Important International Organisations and Groups

List of Important International Organisations and Groups

Asia Pacific Economic Corporation (APEC)	Established: Nov, 1989 Objective: To promote trade and investment in the Pacific basin. Members: 21 (Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Cong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Malaysia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Republic of China, Thailand, United States, Vietnam.) Headquarter: Singapore
Asian Development Bank (ADB)	Established: Aug. 22, 1966 Objective: To promote regional economic cooperation. Members: 67 Headquarter: Manila, Philippines.
Amnesty International (AI)	Established: May 28, 1961 Objective: To keep a watch over human rights violation worldwide. Members: 150 Headquarters: London Got Nobel Prize in 1977 for Peace.
Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN)	Established: Aug. 8, 1967 Objective: Regional, economic, social and cultural cooperation among the non-communist countries of South-East Asia. Members: 10 ( Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia.) Headquarters: Jakarta, Indonesia.
Common Wealth of Independent States (CIS)	Established: Dec. 8, 1991 Objective: To coordinate inter-common wealth relations and to provide a mechanism for the orderly dissolution on the USSR. Members: 11 (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan). Headquarters: Minsk (Belarus)
The Common Wealth	Established:It was originally known as ‘The British Commonwealth of Nations’. It is an association of sovereign and independent states which formally made up the British Empire.It was established in year 1931. Members: 53 Headquarters: Marlboro House, London. Objective:To help the member countries in the development of economy, technique, education and culture. The British Monarch (Queen Elizabeth II) is the symbolic head of the commonwealth. Commonwealth heads of government meet (CHOGM) is held in every 2 years.
European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN)	Established: July 1, 1953 ( effective- 29 September 1954) Objective: To foster nuclear research for peaceful purposes only Members: 19 Headquarters: Geneva (Switzerland)
European Union (EU)	Established: Apr.8, 1965. Effective on July 1, 1967 Objective: To create a united Europe in which member countries would have such strong economic and political bonds that war would cease to be a recurring fact. Members: 27 (The ten new countries which joined in 2004 are Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slavakia and Slovania). Bulgaria & Romania joined in 2007. Headquarters: Brussels (Belgium). The common European, currency, Euro, was launched on Jan. 1, 1999
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)	Established: October 16 ,1945 Objective: UN specialized agency to raise living standards and increase availability of agricultural products Members: 162 Headquarters: Rome( Italy)
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)	Established: October 30 ,1947 (effective-1 January 1948) Objective: To promote the expansion of international trade on a nondiscriminatory basis Members: 104 Headquarters: Geneva (Switzerland)
Group of 8 or G-8	Established: Sept. 22, 1985 Headquarter: Keep on changing according to the presidency. Objective: To promote co-operation among major non-communist economic powers. Members: France, Germany, Japan, UK, US, Canada, Italy, Plus Russia (added later).
Group of 15 or G-15	Established: 1889 Objective: To promote economic co-operation among developing nations. Members: 18 (Algeria, Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Zimbabwe, India, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Jamaica, Mexico, Venezuela). Headquarter: Geneva, Switzerland
Group of 77 or G-77	Established: June 15, 1964 Objective: To promote economic co-operation among developing nations. Members: 134
International Criminal Police Organization For (INTERPOL)	Established: Sept. 7, 1923 Objective: To promote the international cooperation among criminal police authorities. Members: 186 Headquarters: Lyon, France.
International Olympic Committee (IOC)	Established: June 23, 1894 Objective: To promote the Olympic ideals and administer Olympic Games. Members: 203 Headquarters: Switzerland.
International Organization For Standardization ( ISO)	Established: Feb., 1947 Objective: To promote development of international standards. Members: 158 Headquarters: Switzerland.
International Red Cross And Crescent Movement	Established: By Henry Duet in 1863 Objective: To promote worldwide humanitarian aid. Headquarters: Geneva,Switzerland.
League of Arab	Established: March 22, 1945. Objective: To promote economic, social, political and military cooperation. Members: 22 Headquarters: Cairo, Egypt (but, it is now in Tunis)
Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)	Established: Sept., 1961 Headquarter: Belgrade, Yugoslavia Objective: Political co-operation and separate itself from both USA and USSR (in the cold-war era). Members: 120 The credit of evolving the concept goes to Pt. Jawahar lal Nehru. The other contributors were Marshal Tito (President of Yugoslavia), Dr. Sukamo (President of Indonesia) and General Nasser (President of Egypt). Bandung conference in Indonesia became the forum for the birth of NAM.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)	Established: April 4, 1949 Objective: Mutual defense and cooperation Members: 27 + Russia Headquarters: Brussels, Belgium
Organization Of The Islamic Conference (OIC)	Established: Sept. 25, 1969 Objective: To promote Islamic solidarity among member states and to consolidate cooperation among members. Members: 57 Headquarters:Kilo 6, Mecca Road, P.O.B. 178, Saudi Arabia.
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)	Established: Sept,1959 Objective: Attempts to set world prices by controlling oil production and also persues member interest in trade and development. Members: 12 (Algeria, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, UAE, Nigeria, Ecuador, Gabon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Angola and Venezuela). Headquarters: Vienna (Austria).
South Asian Association For Regional Cooperation (SAARC)	Established: Dec. 8, 1985 Objective: To promote economic, social and cultural cooperation. Members: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Srilanka, Afghanistan. Headquarters: Kathmandu, Nepal.
Scouts and Guides	Established: 1907 by Lt. Gen. Baden Powell. Objective: To encourage good character, loyalty to god and country, service to other people and physical and mental fitness. Members: About 13 million members of around 115 nations. World Scouts Bureau: Geneva (Switzerland).
Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)	Established: June 7, 2002. Objective: To develop mutual cooperation. Members: Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrghiztan and Tajikistan.
United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)	Established: November 16, 1945 ( effective 4 November 1946) Objective: To promote cooperation in education, science, and culture Members: 172 Headquarters: Paris, France
World Bank	Established: July, 1944 Objective: Crediting, Working for a world free of Poverty Members: 189 Headquarters: Washington D.C. (U.S.A.)
World Health Organization (WHO)	Established: April 7, 1948 Objective: UN specialized agency concerned with health matters for all. Members: 193 Headquarters: Geneva (Switzerland)
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)	Established: July 14 , 1967 Objective: To promote the protection of intellectual property throughout the world Members: 188 Headquarters: Geneva (Switzerland)
World Meteorological Organization (WMO)	Established: Oct. 11, 1947, Effective from April 4, 1951. Objective: Specialized UN Agency concerned with meteorological cooperation. Members: 188 Headquarters: Geneva
World Trade Organization (WTO)	Established: January 1, 1995 Objective: Regulate International Trade Members: 162 Headquarters: Geneva (Switzerland)
World Wildlife Fund For Nature (WWF)	Established: Sept. 11, 1961 Objective: To save the wildlife from extinction Members: All the countries of the world Headquarters: Gland (Switzerland)