LECTURE-14 ORGANISATIONS, GROUPINGS AND
INSTITUTIONS IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Contents
1. Organisations, Groupings and Institutions in International Relations 221
1.1. International Organisations 221
1.2. United Nations Organisation 221
1.2.1. Charter and Mandate 221
1.2.2. The Principle Organs 221
1.3. The General Assembly 222
1.4. The Security Council 222
1.4.1. Security Council: Step by Step Actions 224
1.5. Economic and Social Council 224
1.6. Trusteeship Council 224
1.7. Secretariat 225
1.8. The International Court of Justice 225
1.9. Specialized Agencies, Programmes and Funds 225
1.9.1. Important Programmes and Funds 226
1.9.2. Specialized Agencies 227
1.10. Other Bodies with UN Partnership 229
1.11. A Case for UN Reforms 229
1.12. India and the United Nations 230
1.12.1. UN Reforms and India 230
1.12.2. India’s Case of Permanent Membership of the Security Council 231
1.13. The Permanent Court of Arbitration 231
1.14. The International Criminal Court 232
1.15. The Bretton Woods Institutions: IMF and the World Bank 232
1.15.1 International Monitory Fund 233
1.15.2. The World Bank 234
1.16. Washington Consensus 235
1.17. The WTO 235
1.17.1. The WTO Mandate 235
1.17.2. Dispute Resolution 236
1.17.3. The Doha Round 236
1.17.4. Key Issues and Challenges: Developed Versus Developing Countries 237
1.17.5. TRIPS 237
1.18. United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) 238
1.19. Asian Development Bank (ADB) 238
1.20. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) 238
2. Brics: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa 238
2.1. BRIC to BRICS 239
2.2. The New Development Bank 239
2.3. Contingency Relief Arrangement (CRA) 240
2.4. India’s Approach 240
2.5. Significance and Challenges 240
2.6. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) 241
3. IBSA Forum 241
3.1. Organisational Structure 242
3.1.1. Joint Working Groups 242
3.1.2. People-to-People Forums 242
3.1.3. Focal Points 242
3.1.4. Trilateral Commission 242
3.1.5. Summits 242
3.1.6. IBSA Fund 242
3.1.7. IBSA Business Forum 242
4. Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) 243
5. The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) 243
6. The Commonwealth 243
7. Important Groupings 244
7.1. G-20 244
7.2. G-7 244
7.3. G-77 245
8. Questions from Previous Years 245
1. Organisations, Groupings and Institutions in International Relations1.1. International Organisations1.2. United Nations Organisation1.2.1. Charter and Mandate1.4. The Security Councilprimary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.♤ Five of the non-permanent members are elected each year by the General Assembly for a term of two years.♤ The Security Council has a Presidency, which rotates alphabetically, changes every month.♤ Peacekeeping Operations and Political Missions♤ A representative of each of its members must be present at all times at UN Headquarterso blockade;1.5. Economic and Social Council♤ Voting is by simple majority and every member has one vote.1.6. Trusteeship Council♤ The Trusteeship Council was established in 1945 by the UN Charter, under Chapter XIII, to provide international supervision for 11 Trust Territories that had been placed under the♤ By 1994, all Trust Territories had attained self-government or independence.1.7. Secretariat1.8. The International Court of Justiceo First, it decides, in accordance with international law, cases that are submitted to it by states.♤ States entitled to appear before the Court fall into three categories:1.9. Specialized Agencies, Programmes and Funds♤ The programmes and funds are established by and report to the United Nations General Assembly. They are financed through voluntary rather than assessed contributionso International Monetary Fund (IMF): see the entry on Bretton Woods institutions below.o Universal Postal Union (UPU): Established in 1874, the Universal Postal Union (UPU), with its headquarters in the Berne, Switzerland, is the second oldest international organisation worldwide. With its 192 member countries, it is the primary forum for cooperation between postal sector players. It helps to ensure a truly universal network of up-to-date products and services.1.10. Other Bodies with UN Partnership1.11. A Case for UN Reformso The Security Council no longer represents contemporary political realities.o It lacks equitable representation♤ The following are just some of the criteria that have been proposed for new permanent and non-permanent members of the Security Council. A new member should be::1.12. India and the United Nations♤ India strongly believes that the United Nations and the norms of international relations that it has fostered remain the most efficacious means for tackling today's global challenges.♤ India has suggested that the UN reforms need to be “broad-based and all-encompassing”♤ The 193 member-United Nations adopted a consensus resolution in its 69th General Assembly on September 14, 2015 to move from Inter-Governmental Negotiations (IGN) to a Text-Based Negotiations (TBN) process for reforming the United Nations Security Council.o India has participated in virtually all of the initiatives of the UN.1.13. The Permanent Court of Arbitration1.14. The International Criminal CourtThe International Criminal Court (ICC) investigates and, where warranted, tries individuals charged with the gravest crimes of concern to the international community: genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression.♤ It does not have retrospective powers.♤ The Rome Statute created Court, trust fund for victims, and Assembly of State Parties1.15. The Bretton Woods Institutions: IMF and the World Bank♤ The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank were both created at an international conference convened in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, United States in July 1944. These are also referred to as the Bretton Woods institutions.♤ Their approaches to this goal are complementary,o the World Bank concentrating on long-term economic development and poverty reduction♤ IMF loans are short and medium term and funded mainly by the pool of quota contributions that its members provide.♤ India has a quota of 3,114.4 million SDRs, 2.76% of vote.1.15.2. The World Bank1.15.2.1. Five Institutions, One Group1.17. The WTO♤ Its secretariat is in Geneva. WTO Director General is Roberto Azevedo♤ The World Trade Organisation (WTO) is the only global international organisation dealing with the rules of trade between nations.♤ The WTO's top decision-making body is the Ministerial Conference (MC).launched in 2001.1.17.3. The Doha Round1.17.4. Key Issues and Challenges: Developed Versus Developing Countries1.17.5. TRIPS1.19. Asian Development Bank (ADB)♤ India has been a member of ADB since its inception in 1966.2. Brics: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa2.1. BRIC to BRICS♤ It was agreed to expand BRIC into BRICS with the inclusion of South Africa at the BRIC2.2. The New Development Banko The initial subscribed capital shall be US$ 50 billion, equally shared among founding members.adoption of ‘one-nation one-vote’ prescription for the proposed bank.2.3. Contingency Relief Arrangement (CRA)o The aim of CRA would be to “forestall short term liquidity pressures, provide mutual2.4. India’s Approach2.5. Significance and Challenges2.6. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)3. IBSA Forum♤ The idea of establishing IBSA was discussed at a meeting between the then Prime Minister of India and the then Presidents of Brazil and South Africa in Evian on 2 June 2003 on the margins of the G-8 Summit.♤ Cooperation in IBSA is on three fronts:o third, assisting other developing countries by taking up projects in the latter through IBSA Fund.3.1.3. Focal Points3.1.4. Trilateral Commission3.1.5. Summits3.1.6. IBSA Fund3.1.7. IBSA Business Forum4. Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)♤ OPEC is a permanent intergovernmental organization of 14 oil-exporting developing nations that coordinates and unifies the petroleum policies of its Member Countries.5. The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)♤ Its headquarters is in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia6. The Commonwealth♤ The Commonwealth has no written constitution, members reach decisions through consultations.7. Important Groupings7.1. G-207.2. G-7♤ TheG-7 conducts semi-formal collaboration on world economic problems.7.3. G-77♤ Still in existence the G-77 aims to promote collective economic interests, mutual cooperation for development and negotiating capacity on all major international economic issues within the United Nations system.
