INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS

IMF
International monetary fund

Basic details
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an agency of the United Nations, and
an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting
of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster global monetary
cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high
employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the
world."[1] Formed in 1944, started on 27 December 1945,[9] at the Bretton Woods
Conference primarily by the ideas of Harry Dexter White and John Maynard Keynes,
[10] it came into formal existence in 1945 with 29 member countries and the goal of
reconstructing the international monetary system. It now plays a central role in the
management of balance of payments difficulties and international financial crises.[

What does it do ?
The IMF has three critical missions: furthering international monetary cooperation,
encouraging the expansion of trade and economic growth, and discouraging policies
that would harm prosperity. To fulfill these missions, IMF member countries work
collaboratively with each other and with other international bodies.

World Bank
Founded in 1944 at the UN Monetary and Financial Conference (commonly known
as the Bretton Woods Conference), which was convened to establish a new, post-
World War II international economic system, the World Bank officially began
operations in June 1946. Its first loans were geared toward the postwar
reconstruction of western Europe. Beginning in the mid-1950s, it played a major role
in financing investments in infrastructural projects in developing countries,
including roads, hydroelectric dams, water and sewage facilities, maritime ports,
and airports.

The World Bank Group comprises five constituent institutions: the International

Bank for Reconstruction and Development(IBRD), the International Development
Association (IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral
Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and the International Centre for Settlement
of Investment Disputes (ICSID). 
 WTO
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that
regulates and facilitates international trade.[6] Governments use the organization to
establish, revise, and enforce the rules that govern international trade. [6] It officially
commenced operations on 1 January 1995, pursuant to the 1994 Marrakesh
Agreement, thus replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) that
had been established in 1948. The WTO is the world's largest international economic
organization, with 164 member states representing over 98% of global trade and
global GDP.[7]

NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, , also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is
an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two North
American. Established in the aftermath of World War II, the organization implemented the North
Atlantic Treaty, signed in Washington, D.C., on 4 April 1949.[3][4] NATO is a collective
security system: its independent member states agree to defend each other against attacks by
third parties. During the Cold War, NATO operated as a check on the perceived threat posed by
the Soviet Union. The alliance remained in place after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and has
been involved in military operations in the Balkans, the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa. The
organization's motto is animus in consulendo liber[5] (Latin for "a mind unfettered in deliberation").
NATO's main headquarters are located in Brussels, Belgium, while NATO's military
headquarters are near Mons, Belgium

ASEAN
ASEAN  officially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations,[12] is a political and economic
union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental
cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, military, educational,
and sociocultural integration between its members and countries in the Asia-Pacific.

 It is an intergovernmental organization of ten Southeast Asian countries:

Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. 

 The bloc’s biggest success in recent years has been promoting economic
integration among members. It also helped negotiate the RCEP, the world’s
largest free trade agreement.

 ASEAN has struggled to form a cohesive response to Myanmar’s military

takeover and China’s claims in the South China Sea, which overlap with
those of several ASEAN members.
SAARC

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was established with
the signing of the SAARC Charter in Dhaka on 8 December 1985. SAARC comprises of
eight Member States: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal,
Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The Secretariat of the Association was set up in Kathmandu on
17 January 1987.
 
The objectives of the Association as outlined in the SAARC Charter are: to promote the
welfare of the peoples of South Asia and to improve their quality of life; to accelerate
economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region and to provide
all individuals the opportunity to live in dignity and to realize their full potentials; to
promote and strengthen collective self-reliance among the countries of South Asia; to
contribute to mutual trust, understanding and appreciation of one another's problems; to
promote active collaboration and mutual assistance in the economic, social, cultural,
technical and scientific fields; to strengthen cooperation with other developing countries;
to strengthen cooperation among themselves in international forums on matters of
common interests; and to cooperate with international and regional organizations with
similar aims and purposes.
 
Decisions at all levels are to be taken on the basis of unanimity; and bilateral and
contentious issues are excluded from the deliberations of the Association.

SCO

The SCO or the Shanghai Pact is a Eurasian political, economic and military
intergovernmental organization formed in 1996 with the name ‘Shanghai Five,’ and renamed
in 2001 when the number of its members increased to 6. Emerging as a forum for confidence
building measures (CBMs) with an aim to demilitarize borders, it transformed into an
organization focusing on regional security issues and collaborating on them and expanding its
agenda to economic cooperation in the light of China’s OBOR and Russia’s Eurasian
Economic Community (EurAsEC/EAEC). While some analysts see it as an anti-US and an
anti-NATO bulwark in Central Asia, critics say that internal weaknesses of its members and
frictions between them effectively preclude a strong unified SCO.

SCO Charter
r  Goals and Tasks (Article I)
1. Strengthen Friendship and Cooperation: to strengthen trust and friendship and to cooperate
to maintain peace, security and stability in the region.
2. Combat Crime: to combat jointly, terrorism, illicit trafficking of drugs and arms,
prevention of illegal migration etc.
 Principles (Article II)
1. Mutual respect for equality, sovereignty, political independence, territorial integrity and
non-interference in internal affairs.
2. No threat of the use of or the use of force and peaceful settlement of disputes between
member states.
Areas of Cooperation (Article III)
1. Security: this is the main reason for the formation of the organization since its security
agenda was formed against the backdrop of internal instability in China and Russia, 1992-97
civil war in Tajikistan, and a series of armed incursions by anti-regime groups who took hold
of territories in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan in 1999 and 2000:
1. The Three Evil Forces: this agenda was developed in 2001 with terrorism, extremism
and separatism as the three forces.
2. RATS: a Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure was established in 2004 in order to deal with
the three evil forces. Its HQ is based in Tashkent and it collects and gathers data on terrorist
activities in the region although it has been criticised on two fronts:
1. Vague definitions of terrorism, extremism and separatism.
2. Non-transparency in its activities.

Organization of Islamic Cooperation(OIC)

History: Background
:  Palestine Issue
 Kashmir Dispute
 Poverty, underdevelopment, illiteracy
 No platform to unite Muslim Nations
 Al- Aqsa mosque tragedy

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is the second largest inter-governmental

organization after the United Nations with membership of 57 states of four continents which
signifies the primary substantial confirmation of the longing for Islamic harmony. It was
established following a verdict taken during the historical summit held in Rabat, Kingdom of
Morocco on September 25, 1969 as the result of the response to the August 1969 Al-Aqsa
Mosque tragedy (Australian Christian fundamentalist Denis Michael Rohan) in occupied
Jerusalem – the first qibla (direction of prayer) of the Muslims and their third holiest place.
Twenty-five Muslim states joined the summit called together by King Hasan of Morocco in
1969. The upshot of the Rabat Summit was the founding of the OIC. The meeting was the
first cohesive expression of the Muslim Ummah of its grit to defend its interests, articulate
with one tone of voice and guarantee the evolution and welfare of the Muslims in the earth. In
March 1970, it took a proper shape and its Secretariat was established in Jeddah and a
Secretary General was made its head. "Muslim government would consult with a view to
promoting among themselves close cooperation and mutual assistance in the economic,
scientific, cultural and spiritual fields, inspired by the immortal teachings of Islam." ---
Excerpt from Resolution

Headquarter: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Secretary General: Hissein Brahim Taha (Chad) 12 th
(1 st Tunku Abdul Rehman (Malaysia),
5 th Shareefudddin Perzada)

Objectives of OIC
 To enhance and consolidate the bonds of fraternity – Muslim Solidarity
 Protection of Holy Sites
 Helping Palestine cause
 Mutual Cooperation
 Poverty alleviation
 End Discrimination

Significance:
 Only alliance of all Muslim states
 2 nd largest IGO (intergovernmental organization)
 Voice of 1.8 billion Muslims  1/4th members states of the globe
 70% of World’s energy resources

Failures of OIC:
 East Pakistan Debacle (1971)
 Soviet intervention in Afghanistan (1979)
 Iran-Iraq war (1980)
 The attack of Lebanon by Israel (1982
)  US invasion to Afghanistan (2001)
 US occupation of Iraq
Unresolved Palestine issue
Inability to unite Muslim Nations for Kashmir cause
Failed to safeguard Rohingya Muslims
Inability to raise voice for Uyghur Muslims
Majority of Muslim Population living below the poverty line
Divided Ummah Sectarianization of the Muslim world

Causes of ineffectiveness:
 Historic adversarial relationship (Iran-Saudi, Saudi-Turk)
 Irreconcilable Geo-political aspirations of the Muslim states (KSA, Iran, Turkey)
 Influence of Geography on intra-OIC collaboration
 National Interests over Ummah’s interests
 Structural problems (budgetary Constraints, lack of capacity)
 Arab-Ajam Division  Power of the Purse syndrome
 Lack of Political will of the Muslim Leadership
 Objectives but not Objectives

“We have the means and the capacity to deal with our problems, if
only we can find the political will.” ---Kofi Annan