in the Palace of

Nations (Geneva).

The United Nations Human Rights Council(UNHRC) is a United Nations System inter-governmental body whose 47

member states are responsible for promoting and protecting human rights around the world.

The UNHRC is the successor to the UN Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR, herein CHR), and is a subsidiary body of

the UN General Assembly. The council works closely with theOffice of the High Commissioner for Human

Rights (OHCHR) and engages the United Nations' special procedures.

The General Assembly established the UNHRC by adopting a resolution (A/RES/60/251) on 15 March 2006, in order to

replace the previous CHR, which had been heavily criticised for allowing countries with poor human rights records to be

members.[1]

The UNHRC has addressed conflicts including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and also addresses rights-related situations in

countries such as in Burma, Guinea, North Korea, Côte d'Ivoire, Kyrgyzstan, Syria, Libya, Iran, and Sri Lanka. The

UNHRC also addresses important thematic human rights issues such as freedom of association and assembly, freedom of

expression, freedom of belief and religion, women's rights, LGBT rights, and the rights of racial and ethnic minorities.[a]

Secretaries General Kofi Annan and Ban Ki-moon, former president of the council Doru Costea, the European Union,

Canada, and the United States have accused the council of focusing disproportionately on theIsraeli–Palestinian

conflict.[2][3][4] The United States boycotted the Council during the George W. Bush administration, but reversed its position

on it during the Obama administration.[5] Beginning in 2009 however, with the United States taking a leading role in the

organization, American commentators began to argue that the UNHRC was becoming increasingly relevant. [6][7]

The UN General Assembly elects the members who occupy the UNHRC's 47 seats. The General Assembly takes into

account the candidate States’ contribution to the promotion and protection of human rights, as well as their voluntary

pledges and commitments in this regard. The term of each seat is three years, and no member may occupy a seat for more

than two consecutive terms. The seats are distributed among the UN's regional groups as follows: 13 for Africa, 13 for Asia,

six for Eastern Europe, eight for Latin America and the Caribbean (GRULAC), and seven for the Western European and

Others Group (WEOG). The General Assembly, via a two-thirds majority, can suspend the rights and privileges of any

Council member that it decides has persistently committed gross and systematic violations of human rights during its term

of membership. The resolution establishing the UNHRC states that "members elected to the Council shall uphold the

highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights". [8]

On 18 June 2007, one year after holding its first meeting, the UNHRC adopted its Institution-building package, which

provides elements to guide it in its future work. Among the elements was the Universal Periodic Review. The Universal

Periodic Review assesses the human rights situations in all 193 UN Member States. Another element is anAdvisory

Committee, which serves as the UNHRC’s think tank, and provides it with expertise and advice on thematic human rights

issues, that is, issues which pertain to all parts of the world. A further element is a Complaint procedure, which allows

individuals and organizations to bring complaints about human rights violations to the attention of the Council.

On 11 July 2013, envoys from both Syria and Iran announced that they would attempt to run for a seat in 2014. [9] This has

sparked controversy among the international community.

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

United Nations Framework Convention on

Climate Change

UNFCCC logo

Drafted 9 May 1992

Signed 4 June 1992

Location New York City, US

Effective 21 March 1994

Condition ratification by 50 states

Signatories 165

Ratifiers 196 (all United Nations member states, as well

as Niue, Cook Islands and the European

Union)[1]

Depositary Secretary-General of the United Nations

Languages Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and

Spanish

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change(UNFCCC) is an international

environmentaltreaty (currently the only international climate policy venue with broad legitimacy, due in part to its virtually

universal membership)[2] negotiated at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED),

informally known as theEarth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro from 3 to 14 June 1992. The objective of the treaty is to

"stabilizegreenhouse gasconcentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent

dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system". [3]

The treaty itself set no binding limits on greenhouse gas emissions for individual countries and contains no enforcement

mechanisms. In that sense, the treaty is considered legally non-binding. Instead, the treaty provides a framework for

negotiating specific international treaties (called "protocols") that may set binding limits on greenhouse gases.

The UNFCCC was adopted on 9 May 1992, and opened for signature on 4 June 1992, [4] after an Intergovernmental

Negotiating Committee produced the text of the Framework Convention as a report following its meeting in New York

from 30 April to 9 May 1992. It entered into force on 21 March 1994. As of March 2014, UNFCCC has 196 parties.

The parties to the convention have met annually from 1995 in Conferences of the Parties (COP) to assess progress in

dealing withclimate change. In 1997, the Kyoto Protocol was concluded and established legally binding obligations for

developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. [5] The 2010 Cancún agreements state that future global

warming should be limited to below 2.0 °C (3.6 °F) relative to the pre-industrial level.[6] The 20th COP took place in Peru in

2014.[7]

One of the first tasks set by the UNFCCC was for signatory nations to establish national greenhouse gas

inventories of greenhouse gas(GHG) emissions and removals, which were used to create the 1990 benchmark levels for

accession of Annex I countries to the Kyoto Protocol and for the commitment of those countries to GHG reductions.

Updated inventories must be regularly submitted by Annex I countries.

The UNFCCC is also the name of the United Nations Secretariatcharged with supporting the operation of the Convention,

with offices inHaus Carstanjen, and UN Campus [known as: Langer Eugen] Bonn, Germany. From 2006 to 2010 the head

of the secretariat was Yvo de Boer. On 17 May 2010, Christiana Figueres from Costa Rica succeeded de Boer. The

Secretariat, augmented through the parallel efforts of theIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), aims to gain

consensus through meetings and the discussion of various strategies.

UNESCO From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

UNESCO

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural

Organization

Organisation des Nations unies pour l'éducation, la science et la

culture (French)

Abbreviation UNESCO

ONUESC

Formation 16 November 1945[1]

Type Specialized agency

Legal status Active

Headquarters Place de Fontenoy, Paris,France

Membership 195 member states

Head Irina Bokova

Director-General of UNESCO

Website www.unesco.org

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (French:Organisation des Nations unies pour

l'éducation, la science et la culture;UNESCO; /juːˈnɛskoʊ/) is aspecialized agency of theUnited Nations (UN). Its purpose

is to contribute to peace and security by promoting international collaboration through education, science, and culture to

further universal respect for justice, the rule of law, and human rights along with fundamentalfreedom proclaimed in

theUnited Nations Charter.[1] It is the heir of the League of Nations' International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation.

UNESCO has 195 member states [2] and nine associate members. [3][4] Most of its field offices are "cluster" offices covering

three or more countries; national and regional offices also exist.

UNESCO pursues its objectives through five major programs: education,natural sciences, social/human sciences, culture,

andcommunication/information. Projects sponsored by UNESCO include literacy, technical, and teacher-training

programmes; international science programmes; the promotion of independent media and freedom of the press; regional

and cultural history projects; the promotion ofcultural diversity; translations of world literature; international cooperation

agreements to secure the world cultural and natural heritage (World Heritage Sites) and to preserve human rights, and

attempts to bridge the worldwide digital divide. It is also a member of theUnited Nations Development Group.[5]

UNESCO's aim is "to contribute to the building of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development and

intercultural dialogue through education, the sciences, culture, communication and information". [6]Other priorities of the

organization include attaining quality Education For All and lifelong learning, addressing emerging social and ethical

challenges, fostering cultural diversity, a culture of peace and building inclusive knowledge societies through information

and communication. [7]

The broad goals and concrete objectives of the international community — as set out in the internationally agreed

development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) — underpin all UNESCO's strategies and

activities.

Community of Latin American and Caribbean States From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Community of Latin American and Caribbean

States

Map of North, Central and South America indicating CELAC members.

Official languages

Spanish

Portuguese

French

English

Dutch

Demonym Latin American

Caribbean

Membership 33 member states

Leaders

- President pro tempore Rafael Correa[1]

Establishment 23 February 2010

Area

- Total 20,413,300[2] km2

7,881,619 sq mi

Population

- 2011 estimate 591,038,580[2]

- Density 29/km2

75/sq mi

GDP (PPP) 2014 estimate

- Total $9.144 trilliona[2]

- Per capita $15,175a[2]

Gini 49.6

high

HDI (2011) 0.721

high

Internet TLD .latb

a. Does not

include Barbados, Cuba, Guyana,Jamaica and Suriname.

b. Proposed.

The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Spanish:Comunidad de Estados Latinoamericanos y

Caribeños, CELAC;Portuguese: Comunidade de Estados Latino-Americanos e Caribenhos;French: Communauté des États

Latino-Américains et Caribéens; Dutch:Gemeenschap van Latijns-Amerikaanse en Caraïbische Staten) is a regional bloc

of Latin American and Caribbeanstates thought out on February 23, 2010, at theRio Group–Caribbean Community Unity

Summit,[3][4][5] and created on December 3, 2011, inCaracas, Venezuela, with the signature of The Declaration of Caracas. [6] It

consists of 33 sovereign countries in the Americasrepresenting roughly 600 million people. Due to the focus of the

organization on Latin American and Caribbean countries, other countries and territories in the Americas, Canada and

the United States, as well as the territories of France,the Netherlands, Denmarkand the United Kingdom in the Americas are

not included.[7]

CELAC is an example of a decade-long push for deeper integration within Latin America. [8] CELAC is being created to

deepen Latin American integration and to reduce the previously domineering influence of the United States on the internal

affairs and economics of Latin America. It is seen as an alternative to the Organization of American States (OAS), the

regional body organised largely by Washington in 1948, ostensibly as a countermeasure to potential Sovietinfluence in the

region.[8][9][10]

CELAC is the successor of the Rio Group and the Latin American and Caribbean Summit on Integration and

Development (CALC).[11] In July 2010, CELAC selected President of Venezuela Hugo Chávez andPresident of

Chile Sebastián Piñera, as co-chairs of the forum to draft statutes for the organization. [

Commonwealth of Nations From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"The Commonwealth" redirects here. It is not to be confused with the Commonwealth of Independent States. For other uses,

seeCommonwealth (disambiguation).

Commonwealth of Nations

Flag

Logo

Map highlighting the member states of the Commonwealth (dark blue)

Headquarters Marlborough House,London,United Kingdom

Official language English

Type Intergovernmental organization

Member states 53 states[show]

Leaders

-

Head Queen Elizabeth II

-

Secretary-

General

Kamalesh Sharma

-

Chairperson-

in-Office

Maithripala Sirisena

Establishment

-

Balfour

Declaration

19 November 1926

-

Statute of

Westminster

11 December 1931[1]

-

London

Declaration

28 April 1949

Area

-

Total 29,958,050 km2(1st)

11,566,870 sq mi

Population

-

2013 estimate 2.328 billion

-

Density 75/km2

194/sq mi

GDP (PPP) 2014 estimate

-

Total $14.623 trillion (2nd)

-

Per capita $6,222 (116th)

GDP (nominal) 2014 estimate

-

Total $10.450 trillion (2nd)

-

Per capita $4,446 (132nd)

Website

thecommonwealth.org

Note: Rankings exclude the member states.

The Commonwealth of Nations,[2] or the Commonwealth (formerly the British Commonwealth of Nations),[3][1] is

anintergovernmental organization of 53 member states that were mostly territories of the former British Empire.[4]The

Commonwealth operates byintergovernmentalconsensus of the member states, organised through the Commonwealth

Secretariat and non-governmental organisations, organised through theCommonwealth Foundation.[5]

The Commonwealth dates back to the mid 20th century with thedecolonisation of the British Empire through increased self-

governanceof its territories. It was formally constituted by theLondon Declaration in 1949, which established the member

states as "free and equal". [6] The symbol of this free association is QueenElizabeth II who is theHead of the Commonwealth.

The Queen is also themonarch of 16 members of the Commonwealth, known as Commonwealth realms. The other members

of the Commonwealth have different persons as head of state: 32 members are republics and five members

are monarchies with a different monarch.

Member states have no legal obligation to one another. Instead, they are united by language, history, culture and their

shared values ofdemocracy, human rights, and the rule of law.[5] These values are enshrined in the Commonwealth

Charter[7] and promoted by the quadrennial Commonwealth Games. On 3 October 2013, after 48 years of

membership, Gambia became the most recent nation to withdraw from the Commonwealth. [8]

The Commonwealth covers more than 29,958,050 km2(11,566,870 sq mi), almost a quarter of the world land area and spans

all the continents. With an estimated population of 2.328 billion, near a third of the world population,[9] the Commonwealth

in 2014 produced a nominal gross domestic product (GDP) of $10.45 trillion, representing 17% of the gross world

product when measured in purchasing power parity (PPP) and 14% of the gross world product when measured nominally.

Commonwealth of Independent States From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Not to be confused with the Commonwealth of Nations.

Commonwealth of Independent States

Содружество Независимых Государств

Sodruzhestvo Nezavisimykh Gosudarstv

Flag Emblem

Administrative center Minsk

Largest city Moscow

Working language Russian

Type Regional

organisation

Membership

9 members[show]

1 participant[show]

Leaders

-

Executive Secretary Sergei

Lebedev

-

Presidency Kazakhstan

Establishment 8 December 1991

- Collective Security Treaty 15 May 1992

Organisation

-

Free trade agreement signed 1994[1]

-

CIS Free Trade

Areaestablished

18 October 2011[2]

Area

-

Total 22,100,843 km2

8,533,183 sq mi

Population

-

2008 estimate 276,917,629

-

Density 12.53/km2

32.5/sq mi

GDP (PPP) 2007 estimate

-

Total $2,906.944 billion

-

Per capita $10,498

GDP (nominal) 2013 estimate

-

Total $2,808.844 billion

-

Per capita $10,113

Currency

Members[show]

Participant[show]

Time zone (UTC+2 to +12)

Website

http://www.cis.minsk.by/

The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS;Russian: Содружество Независимых Государств,

СНГ, tr. Sodruzhestvo Nezavisimykh Gosudarstv, SNG; also called theRussian Commonwealth)[3] is aregional

organisationwhose participating countries are former Soviet Republics, formed during the breakup of the Soviet Union.

The CIS is a loose association of states. Although the CIS has few supranational powers, it is aimed at being more than a

purely symbolic organisation, nominally possessing coordinating powers in the realm of trade, finance, lawmaking, and

security. It has also promoted cooperation on cross-border crime prevention. Furthermore, eight of the nine CIS members

states participate in the CIS Free Trade Area, and five of these form the Eurasian Economic Union, a customs union and

common market of over 180 million people. In addition, six member states participate in a mutual defence alliance:

the Collective Security Treaty Organization.

History[edit]

The organization was founded on 8 December 1991 by the Republic ofBelarus, the Russian Federation, and Ukraine, when

the leaders of the three countries met in the Belovezhskaya Pushcha Natural Reserve, about 50 km (31 mi) north of Brest in

Belarus and signed the "Agreement Establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States", known as the Creation

Agreement (Russian: Соглашение,Soglasheniye), on the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the creation of CIS as

a successor entity to it.[3] At the same time they announced that the new alliance would be open to all republics of the former

Soviet Union, and to other nations sharing the same goals. The CIS charter stated that all the members were sovereign and

independent nations and thereby effectively abolished the Soviet Union.

On 21 December 1991, the leaders of eight additional former Soviet Republics –

Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova,Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan – signed the Alma-Ata

Protocol expanding the CIS to these states, thus bringing the number of participating countries to 11. [4] Georgia joined two

years later, in December 1993. [5] At this point, 12 former Soviet Republics (all except the Baltic States) participated in the

CIS.

Between 2003 and 2005, three CIS member states experienced a change of government in a series of colour

revolutions: Eduard Shevardnadze was overthrown in Georgia; Viktor Yushchenko was elected in Ukraine; and Askar

Akayev was toppled in Kyrgyzstan. In February 2006, Georgia withdrew from the Council of Defense Ministers, with the

statement that "Georgia has taken a course to join NATO and it cannot be part of two military structures

simultaneously",[6][7] but it remained a full member of the CIS until August 2009, one year after officially withdrawing in the

immediate aftermath of the 2008 South Ossetia war. In March 2007, Igor Ivanov, the secretary of the Russian Security

Council, expressed his doubts concerning the usefulness of the CIS, emphasising that the Eurasian Economic

Community was becoming a more competent organisation to unify the largest countries of the CIS. [8] Following the

withdrawal of Georgia, the presidents of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan skipped the October 2009 meeting of

the CIS, each having their own issues and disagreements with the Russian Federation.[9]

In May 2009, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine joined the Eastern Partnership, a project

which was initiated by the European Union (EU).

Non-Aligned Movement From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)

Member countries

Observer countries

Coordinating New York City, United States

Bureau

Membership[1]

120 members

17 observers

Leaders

-

Principal

decision-

making organ

Conference of Heads of State or

Government of Non-Aligned

Countries[2]

-

Secretary-

General

Hassan Rouhani

Establishment 1961 in Belgrade as the

Conference of Heads of State or

Government of Non-Aligned

Countries

Website

csstc.org

The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a group of states which are not formally aligned with or against any major power

bloc. As of 2012, the movement has 120 members and 17 observercountries.[1]

The organization was founded in Belgrade in 1961, and was largely conceived by India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal

Nehru; Indonesia's first president, Sukarno; Egypt's second president,Gamal Abdel Nasser; Ghana's first presidentKwame

Nkrumah; andYugoslavia's president,Josip Broz Tito. All five leaders were prominent advocates of a middle course for

states in the Developing World between the Western andEastern Blocs in the Cold War. The phrase itself was first used to

represent the doctrine by Indian diplomat V. K. Krishna Menon in 1953, at the United Nations. [3]

In a speech given during the Havana Declaration of 1979, Fidel Castrosaid the purpose of the organization is to ensure "the

national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of non-aligned countries" in their "struggle

against imperialism, colonialism,neo-colonialism, racism, and all forms of foreign aggression,occupation, domination,

interference or hegemony as well as againstgreat power and bloc politics".[4] The countries of the Non-Aligned Movement

represent nearly two-thirds of the United Nations's members and contain 55% of the world population. Membership is

particularly concentrated in countries considered to be developing or part of theThird World.[5]

Members have at times included the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Argentina, Namibia, Cyprus, and Malta.

Although many of the Non-Aligned Movement's members were actually quite closely aligned with one or another of

the super powers, the movement still maintained cohesion throughout the Cold War. Some members were involved in

serious conflicts with other members (e.g. India and Pakistan, Iran and Iraq). The movement fractured from its own internal

contradictions when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979. Although the Soviet allies supported the invasion, other

members of the movement (particularly predominantly Muslim states) condemned it.

Because the Non-Aligned Movement was formed as an attempt to thwart the Cold War, [6] it has struggled to find relevance

since the Cold War ended. After the breakup of Yugoslavia, a founding member, its membership was suspended[7] in 1992

at the regular Ministerial Meeting of the Movement, held in New York during the regular yearly session of the General

Assembly of the United Nations.[8][9] The successor states of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia have expressed

little interest in membership, though some have observer status. In 2004, Malta and Cyprus ceased to be members and

joined the European Union. Belarus remains the sole member of the Movement in Europe. Azerbaijan and Fiji are the most

recent entrants, joining in 2011. The applications of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Costa Rica were rejected in 1995 and

1998, respectively.[9]

The 16th NAM summit took place in Tehran, Iran, from 26 to 31 August 2012. According to MehrNews agency,

representatives from over 150 countries were scheduled to attend. [10] Attendance at the highest level includes 27 presidents,

2 kings and emirs, 7 prime ministers, 9 vice presidents, 2 parliament spokesmen and 5 special envoys. [11] At the summit,

Iran took over from Egypt as Chair of the Non-Aligned Movement for the period 2012 to 2015. [12] The 17th Summit of the

Non Aligned Movement is to be held in Venezuela in 2015. [13]

Role after the Cold War[edit]

Since the end of the Cold War and the formal end of colonialism, the Non-Aligned Movement has been forced to redefine

itself and reinvent its purpose in the current world system. A major question has been whether many of its foundational

ideologies, principally national independence, territorial integrity, and the struggle against colonialism and imperialism, can

be applied to contemporary issues. The movement has emphasised its principles of multilateralism, equality, and mutual

non-aggression in attempting to become a stronger voice for the global South, and an instrument that can be utilised to

promote the needs of member nations at the international level and strengthen their political leverage when negotiating with

developed nations. In its efforts to advance Southern interests, the movement has stressed the importance of cooperation

and unity amongst member states, [22] but as in the past, cohesion remains a problem since the size of the organisation and

the divergence of agendas and allegiances present the ongoing potential for fragmentation. While agreement on basic

principles has been smooth, taking definitive action vis-à-vis particular international issues has been rare, with the

movement preferring to assert its criticism or support rather than pass hard-line resolutions.[23] The movement continues to

see a role for itself, as in its view, the world's-poorest nations remain exploited and marginalised, no longer by opposing

superpowers, but rather in a uni-polar world,[24] and it is Western hegemony and neo-colonialism that the movement has

really re-aligned itself against. It opposes foreign occupation, interference in internal affairs and aggressive unilateral

measures, but it has also shifted to focus on the socio-economic challenges facing member states, especially the inequalities

manifested by globalization and the implications of neo-liberal policies. The Non-Aligned Movement has identified

economic underdevelopment, poverty, and social injustices as growing threats to peace and security. Summit, Durban,

South Africa, 2–3 September 1998:[25]

Warsaw Pact From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Not to be confused with Warsaw Convention or Treaty of Warsaw.

For other uses, see Agreement of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance (disambiguation).

Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation, and Mutual

Assistance

Russian: Договор о дружбе, сотрудничестве и взаимной

помощи

Members of the Warsaw Pact

Motto Союз мира и

социализма (Russian)

"Union of peace and socialism"

Formation 14 May 1955

Extinction 1 July 1991

Type Military alliance

Headquarters Warsaw, Poland

(Command and Control HQ)

Moscow, Soviet Union

(Military HQ)

Membership Bulgaria

Czechoslovakia

East Germany

Hungary

Poland

Romania

Soviet Union

Albania (withdrew in 1968)

Supreme Commander Petr Lushev (last)

Chief of Combined

Staff

Vladimir Lobov (last)

Logo Military unit Organization The Warsaw Pact. Union of peace and socialism

The Warsaw Pact(formally, the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation, and Mutual Assistance , sometimes,

informally WarPac, akin in format to NATO)[1] was acollective defense treaty among eight communist states of Central and

Eastern Europe in existence during the Cold War, led by the USSR. The Warsaw Pact was the military complement to

theCouncil for Mutual Economic Assistance(CoMEcon), the regional economic organization for the communist states of

Central and Eastern Europe. The Warsaw Pact was in part a Soviet military reaction to the integration of West

Germany[2] intoNATO in 1955 per theParis Pacts of 1954,[3][4][5]but was primarily motivated by Soviet desires to maintain

control over military forces in Central and Eastern Europe; [6] in turn (according to the Warsaw Pact's preamble) meant to

maintain peace in Europe, guided by the objective points and principles of the Charter of the United Nations (1945).

The Warsaw Pact's largest military engagements were aimed against its own members—in 1956 against Hungary and

in 1968 against Czechoslovakia. However, the Pact failed to function in December 1989, when a revolution in

Romaniabrought down the communist government there and ended Romania's Pact membership, and in October 1990 East

Germany also left the Pact, as a result of German reunification.

On 25 February 1991, the Pact was declared at an end at a meeting of defense and foreign ministers from the remaining

member states meeting in Hungary. On 1 July 1991, the Czechoslovak PresidentVáclav Havel formally declared an end to

the Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Co-operation, and Mutual Assistance which had been established in 1955.

The USSR itself was dissolved in December 1991.

International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Red Cross" redirects here. For other uses, see Red Cross (disambiguation).

International Red Cross and Red Crescent

Movement

The Red Cross and Red Crescent emblems, the symbols from

which the movement derives its name.

Founded 1885 (ICRC); 1919 (IFRC) (idea was in

1859)

Founder Henry Dunant, Gustave Moynier

Type Non-governmental organization

Focus Humanitarian

Location Geneva, Switzerland

Area served Worldwide

Method Aid

Revenue US$3.6 billion (2010)[1]

Volunteers 13.1 million

Website www.icrc.org

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is an international humanitarianmovement with

approximately 97 millionvolunteers, members and staff worldwide[2] which was founded to protect human life and health, to

ensure respect for all human beings, and to prevent and alleviate human suffering.

The movement consists of several distinct organizations that are legally independent from each other, but are united within

the movement through common basic principles, objectives, symbols, statutes and governing organisations. The

movement's parts are:

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a private humanitarian institution founded in 1863 in Geneva,

Switzerland, byHenry Dunant and Gustave Moynier. Its 25-member committee has a unique authority under international

humanitarian law to protect the life and dignity of the victims of international and internal armed conflicts. The ICRC was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on three occasions (in 1917, 1944 and 1963). [3]

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) was founded in 1919 and today it coordinates

activities between the 188 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies within the Movement. On an international level,

the Federation leads and organizes, in close cooperation with the National Societies, relief assistance missions responding

to large-scale emergencies. The International Federation Secretariat is based in Geneva, Switzerland. In 1963, the Federation (then known as the League of Red Cross Societies) was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize jointly with the ICRC. [3]

National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies exist in nearly every country in the world. Currently 189 National Societies

are recognized by the ICRC and admitted as full members of the Federation. Each entity works in its home country

according to the principles of international humanitarian law and the statutes of the international Movement. Depending on

their specific circumstances and capacities, National Societies can take on additional humanitarian tasks that are not directly

defined by international humanitarian law or the mandates of the international Movement. In many countries, they are tightly linked to the respective national health care system by providing emergency medical services.

East African Community From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

East African Community[show]

Flag Logo

Motto: "One People One Destiny"

Anthem: EAC Anthem

An orthographic projection of the world, highlighting the East

African Community's Member States (green).

Headquarters Arusha

Largest city Dar es Salaam

Official languages Swahili, English

Lingua Franca Swahili

Type Intergovernmental

Members 5 states[show]

Leaders

- Summit

Chairperson

Jakaya Kikwete

- Council

Chairperson

Mwakyembe

- EACJ President Harold Nsekela

- EALA Speaker Daniel Kidega

- Secretary

General

Richard Sezibera

Legislature EALA

Establishment

- First established 1967

- Dissolved 1977

- Re-established 7 July 2000

Area

- Total 1,820,664 km2 (17th a)

702,962 sq mi

- Water (%) 5.6

Population

- 2014 estimate 153,301,178[1] a (9th)

- Density 84.2/km2

218.1/sq mi

GDP (PPP) 2013 estimate

- Total US$ 297.791

billion[2](51sta)

- Per capita US$ 1,942 a

GDP (nominal) 2013 estimate

- Total US$ 122.672 billion

(61sta)

- Per capita US$ 800 a

Currency 5 Currenciesb [show]

Time zone CAT / EAT (UTC+2 /

+3)

Website

www.eac.int

a. If considered as a single entity.

b. To be replaced by the East African shilling

The East African Community (EAC) is an intergovernmental organisation composed of five countries in the African

Great Lakes region in eastern Africa: Burundi,Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. Jakaya Kikwete, the president of

Tanzania, is the EAC's chairman. The organisation was founded originally in 1967, collapsed in 1977, and was revived on 7

July 2000.[3]In 2008, after negotiations with the Southern Africa Development Community(SADC) and the Common

Market for Eastern and Southern Africa(COMESA), the EAC agreed to an expanded free trade area including the member

states of all three organizations. The EAC is an integral part of the African Economic Community.

The EAC is a potential precursor to the establishment of the East African Federation, a proposed federation of its members

into a singlesovereign state. In 2010, the EAC launched its own common market for goods, labour, and capital within the

region, with the goal of creating a common currency and eventually a full political federation. [4] In 2013 a protocol was

signed outlining their plans for launching a monetary union within 10 years. [5]

The geographical region encompassed by the EAC covers an area of 1,820,664 square kilometres (702,962 sq mi), with a

combined population of about 149,959,317[1](2013 est.)[6]

World Intellectual Property Organization From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

World Intellectual Property Organization

World Intellectual Property Organization

Organisation mondiale de la propriété intellectuelle (French)

WIPO headquarters in Geneva

Abbreviation WIPO, OMPI

Formation July 14, 1967

Type Specialized Agency

Legal status Active

Headquarters Geneva, Switzerland

Head Director-General of WIPOFrancis Gurry

Website www.wipo.int

WIPO members

Members

Non-members

WIPO headquarters, Geneva.

Francis Gurry in 2011

The World Intellectual Property Organization(WIPO) is one of the 17specialized agencies of theUnited Nations.

WIPO was created in 1967 "to encourage creative activity, to promote the protection of intellectual property throughout the

world."[1]

WIPO currently has 188 member states, [2]administers 26 international treaties,[3] and is headquartered

inGeneva, Switzerland. The current Director-General of WIPO is Francis Gurry, who took office on October 1, 2008.[4] 186

of the UN Members as well as theHoly See and Niue are Members of WIPO. Non-members are the states ofMarshall

Islands,Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Palau,Solomon Islands, South Sudan and Timor-Leste.Palestine has

observer status.[5]

International Labour Organization From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"ILO" redirects here. For other uses, see ILO (disambiguation).

International Labour Organization

International Labour Organization

Organisation internationale du travail (French)

ILO logo

Abbreviation ILO / OIT

Formation 1919

Type UN agency

Legal status Active

Headquarters Geneva, Switzerland

Head Guy Ryder

Website www.ilo.org

The International Labour Organization (ILO) is aUnited Nations agency dealing with labour issues,

particularly international labour standards, social protection, and workopportunities for all.[1] The ILO has 186 member

states: 185 of the 193 UN member states plus theCook Islands are members of the ILO.

In 1969, the organization received the Nobel Peace Prize for improving peace among classes, pursuingdecent

work and justice for workers, and providing technical assistance to other developing nations. [2]

The ILO registers complaints against entities that are violatinginternational rules; however, it does not impose sanctions on

governments.

Organization of American States From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Organization of American States [show]

Flag Seal

Motto:

"Democracy for peace, security, and development"

Headquarters Washington, D.C.

Official languages

4 languages[show]

Demonym American

Member states 35 states[show]

Leaders

-

Secretary General Luis Almagro

-

Assistant Secretary General Albert R. Ramdin

Establishment

-

Charter 30 April 1948

Area

-

Total 42,549,000 km2

16,430,000 sq mi

Population

-

2008 estimate 910,720,588

-

Density 21/km2

55/sq mi

Time zone (UTC-10 to +0)

Website

oas.org

The Organization of American States (Spanish: Organización de los Estados Americanos, Portuguese: Organização dos

Estados Americanos, French: Organisation des États Américains), or the OAS or OEA, is an inter-

continental organizationfounded on 30 April 1948, for the purposes of regional solidarity and cooperation among its

member states. Headquartered inWashington, D.C., United States,[1] the OAS's members are the 35 independent states of

the Americas.

As of 26 May 2015, the Secretary General of OAS is Luis Almagro.[2]

IBSA Dialogue Forum From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

India, Brazil and South Africa

Pretoria (South Africa) - Dilma Rousseff, President of Brazil, Jacob Zuma, President of South Africa andManmohan Singh, Prime

Minister of India pose for photo.

The IBSA Dialogue Forum (India,Brazil, South Africa) is an international tripartite grouping for promotinginternational

cooperation among these countries. It represents three important poles for galvanizing South-South cooperationand greater

understanding between three important continents of the developing world namely, Africa, Asia and South America. The

forum provides the three countries with a platform to engage in discussions for cooperation in the field of agriculture, trade,

culture, and defence among others.

The IBSA Dialogue Forum plays an increasingly important role in the foreign policies of India, Brazil and South Africa. It

has become instrumental for promoting ever closer coordination on global issues between three large multicultural and

multiracial democracies of Asia, South America and Africa, and contributed to enhancing trilateral India-Brazil-South

Africa cooperation in sectoral areas.

Origin[edit]

After the failperation between India (South Asia), Brazil (South America) and South Africa. The Declaration at the trilateral

meeting in Brasilia, called for removing protectionist policies and trade distorting practices by improving the multilateral

trade system.

On 6 June 2003, Yashwant Sinha (External affairs minister of India),Celso Amorim (Foreign minister of Brazil)

and Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma(Foreign minister of South Africa) met in Brasilia, where the IBSA Dialogue forum was

formalized through the adoption of the "Brasilia Declaration".[1] The IBSA Dialogue forum facilitates regular consultations

at senior officials level, government (summit) levels as well as amongst academics, intellectuals and other members of

the civil society.[1] By some experts, it is also seen as an endeavor to challenge the international system by Pivotal Middle

Powers through peaceful convincing, instead of other means. [2]

Earth Summit From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Earth Summit (disambiguation).

The Earth Summit was a UN event

The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the Rio Summit,Rio

Conference, and Earth Summit (Portuguese: ECO92[ˈɛku no̞ˈvẽtɐ j ˈdojʃ]), was a major United Nationsconference held

in Rio de Janeiro from 3 to 14 June 1992.

In 2012, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Developmentwas also held in Rio, and is also commonly called

Rio+20 or Rio Earth Summit 2012. It was held from 13 to 22 June.

Contents

[hide]

1 Overview

1.1 Results

2 See also

3 References

4 External links

Overview[edit]

172 governments participated, with 116 sending their heads of state or government. [1] Some 2,400 representatives of non-

governmental organizations (NGOs) attended, with 17,000 people at the parallel NGO "Global Forum" (also called Forum

Global), who had Consultative Status.

The issues addressed included:

systematic scrutiny of patterns of production — particularly the production of toxic components, such as lead in gasoline, or

poisonous waste including radioactive chemicals

alternative sources of energy to replace the use of fossil fuels which are linked to global climate change

new reliance on public transportation systems in order to reduce vehicle emissions, congestion in cities and the health problems caused by polluted air and smoke

the growing scarcity of water

An important achievement was an agreement on the Climate Change Convention which in turn led to the Kyoto Protocol.

Another agreement was to "not to carry out any activities on the lands of indigenous peoplesthat would

cause environmental degradation or that would be culturally inappropriate".

The Convention on Biological Diversity was opened for signature at the Earth Summit, and made a start towards

redefinition of measures that did not inherently encourage destruction of natural ecoregions and so-called uneconomic

growth.

Twelve cities were also honoured by the Local Government Honours Award for innovative local environmental programs.

These includedSudbury in Canada for its ambitious program to rehabilitate environmental damage from the

local mining industry, Austin in theUnited States for its green building strategy, and Kitakyūshū in Japan for incorporating

an international education and training component into its municipal pollution control program.

G8 (forum) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Not to be confused with G7 (finance ministers).

"Group of Six" and "Group of Eight" redirect here. For other uses, see G6 (disambiguation) and G8 (disambiguation).

Group of Seven

Canada

Prime Minister Stephen Harper

France

President François Hollande

Germany

Chancellor Angela Merkel

Italy

Prime Minister Matteo Renzi

Japan

Prime Minister Shinzō Abe

Russia (Suspended sine die)

President Vladimir Putin

United Kingdom

Prime Minister David Cameron

United States

President Barack Obama

European Union

Council President Donald Tusk

Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker

The Group of Seven (G7, formerly G8) is a governmental political forum of leading advanced economies in the world. It

wasoriginally formed by six leading industrial countries and subsequently extended with two additional members, one of

which,Russia, is suspended.[1][2][3][4]Since 2014, the G8 in effect comprises seven nations and the European Unionas the

eighth member.

The forum originated with a 1975 summit hosted by France that brought together representatives of six

governments: France, theFederal Republic of Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and theUnited States, thus

leading to the name Group of Six or G6. The summit became known as the Group of Seven or G7 in 1976 with the

addition of Canada. The G7 is composed of the seven wealthiest developed countries on earth (by net national wealth or by

GDP[5]), and it remained active as a finance ministers' forum even during the period of the G8. Russia was added to the

group from 1997, which then became known as the G8; Russia was, however, suspended in 2014. The European Union has

been represented within the G8 since the 1980s but originally could not host or chair summits. [6] The 40th summitwas the

first time the European Union was able to host and chair a summit.

"G8" can refer to the member states in aggregate or to the annualsummit meeting of the G8 heads of government. The

former term, G6, is now frequently applied to the six most populous countries within the European Union. G8 ministers

also meet throughout the year, such as the G7 finance ministers (who meet four times a year), G8 foreign ministers, or G8

environment ministers.

Collectively, in 2012 the G8 nations composed 50.1 percent of 2012 global nominal GDP and 40.9 percent of global GDP

(PPP). Each calendar year the responsibility of hosting the G8 is rotated through the member states in the following order:

France, United States, United Kingdom, Russia, Germany, Japan, Italy, and Canada. The holder of the presidency sets the

agenda, hosts the summit for that year, and determines which ministerial meetings will take place. Both France and the

United Kingdom have expressed a desire to expand the group to include five developing countries, referred to as

the Outreach Five (O5) or the Plus Five: Brazil (7th country in the world by nominal GDP,[5]) People's Republic of China

(2nd country in the world by GDP, [5]) India (10th country in the world by GDP, [7]) Mexico, and South Africa. These

countries have participated as guests in meetings that are sometimes called G8+5.

With the G-20 major economies growing in stature since the 2008 Washington summit, world leaders from the group

announced at theirPittsburgh summit on September 25, 2009, that the group would replace the G8 as the main economic

council of wealthy nations. [8][9] Today, G8 meetings are held with the purpose of discussing global issues such as economic

growth, crisis management, global security, energy, and terrorism without the governments of the developing nations, who

havetheir own major forum (BRICS).[10]

On March 24, 2014, the original G7 nations voted to, in effect, indefinitely suspend Russia from the organization in

response to the country's annexation of Crimea;[11][12][13] however, it was made clear that the suspension was intended to be

temporary.[14] Later on, the Italian Foreign Affairs minister Federica Mogherini and other Italian authorities, [15][16] along with

the EastWest Institute board memberWolfgang Ischinger,[17] suggested that Russia may restore its membership in the group,

adding that the return to the G8 format depends on Moscow and on Russian actions.

Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"BSEC" redirects here. For other uses, see BSEC (disambiguation).

This article needs additional citations

forverification. Please help improve this

article by adding citations to reliable

sources. Unsourced material may be

challenged and removed. (December 2012)

Organization of the Black Sea Economic

Cooperation

Formation 4 June 1992

Type Economic cooperation organization

Headquarters Istanbul, Turkey

Membership 12[show]

Secretary General Victor Tvircun

Website http://www.bsec-organization.org/

On 25 June 1992, the Heads of State and Government of eleven countries signed in Istanbulthe Summit Declaration and

the BosporusStatement giving birth to the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC). It came into existence as a model

of multilateral political and economic initiative aimed at fostering interaction and harmony among the Member States, as

well as to ensure peace, stability and prosperity encouraging friendly and good-neighbourly relations in the Black Sea

region.

The BSEC Headquarters - the Permanent International Secretariat of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic

Cooperation (BSEC PERMIS) - was established in March 1994 in Istanbul.

With the entry into force of its Charter on 1 May 1999, BSEC acquired international legal identity and was transformed into

a full-fledged regional economic organization: Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation. With the

accession of Serbia (then Serbia and Montenegro) in April 2004, the Organization’s Member States increased to twelve. [1]

An important aspect of the activities of BSEC is the development of SME and entrepreneurship in the member countries.

Concerning these issues, a series of workshops have been organized in cooperation withKonrad-Adenauer-

Stiftung and ERENET.[2]

Human Rights Watch From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"HRW" redirects here. For other meanings of HRW, see HRW (disambiguation).

Not to be confused with Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society.

Human Rights Watch

Founded 1978

Type Non-profit NGO

Focus Human rights activism

Location Empire State Building

New York City, United States

Area served Worldwide

Product non profit human rights advocacy

Key people Kenneth Roth (Executive Director)

James F. Hoge, Jr. (Chairman)

Mission To become a voice of Justice

Website hrw.org

Formerly called Helsinki Watch

Current executive Director Kenneth Roth speaking at the 44th Munich Security Conference 2008

Human Rights Watch(HRW) is an internationalnon-governmental organization that conducts research

and advocacy onhuman rights. HRW headquarters are in New York City with offices

inAmsterdam, Beirut, Berlin,Brussels, Chicago,Geneva, Johannesburg,London, Los Angeles,Moscow, Nairobi, Paris,San

Francisco, Sydney,Tokyo, Toronto,Washington, D.C., andZurich.[1]

As of June 2011, the organization’s annual expenses totaled $50.6 million. [2]

FIFA From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the international association football organisation. For the video games, see FIFA (video game

series). For the Spanish athlete, see Illias Fifa.

Fédération Internationale de Football

Association

English: International Federation of Association Football

Map of the members of FIFA according to their confederation

Abbreviation FIFA[1]

Motto For the Game. For the World.

Formation 21 May 1904 (111 years ago)

Type Federation of national associations

Headquarters Zürich, Switzerland

Coordinates

47°22′53″N 8°34′28″ECoordinates:

47°22′53″N 8°34′28″E

Region served Worldwide

Membership 209 national associations

Official

language

English

Spanish

French

German[2]

President Joseph S. Blatter

Senior Vice-

President

Issa Hayatou

Vice-

Presidents

Jim Boyce

Ali Bin Al-Hussein

Affiliations International Olympic Committee

Website www.fifa.com

The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA/ˈfiː fə/; English:International Federation of Association

Football) is thegoverning body ofassociation football,futsal and beach football. FIFA is responsible for the organisation of

football's major international tournaments, notably the World Cup which commenced in 1930 and the Women's World

Cup which commenced in 1991.

FIFA was founded in 1904 to oversee international competition among the national associations of Belgium, Denmark,

France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. Headquartered in Zürich, its membership now

comprises 209 national associations. Member countries must each also be members of one of the six regional

confederations into which the world is divided: Africa, Asia, Europe, North & Central America and the Caribbean, Oceania

and South America.

Although FIFA does not control the rules of football (that being the responsibility of the International Football Association

Board), it is responsible for both the organisation of a number of tournaments and their promotion, which generate revenue

from sponsorship. In 2013 FIFA had revenues of over 1.3 billion U.S. dollars, for a net profit of 72 million, and had cash

reserves of over 1.4 billion U.S. dollars. [3]

Reports by investigative journalists have linked FIFA leadership with corruption, bribery, and alleged vote-rigging pursuant

to the election ofFIFA President Sepp Blatter and the organization's decision to award the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to

Russia and Qatar, respectively. These allegations led to the indictments of nine high-ranking FIFA officials and five

corporate executives by the U.S. Department of Justiceon charges including racketeering, wire fraud, and money

laundering. On 27 May 2015 several of these officials were arrested by Swiss authorities, who were launching a

simultaneous but separate criminal investigation into how the organization awarded the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. Those

among these officials who were also indicted in the U.S. are expected to be extradited to face charges there as well.

International Olympic Committee From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"IOC" redirects here. For other uses, see IOC (disambiguation).

[hide]This article has multiple issues. Please

help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page.

This article contains weasel words: vague phrasing

that often

accompanies biased orunverifiable information. (March

2013)

This article needs additional

citations for verification. (September

2013)

Coordinates: 46°31′5″N 6°35′49″E

International Olympic Committee

Comité international olympique

Motto Citius, Altius, Fortius

(Latin: Faster, Higher, Stronger)

Formation 23 June 1894; 121 years ago

Type Sports federation

Headquarters Lausanne, Switzerland

Membership 105 active members, 32 honorary

members

Official

language

English, French

and the host country's official language when

necessary

President Thomas Bach

Website Olympic.org

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) (French: Comité international olympique,CIO) is an international,non-

profit, non-governmental organizationbased in Lausanne,Switzerland, created byPierre, Baron de Coubertin, on 23 June

1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president. Today its membership consists of 100 active members, 32 honorary

members, and 1 honour member. The IOC is the supreme authority of the worldwide modern Olympic movement.

The IOC organises the modern Olympic Games and Youth Olympic Games, held in summer and winter, every four years.

The first Summer Olympics organised by the IOC was held in Athens, Greece, in 1896; the first Winter Olympics was

in Chamonix, France, in 1924. Until 1992, both Summer and Winter Olympics were held in the same year. After that year,

however, the IOC shifted the Winter Olympics to the even years between Summer Games, to help space the planning of the

two events from one another, and improve the financial balance of the IOC, which receives greater income on Olympic

years. The first Summer Youth Olympics were in Singapore in 2010 and the first Winter Youth Olympics were held

in Innsbruck in 2012.

World Wide Fund for Nature From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

World Wildlife Fund

Abbreviation WWF

Formation 29 April 1961 a

Founders <div class

Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld b

Julian Huxley  [1]

Max Nicholson

Peter Scott

Guy Mountfort

Godfrey A. Rockefeller [2]

Type Charitable trust

Purpose Environmentalism

Conservation

Ecology

Headquarters Avenue du Mont-Blanc,

Gland, Vaud, Switzerland

Coordinates 46.4171864°N 6.2709482°E

Region Worldwide

Methods Lobbying

Research

Consultancy

Key people Prince Philip, Duke of

Edinburgh, President Emeritus

Yolanda Kakabadse, President

Marco Lambertini, Director General

Revenue(2010[3]) € 525 million

Slogan "For a Living Planet"

Website wwf.org

panda.org

a First office opened 11 September 1961 in Morges,

Switzerland.

b Also the WWF's first president. [4]

Earth Hour 2013 at the Verona Arena amphitheatre,Piazza Bra, Verona, Italy before (top) and while the street lighting was switched off.

The World Wide Fund for Nature(WWF) is aninternational non-governmental organizationfounded on April 29, 1961,

and is working on issues regarding theconservation,research andrestoration of theenvironment. It was formerly named

theWorld Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in Canada and the United States. It is the world's

largestconservation organization with over 5 million supporters worldwide, working in more than 100 countries, supporting

around 1,300[5]conservation and environmental projects. WWF is a foundation, [6] in 2010 deriving 57% of funding from

individuals and bequests, 17% from government sources (such as the World Bank,DFID, USAID) and 11% from

corporations.[3]

The group's mission is "to stop the degradation of the planet’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans

live in harmony with nature."[7]Currently, much of its work focuses on the conservation of three biomes that contain most of

the world's biodiversity:oceans and coasts,forests, and freshwater ecosystems. Among other issues, it is also concerned

with endangered species, pollution and climate change.

Greenpeace From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the international environmental organization. For other uses, see Greenpeace (disambiguation).

Greenpeace

Logo of Greenpeace

Greenpeace protest against Esso / ExxonMobil

Formation 1969 - 1972 (See

remarks)Vancouver, British

Columbia,Canada

Type Non-governmental organization

Purpose Environmentalism, peace

Headquarters Amsterdam, Netherlands

Region served Worldwide

Executive

Director

Kumi Naidoo

Chair of the

Board

Ana Toni

Main organ Board of Directors, elected by

the Annual General Meeting

Budget €236.9 million (2011)

Staff 2,400 (2008)

Volunteers 15,000[1]

Website www.greenpeace.org

Remarks See article for more details on

formation.

Formerly called Don't Make a Wave Committee (1969-

1972)[2]

Greenpeace is a non-governmental[3]environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an

international coordinating body in Amsterdam, theNetherlands.[4]Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of

the Earth to nurture life in all its diversity"[5] and focuses its campaigning on worldwide issues such asclimate

change,deforestation, overfishing,commercial whaling,genetic engineering, andanti-nuclear issues. It usesdirect

action, lobbying, andresearch to achieve its goals. The global organization does not accept funding from governments,

corporations, or political parties, relying on 2.9 million individual supporters and foundation grants. [6][7] Greenpeace has

a general consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council[8] and is a founding member[9] of

theINGO Accountability Charter; an international non-governmental organization that intends to foster accountability and

transparency of non-governmental organizations.

Greenpeace is known for its direct actions [citation needed] and has been described as the most visible environmental organization

in the world.[10][11] Greenpeace has raised environmental issues to public knowledge, [12][13][14] and influenced both the private

and the public sector. [15][16] Greenpeace has also been a source of controversy;[17] its motives and methods (some of the latter

being illegal) have received criticism[18][19] and the organization's direct actions have sparked legal actions against

Greenpeace activists,[20][21] such as fines and suspended sentences for destroying a test plot of GMO wheat[22][23][24]and

damaging the Nazca Lines, a UN World Heritage site in Peru.

Organisation of Islamic Cooperation From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"OIC" redirects here. For other uses, see OIC (disambiguation).

Organisation of Islamic Cooperation

المي س عاون اإل ت نظمة ال (Arabic) م

Organisation de la coopération islamique (French)

Flag Coat of arms

Member states

Observer states

Blocked states

Suspended states

Administrative centre Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Official languages Arabic

English

French

Type Religious

Membership 57 member states

Leaders

-

Secretary-General Iyad bin Amin Madani

Establishment

-

Charter signed 25 September 1969

Population

-

2011 estimate 1.6 billion

Website

www.oic-oci.org

Organisation of

Islamic Cooperation

Economy

GDP (PPP)

GDP (PPP) per capita

Exports

Imports

Education

Member states

By population

Largest cities

Parliamentary Union

V

T

E

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC; Arabic: منظمة التعاون اإلسالمي; French: Organisation de la coopération

islamique,OCI)[a 1] is an international organisation founded in 1969 consisting of 57 member states. The organisation states

that it is "the collective voice of the Muslim world" and works to "safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world

in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony". [1]

The OIC has permanent delegations to the United Nations and the European Union. The official languages of the OIC are

Arabic, English, and French.

Contents

[hide]

1 History and goals

1.1 New name and emblem

2 Member states

2.1 Africa

2.2 America

2.3 Asia

2.4 Europe

2.5 Refugees

3 Positions

3.1 Jerusalem

3.2 Stance on cartoons of Muhammad

3.3 Human rights

3.3.1 LGBT rights

3.4 Terrorism

3.5 Dispute with Thailand

3.6 Dispute with India

4 Notable meetings

4.1 Ninth meeting of PUOICM

4.2 IPHRC Trip to Washington DC

4.3 Observer Status dispute

5 Structure and organisation

5.1 Islamic summit

5.2 Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers

5.3 Secretary General

5.4 Permanent Secretariat

5.5 Subsidiary organisations

5.6 Specialised institutions

5.7 Affiliated institutions

6 Secretaries-General

7 Islamic Summit Conferences

8 See also

9 Notes

10 References

11 Further reading

12 External links

History and goals[edit]

Islamic Summit Minar in Lahore, Pakistan.

Since the 19th century, some Muslims had aspired to ummah to serve their common political, economic, and social

interests. The collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the Caliphate after World War I left a vacuum for a pan-Islamic

institution. Losing the Six-Day War in 1967 provided the incentive needed. Leaders of Muslim nations met in Rabat to

establish the OIC on 25 September 1969. [1]

According to its charter, the OIC aims to preserve Islamic social and economic values; promote solidarity amongst member

states; increase cooperation in social, economic, cultural, scientific, and political areas; uphold international peace and

security; and advance education, particularly in the fields of science and technology. [1]

United Nations Development Programme From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"UNDP" redirects here. For the South Korean political party, seeUnited New Democratic Party. For the Cameroon group,

seeNational Union for Democracy and Progress (Cameroon).

United Nations Development Programme

United Nations Development Programme

Abbreviation UNDP

Formation 1965

Type Programme

Legal status Active

Headquarters New York City

(International territory)

Head Helen Clark

Parent organization ECOSOC[1]

Website www.undp.org

The United Nations Development Programme(UNDP) is the United Nations' global development network.

Headquartered in New York City, UNDP advocates for change and connects countries to knowledge, experience and

resources to help people build a better life. It provides expert advice, training, and grant support to developing countries,

with increasing emphasis on assistance to the least developed countries.

The status of UNDP is that of an executive board within the United Nations General Assembly. The UNDP Administrator

is the third highest-ranking official of the United Nations after the United Nations Secretary-General and Deputy Secretary-

General.[2]

To accomplish the MDGs and encourage global development, UNDP focuses on poverty reduction, HIV/AIDS, democratic

governance, energy and environment, social development, and crisis prevention and recovery. UNDP also encourages the

protection of human rights and the empowerment of women in all of its programmes. The UNDP Human Development

Report Office also publishes an annual Human Development Report (since 1990) to measure and analyse developmental

progress. In addition to a global Report, UNDP publishes regional, national, and local Human Development Reports. [3]

UNDP is funded entirely by voluntary contributions from member nations. The organization operates in 177 countries,

where it works with local governments to meet development challenges and develop local capacity. Additionally, the

UNDP works internationally to help countries achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Currently, the UNDP

is one of the main UN agencies involved in the development of the Post-2015 Development Agenda.

UNDP works with nations on their own solutions to global and national development challenges. As they develop local

capacity, they draw on the people of UNDP and its wide range of partners. [

Southern African Development Community From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Southern African Development Community

(SADC)

Communauté de développement d'Afrique australe (French)

Comunidade de Desenvolvimento da África

Austral (Portuguese)

Flag Logo

Motto: "Towards a Common Future"

Anthem: SADC Anthem

Map of Africa indicating SADC (light green) and SADC+SACU (dark

green) members.

Headquarters Gaborone, Botswana

Working languages English

French

Portuguese

Type Intergovernmental

Membership 15 states[show]

Leaders

- Summit

Chairperson

Ian Khama

- Council

Chairperson

Pelonomi Moitoi

- SADC PF

Chairperson

Abdool Ameen

- Tribunal

President

Ariranga Pillay

- Executive Secretary Stergomena Tax

Legislature SADC Parliamentary

Forum

Establishment

- as SADCC 1 April 1980

- as SADC 17 August 1992

Area

- Total 9,882,959 km2

3,815,832 sq mi

Population

- estimate 277 million

GDP (PPP) 2013 estimate

- Total US$ 1,193 billion

- Per capita 4,309

Time zone (UTC+1 to +4)

Website

www.sadc.int

The Southern African Development Community(SADC) is an inter-governmental organizationheadquartered

inGaborone, Botswana. Its goal is to further socio-economic cooperation and integration as well as political and security

cooperation among 15 southern African states. It complements the role of the African Union.

Council of the Baltic Sea States From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

CBSS

Council of the Baltic Sea States

Formation 1992 (CBSS)

Type Regional/Intergovernmental

Organization

Headquarters Stockholm, Sweden

Official

language

English

CSO

Chairmanship

Estonia

Director

General

(Secretariat)

Jan Lundin

Main organ CBSS Secretariat

P.O.Box 2010, Slussplan 9, Gamla

Stan, 103 11 Stockholm SWEDEN Tel:

+46 8 440 19 20 Fax: +46 8 440 19 44

Website www.cbss.org

8th CBSS Summit in Vilnius, 1–2 June 2010

Räntmästarhuset, Slussplan 9

The Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) is an overall political forum for regional intergovernmental cooperation

working on three priority areas: Regional Identity, Safe & Secure Region and Sustainable & Prosperous Region. The three

priority areas address the themes of environment, economic development, entrepreneurship, education, culture, civil

security, children's rights and trafficking in human beings.

History[edit]

The CBSS was established by the region’s Foreign Ministers in Copenhagen in 1992 as a response to the geopolitical

changes that took place in the Baltic Sea region with the end of the Cold War.[1] Since its founding, the CBSS has

contributed to ensuring positive developments within the Baltic Sea region and has served as a driving force for multi-

lateral co-operation.

Since 1998 the CBSS has been served by a permanent international Secretariat that is located in Stockholm, Sweden and

funded by the Member States. The highest institution of CBSS is the conference of foreign ministers, which convenes every

two years.[2]

Islamic Development Bank From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Islamic Development Bank

IDB logo

Abbreviation IDB

Motto Fighting poverty in Asia and the Pacific

Formation 1975

Type Development Bank

Location Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Membership 56 countries

Key people Ahmad Mohamed Ali Al-Madani,

President

Employees 932

Website Official website

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) (Arabic: ةيمنتلل يمالسإلا كنبلا ) is a multilateral development financing

institution located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It was founded in 1973 by the Finance Ministers at the first Organisation of the

Islamic Conference (now called the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation) with the support of the king of Saudi Arabia at

the time (Faisal), and began its activities on 20 October 1975.[1] There are 56 shareholdingmember states.[2]Mohammed bin

Faisal is the former president of the IsDB. [3]

On the 22 May 2013, IDB tripled its authorized capital to $150 billion to better serve Muslims in member and non-member

countries.[4] The Bank continues to receive the highest credit ratings of AAA by major rating agencies. Saudi Arabia holds

about one quarter of the bank's paid up capital[5] The IsDB is an observer at the United Nations General Assembly.

International Space Station From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"ISS" redirects here. For other uses, see ISS (disambiguation).

International Space Station

The International Space Station on 23 May 2010 as seen from the

departing Space Shuttle Atlantis during STS-132.

Station statistics

COSPAR ID 1998-067A

Call sign Alpha, Station

Crew Fully crewed: 6

Currently aboard: 9

(Expedition 44)

Launch 20 November 1998

Launch pad Baikonur 1/5 and 81/23

Kennedy LC-39

Mass Approximately 450,000 kg

(990,000 lb)

Length 72.8 m (239 ft)

Width 108.5 m (356 ft)

Height c. 20 m (c. 66 ft)

nadir–zenith, arrays forward–aft

(27 November 2009)[dated info ]

Pressurisedvolume 916 m3 (32,300 cu ft)

(3 November 2014)

Atmospheric pressure 101.3 kPa (29.91 inHg, 1 atm)

Perigee 409 km (254 mi) AMSL[1]

Apogee 416 km (258 mi) AMSL[1]

Orbitalinclination 51.65 degrees[1]

Average speed 7.66 kilometres per second

(27,600 km/h; 17,100 mph)[1]

Orbital period 92.69 minutes[1]

Orbit epoch 25 January 2015[1]

Days in orbit 6132

(4 September)

Days occupied 5419

(4 September)

Number of orbits 95912[1]

Orbital decay 2 km/month

Statistics as of 9 March 2011

(unless noted otherwise)

References: [1][2][3][4][5][6]

Configuration

Station elements as of May 2011, but missing Pirs

(exploded view)

The International Space Station(ISS) is a space station, or a habitable artificial satellite, in low Earth orbit. Its first

component launched into orbit in 1998, and the ISS is now the largest artificial body in orbit and can often be seen with

the naked eye from Earth.[7][8]The ISS consists of pressurised modules, external trusses, solar arraysand other components.

ISS components have been launched by Russian Proton andSoyuz rockets as well as AmericanSpace Shuttles.[9]

The ISS serves as amicrogravity andspace environmentresearch laboratory in which crew members conduct experiments

inbiology, human biology, physics,astronomy,meteorology andother fields.[10][11][12]The station is suited for the testing of

spacecraft systems and equipment required for missions to the Moon and Mars. [13]The ISS maintains an orbit with an

altitude of between 330 and 435 km (205 and 270 mi) by means of reboost manoeuvres using the engines of theZvezda

module or visiting spacecraft. It completes 15.54 orbits per day.[14]

ISS is the ninth space station to be inhabited by crews, following the Soviet and later Russian Salyut, Almaz,

and Mir stations as well as Skylab from the US. The station has been continuously occupied for 14 years and 306 days since

the arrival ofExpedition 1 on 2 November 2000. This is the longest continuous human presence in space, having surpassed

the previous record of9 years and 357 days held by Mir. The station is serviced by a variety of visiting

spacecraft: Soyuz, Progress, the Automated Transfer Vehicle, the H-II Transfer Vehicle,[15] Dragon, and Cygnus. It has been

visited by astronauts, cosmonauts and space tourists from 15 different nations.[16]

After the US Space Shuttle program ended in 2011, Soyuz rockets became the only provider of transport for astronauts at

the International Space Station, and Dragon became the only provider of bulk cargo-return-to-Earth services (downmass

capability of Soyuz capsules is very limited).

The ISS programme is a joint project among five participating space agencies: NASA, Roscosmos, JAXA, ESA,

and CSA.[15][17] The ownership and use of the space station is established by intergovernmental treaties and

agreements.[18] The station is divided into two sections, the Russian Orbital Segment (ROS) and the United States Orbital

Segment (USOS), which is shared by many nations. As of January 2014, the American portion of ISS was funded until

2024.[19][20][21] Roscosmos has endorsed the continued operation of ISS through 2024, [22] but have proposed using elements of

the Russian Orbital Segment to construct a new Russian space station calledOPSEK.[23]

On March 28, 2015, Russian sources announced that Roscosmos and NASA had agreed to collaborate on the development

of a replacement for the current ISS. [24][25] NASA later issued a guarded statement expressing thanks for Russia's interest in

future cooperation in space exploration, but fell short of confirming the Russian announcement. [26][27]

Trans-Pacific Partnership From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is outdated. Please update

this article to reflect recent events or

newly available information. (August 2015)

Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement

Leaders of prospective member states at a TPP summit in 2010.

Type Trade agreement

Signed Not signed

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a proposed trade agreementbetween several Pacific Rim countries concerning a

variety of matters ofeconomic policy. Among other things, the TPP seeks to lower trade barriers such as tariffs, establish a

common framework for intellectual property, enforce standards for labour law and environmental law, and establish

aninvestor-state dispute settlement mechanism.[1] The stated goal of the agreement is to "enhance trade and investment

among the TPP partner countries, to promote innovation, economic growth and development, and to support the creation

and retention of jobs."[2] TPP is considered by the United States government as the companion agreement[3] to TTIP

(the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership), a broadly similar agreement between the United States and

the European Union.

Historically, the TPP is an expansion of the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement (TPSEP or P4) which

was signed byBrunei, Chile, Singapore, and New Zealand in 2006. Beginning in 2008, additional countries joined for a

broader agreement: Australia, Canada,Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, the United States, and Vietnam, bringing the total

number of participating countries to twelve.

Participating countries set the goal of wrapping up negotiations in 2012, but contentious issues such as agriculture,

intellectual property, and services and investments have caused negotiations to continue into the present, [4] with the latest

round of negotiations in July 2015. [5]Implementation of the TPP is one of the primary goals of the trade agenda of

the Obama administration in the United States of America. [6]

Although the text of the treaty has not been made public, Wikileaks has published several leaked documents since 2013. A

number of global health professionals, internet freedom activists, environmentalists, organised labour, advocacy groups,

and elected officials have criticised and protested against the treaty, in large part because of the secrecy of negotiations, the

agreement's expansive scope, and controversial clauses in drafts leaked to the public. [7][8][9][10][11]

Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is outdated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly

available information. (April 2015)

RCEP Members

Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between the ten

member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) (Brunei, Burma

(Myanmar), Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, thePhilippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) and the six states with

which ASEAN has existing FTAs (Australia, China, India, Japan,South Korea and New Zealand). RCEP negotiations were

formally launched in November 2012 at the ASEAN Summit in Cambodia. [1]

Presence in the world[edit]

RCEP Population - 2012 : IMF - World Economic Outlook Databases (October 2013)

RCEP GDP - 2012 : IMF - World Economic Outlook Databases (October 2013)

RCEP includes more than 3 billion people, has a combined GDP of about $17 trillion, and accounts for about 40 percent of

world trade.[2]

Guiding principles and objectives for negotiation[edit]

At the launch of negotiations on Tuesday, 20 November 2012, the leaders of each relevant country endorsed the "Guiding

Principles and Objectives for Negotiating the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership." The key points of this

document are as follows.

Scope of negotiations[edit]

RCEP will cover trade in goods, trade in services, investment, economic and technical co-operation, intellectual property,

competition, dispute settlement and other issues. The agreement will encompass trade in goods and services, economic and

technical issues, intellectual property and investments, and dispute settlement mechanisms. As expected, ASEAN will be in

the "driver's seat" of this multilateral trade arrangement (though the idea was initially given by Japan), and has been

repeatedly endorsed by India. The joint statement issued at the end of the first round of negotiations also reiterated

"ASEAN Centrality" in the emerging regional economic architecture. [1]

Commitment levels[edit]

The RCEP will have broader and deeper engagement with significant improvements over the existing ASEAN+1 FTAs,

while recognising the individual and diverse circumstances of the participating countries.

Negotiations for trade in goods[edit]

Negotiations should aim to achieve the high level of tariff liberalisation, through building upon the existing liberalisation

levels between participating countries.

Negotiations for trade in services[edit]

The RCEP will be comprehensive, of high-quality and consistent with WTO rules and all service sectors will be subject to

negotiations.

Negotiations for investment[edit]

Negotiations will cover the four pillars of promotion, protection, facilitation and liberalisation.

Negotiation schedule[edit]

Negotiations will commence in early 2013 and aim to complete by end-2015.

Participating countries[edit]

Participants will be ASEAN members and FTA Partners. After the completion of the negotiations, countries other than the

16 states may join.[3]

United Nations Industrial Development Organization From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Lima Declaration" redirects here. For the statement of intent to form an American trade bloc, see Declaracion de Lima.

"UNIDO" redirects here. For the 1980–1987 Philippine opposition party, see United Nationalist Democratic Organization.

United Nations Industrial Development

Organization

United Nations Industrial Development Organization

Abbreviation UNIDO

Formation 1966 (converted to a specialized agency in

1985)

Type UN specialized agency

Legal status active

Headquarters Vienna, Austria

Head Li Yong

Website www.unido.org

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), French/Spanish/Portuguese acronym ONUDI, is

aspecialized agency in the United Nations system, headquartered in Vienna, Austria. The Organization's primary objective

is the promotion and acceleration of industrial development in developing countries and countries with economies in

transition and the promotion of international industrial cooperation. It is also a member of the United Nations Development

Group.[1]

Overview[edit]

UNIDO believes that competitive and environmentally sustainable industry has a crucial role to play in accelerating

economic growth, reducing poverty and achieving theMillennium Development Goals. The Organization therefore works

towards improving the quality of life of the world's poor by drawing on its combined global resources and expertise in the

following three interrelated thematic areas:

Poverty reduction through productive activities;

Trade capacity-building; and

Energy and environment.

Activities in these fields are strictly aligned with the priorities of the current United Nations Development Decade and

related multilateral declarations, and reflected in the long-term vision statement, business plan and mid-term programme

frameworks of UNIDO.

In order to fulfill these objectives, UNIDO

assists developing countries in the formulation of development, institutional, scientific and technological policies and

programmes in the field of industrial development;

analyzes trends, disseminates information and coordinates activities in their industrial development;

acts as a forum for consultations and negotiations directed towards the industrialization of developing countries; and

provides technical cooperation to developing countries for implementing their development plans for sustainable

industrialization in their public, cooperative and private sectors.

UNIDO thus works largely in developing countries, with governments, business associations and individual companies.

The Organization's "service modules" are IndustrialGovernance and Statistics, Investment and Technology Promotion,

Industrial Competitiveness and Trade, Private sector Development, Agro-Industries, Sustainable energy andClimate

Change, Montreal Protocol, and Environmental management.

UNIDO was established as a UN programme in 1966 with headquarters in Vienna, Austria, and became a specialized

agency of the United Nations in 1985.

In 2004, UNIDO established the UNIDO Goodwill Ambassador programme.

In 2010, UNIDO created two new flagship publications, Making It: Industry for Development and UNIDO Times.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"UNHCR" redirects here. It is not to be confused with UNHRC, the United Nations Human Rights Council.

United Nations High Commissioner for

Refugees

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Haut Commissariat des Nations unies pour les réfugiés (French)

Abbreviation UNHCR

HCR

Formation 14 December 1950

Legal status Active

Head António Guterres

Parent organization United Nations

Website UNHCR.org

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), also known as the UN Refugee Agency,

is aUnited Nations agency mandated to protect and support refugees at the request of a government or the UN itself and

assists in their voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement to a third country. Its headquarters are

in Geneva, Switzerland and is a member of the United Nations Development Group.[1] The UNHCR has won two Nobel

Peace Prizes, once in 1954 and again in 1981.[2]

Function[edit]

UNHCR packages containing tents, tarps, and mosquito netting sit in a field in Dadaab, Kenya, on 11 December 2006, following

disastrous flooding

UNHCR was established on 14 December 1950[4] and succeeded the earlier United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation

Administration. The agency is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee

problems worldwide. Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. It strives to ensure that

everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another state, with the option to return home

voluntarily, integrate locally or to resettle in a third country.

UNHCR's mandate has gradually been expanded to include protecting and providing humanitarian assistance to whom it

describes as other persons "of concern," including internally displaced persons (IDPs) who would fit the legal definition of

a refugee under the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and 1967 Protocol, the 1969

Organization for African Unity Convention, or some other treaty if they left their country, but who presently remain in their

country of origin. UNHCR presently has major missions inLebanon, South Sudan, Chad/Darfur, Democratic Republic of

Congo, Iraq, Afghanistan as well as Kenya to assist and provide services to IDPs and refugees.

To achieve its mandate, the UNHCR engaged in activities both in the countries of interest and in countries with donors. For

example, the UNHCR hosts expert roundtables to discuss issues of concern to the international refugee community. An

example of one such roundtable was the Global Expert Roundtable on Temporary Protection, held in July 2013, who's

participants including Kathleen Newland, Director of the Migration Policy Institute, Andrew Schoenholtz, Professor

at Georgetown University Law Center, and Alice M. Nah of the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network. [5]

Palestine refugee mandate[edit]

Main article: United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East

Most Palestinian refugees – those in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan – do not come within the

responsibility of the UNHCR, but instead come under an older body, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for

Palestine Refugees in the Near East(UNRWA). The UNRWA has a much broader definition of "refugee" than the UNHCR,

including not only refugees themselves but their descendants in perpetuity; however, it only covers refugees stemming from

the 1948 and 1967 Arab-Israeli wars. Other Palestinian refugees outside of UNRWA's area of operations do fall under

UNHCR's mandate, if they meet the UNHCR's more limited definition of refugee.

Public awareness[edit]

UNHCR 50th anniversary. Stamp of Tajikistan, 2001.

Several new programs have recently been introduced to support and to heighten awareness of the issues faced by refugees

around the world. These two new programs are a product of the benchmarks set out by the United Nations Millennium

Development Goals.

Awards[edit]

Since 1954, the UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award has been annually awarded to a person or an organization in recognition

of outstanding service to the cause of refugees, displaced or stateless people.

The UNHCR itself was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1954 and 1981.

International Civil Aviation Organization From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

International Civil Aviation Organization

International Civil Aviation Organization

Organisation de l'aviation civile internationale(French)

ICAO flag

Abbreviation ICAO

OACI

ИКАО

كاو إي

OPSI

Formation 4 April 1947[1]

Type UN agency

Legal status Active

Headquarters Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Head Dr. Fang Liu

Secretary General

Website www.icao.int

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, pronounced /aɪˈkeɪ.oʊ/; French: Organisation de l'aviation civile

internationale, OACI), is a specialized agency of the United Nations. It codifies the principles and techniques of

international air navigation and fosters the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and

orderly growth.[2] Its headquarters are located in the Quartier International of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

The ICAO Council adopts standards and recommended practices concerning air navigation, its infrastructure, flight

inspection, prevention of unlawful interference, and facilitation of border-crossing procedures for international civil

aviation. ICAO defines the protocols for air accident investigation followed by transport safety authorities in countries

signatory to the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention).

The Air Navigation Commission (ANC) is the technical body within ICAO. The Commission is composed of 19

Commissioners, nominated by the ICAO's contracting states, and appointed by the ICAO Council. [3] Commissioners serve

as independent experts, who although nominated by their states, do not serve as state or political representatives. The

development of Aviation Standards and Recommended Practices is done under the direction of the ANC through the formal

process of ICAO Panels. Once approved by the Commission, standards are sent to the Council, the political body of ICAO,

for consultation and coordination with the Member States before final adoption.

ICAO is distinct from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), a trade association representing 240 of the

world’s airlines, also headquartered in Montreal, or with the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO), an

organization for Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) with its headquarters at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in

the Netherlands. These are trade associations representing specific aviation interests, whereas ICAO is a body of the United

Nations.