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International Organizations

Terms

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African Union
African Union (AU), international organization established in 2002 by the nations of the former Organization of African Unity (OAU). The AU is the successor organization to the OAU, with greater powers to promote African economic, social, and political integration, and a stronger commmitment to democratic principles. The 53 nations of Africa are all members; the AU's headquarters are at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Third World
Third World, the technologically less advanced, or developing, nations of Asia, Africa, and Latin America, generally characterized as poor, having economies distorted by their dependence on the export of primary products to the developed countries in return for finished products. These nations also tend to have high rates of illiteracy, disease, and population growth and unstable governments.
Alliance for Progress
.S. assistance program for Latin America begun in 1961 during the presidency of John F. Kennedy. It was created principally to counter the appeal of revolutionary politics, such as those adopted in Cuba (see Fidel Castro). It called for vast multilateral programs to relieve the continent's poverty and social inequities and ultimately included U.S. programs of military and police assistance to counter Communist subversion.The Organization of American States disbanded the permanent committee created to implement the alliance in 1973.
Amnesty International
Amnesty International (AI,) human-rights organization founded in 1961 by Englishman Peter Benenson; it campaigns internationally against the detention of prisoners of conscience, for the fair trial of political prisoners, to abolish the death penalty and torture of prisoners, and to end extrajudicial executions and “disappearances” throughout the world. It was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1977 for having aided in the release of more than 10,000 political prisoners worldwide.
Anzus Treaty
Anzus Treaty , defense agreement signed in 1951 by Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. The name Anzus is derived from the initials of the three signatory nations. As a result of the reestablishment of peace between Japan and the United States in 1951, Australia and New Zealand asked for a treaty making it clear that an attack on any of the three signatory countries would be considered an attack upon all. The pact became effective in 1952. New Zealand's 1985 refusal to allow U.S. nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed ships to enter its ports caused the United States to abrogate its ANZUS responsibilities toward New Zealand in 1986; however, New Zealand has not formally withdrawn from the alliance.
Arab League
Arab League, popular name for the League of Arab States,formed in 1945 in an attempt to give political expression to the Arab nations. The original charter members were Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Transjordan (now Jordan), Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. A representative of Palestinian Arabs, although he did not sign the charter because he represented no recognized government, was given full status and a vote in the Arab League. The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was granted full membership in 1976. Other current members include Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea (pending in 1999), Kuwait, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Somalia, Sudan, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates.
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), organization established by the Bangkok Declaration (1967), linking the nations of Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Subsequently, Brunei (1984), Vietnam (1995), Laos (1997), Myanmar (1999), and Cambodia (1999) were admitted. The organization's secretariat is in Jakarta. ASEAN seeks to promote socioeconomic progress and regional stability through cooperation in banking, trade, technology, agriculture, industry, and tourism.
Atlantic Charter
Atlantic Charter , joint program of peace aims, enunciated by Prime Minister Winston Churchill of Great Britain and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt of the United States on Aug. 14, 1941. Britain at that time was engaged in World War II, and the United States was to enter the war four months later. The statement, which was not an official document, was drawn up at sea, off the coast of Newfoundland. It supported the following principles and aims: renunciation of territorial aggrandizement; opposition to territorial changes made against the wishes of the people concerned; restoration of sovereign rights and self-government to those forcibly deprived of them; access to raw materials for all nations of the world and easing of trade restrictions; world cooperation to secure improved economic and social conditions for all; freedom from fear and want; freedom of the seas; and abandonment of the use of force, as well as disarmament of aggressor nations. In the United Nations declaration of Jan. 1, 1942, the signatory powers pledged adherence to the principles of the charter.
Barents Council
The Barents Council. was founded in 1993 by Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, and Sweden to foster cooperation between countries in the region. The council has focused its efforts on improving infrastructure and cleaning up nuclear waste on Russia's Kola Peninsula.
Benelux Economic Union
Benelux Economic Union , economic treaty among Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. It arose out of a customs convention signed in 1944, but was not fully established until 1958. The union was established to promote free movement of workers, capital, goods, and services in the Benelux region. All three countries were also founding members of what has become the European Union (EU), which has implemented these same reforms. Benelux was the first entirely free international labor market, but its goal of merging the fiscal and monetary systems of the three countries was only largely fulfilled when most EU nations replaced their currencies with the euro (2002).
Colombo Plan
Colombo Plan, international economic organization created in a cooperative attempt to strengthen the economic and social development of the nations of Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Officially the Colombo Plan for Cooperative Economic Development in Asia and the Pacific, it came into force in 1951 as the Colombo Plan for Cooperative Economic Development in South and Southeast Asia. There are 24 members and one provisional member, Mongolia. The original formulators of the plan were a group of seven Commonwealth nations; presently Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and the United States are the largest donors.
Council of Europe
Council of Europe, international organization founded in 1949 to promote greater unity within Europe and to safeguard its political and cultural heritage by promoting human rights and democracy. The council is headquartered in Strasbourg, France. The conventions and treaties signed under the auspices of the Council of Europe deal with humanitarian, cultural, economic, and social problems. In 1959 the council established a European Court of Human Rights to protect the rights of individuals in member nations against arbitrary government action.
Council of the European Union
Council of the European Union, branch of the governing body of the European Union (EU) that has the final vote on legislation proposed by the European Commission and deliberated by the European Parliament. Headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, the Council was established as the Council of Ministers of the European Communities in 1967, when the EU's predecessor, the European Community, was formally constituted. Its name was changed to the Council of the European Union in 1993.

The council is composed of one minister from the government of each EU nation. Membership is fluid, with each government sending the minister appropriate to the subject then under consideration by the council. The foreign minister is generally regarded as the coordinator and main representative of each government's delegation. The presidency of the council rotates among the member nations. Much of the council's work is prepared by a general secretariat and the Committee of Permanent Representatives, or COREPER, composed of officials from the national governments. Although unanimity of the council is still required in some cases, the Single European Act (1987) expanded the council's ability to make decisions based on a majority vote. Votes of council members are weighted according to the size of the nations they represent.
European Union
European Union (EU), name given since the ratification (Nov., 1993) of the Treaty of European Union, or Maastricht Treaty, to the European Community. (EC), an economic and political confederation of European nations, and other organizations (with the same member nations) that are responsible for a common foreign and security policy and for cooperation on justice and home affairs. Twenty-five countries—Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany (originally West Germany), Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden—are full members of the organizations of the EU.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO),
The treaty, one of the major Western countermeasures against the threat of aggression by the Soviet Union during the cold war, was aimed at safeguarding the freedom of the North Atlantic community. Considering an armed attack on any member an attack against all, the treaty provided for collective self-defense in accordance with Article 51 of the United Nations Charter. The treaty was also designed to encourage political, economic, and social cooperation. The organization was reorganized and centralized in 1952.

In the 1990s, with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Treaty Organization, NATO's role in world affairs changed, and U.S. forces in Europe were gradually reduced. Many East European nations sought NATO membership as a counterbalance to Russian power, but they, along with other European and Asian nations (including Russia), initially were offered only membership in the more limited Partnership for Peace,. formed in 1994. Twenty countries now belong to the partnership, which engages in joint military exercises with NATO. NATO is not required to defend Partnership for Peace nations from attack. In 2002, NATO and Russia established the NATO-Russia Council, through which Russia participates in NATO discussions on many nondefense issues.

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