What is an international organization?

We explain what an international organization is and how they are classified. What are their functions and a list of these organizations.

1. What is an international organization?

International organizations or international organizations are called all those associations or organized groups whose area of ​​action extends beyond the borders of a State or nation  and that have a permanent organic structure , focused on the fulfillment of some type of objectives around common welfare.

It is very well structured international groupings, independent of states in which they operate, and pursue various informational purposes, humanitarian, integrationist, etc . They are subject to international public law, have legal capacity and in some cases autonomous capacity to act.

International organizations may or may not be made up of various national states , or they may simply act as a mediation and cooperation body. Therefore, they are established through various international treaties, endowed with legal and formal recognition.

2. Types of international organizations

There are various ways of classifying international organizations, some of them proposed by the United Nations Organization, based on their nature and the way they are constituted. Generally this means distinguishing between those that have representation of the State and those that do not, as follows:

• International governmental organizations (OIG). Those made up of various States that commit themselves to cooperate and adhere to the organization’s lines, through emissaries who speak on their behalf to their partners or associates. For example, the United Nations Organization.
• International non-governmental organizations (NGOs) . Those that are not conformed by the States, but by private actors, social groups, humanitarian or ecological nonprofit organizations, that act in different regions as an alternative to the state powers.

Another form of classification distinguishes between permanent-type organisms, which have their own history, and non-permanent ones, which arise to resolve a specific episode and then disappear.

3. Functions of international organizations

International organizations can fulfill certain functions, according to the spirit to which they obey and to the specific needs of their Member States, always seeking concerted (although sometimes unilateral) action and around the common good. Some of its functions may be:

• Peaceful dispute resolution. Mediation on the occasion of conflicts , for example: to avoid war , establish a committee of seers in critical situations, serve as a neutral space for debate.
• Joint regulation of scientific-technological development. From time to time it becomes necessary to discuss the scope of a technology or know, and set standards for the protection of humanity or to preserve a certain ethical talent for a timely discovery.
• Fight against poverty. Economic cooperation and humanitarian aid can be carried out jointly and in coordination to achieve greater results, in cases of natural disasters , humanitarian crises or aftermath of war.
• Limit the power of states. Through joint surveillance, the member states commit themselves to adhere to certain political and humanitarian codes, since if they were violated, they could be sanctioned by the organization.
• Promote economic agreements. To boost regional joint development, through free market between regions or economic agreements of various kinds.

4. List of international organizations

Some of the best known International Organizations are:

• United Nations Organization (UN) . Created at the end of World War II  to replace the failed League of Nations, its main objective is to serve as a neutral space for debate between nations and thus resolve disputes between them without reaching war, or provide conflicts with a diplomatic option in the presence of the rest of the countries of the world. In addition, it has numerous commissions specializing in the promotion of culture , equality, education , health , etc.
• World Labor Organization (ILO) . Belonging to the United Nations, this body created in 1919 and consolidated in 1947, seeks to improve global working conditions, through the creation and promotion of workplaces, minimum regulation of conditions, prohibition and persecution of child labor or forced labor, etc.
• World Bank (WB). This organization operates throughout the globe, promoting the development of different countries through strategic advisory policies, educational promotion, loans and project financing , or simply supervision of international development initiatives.
• United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) . It is an agency attached to the UN, founded in 1945, with the purpose of sponsoring the democratization of knowledge, preserving the legacy of humanity and promoting learning in science . One of his best-known plans is that of the patrimonial designation, which gives historically outstanding places the status of “world heritage.”
• World Health Organization (WHO) . Also attached to the United Nations, it is a worldwide organization that ensures the fight against diseases, the improvement of health conditions in developing countries, the attention of epidemics and preventive health in general, which includes the condemnation of certain products , services or activities.
• World Trade Organization (WTO) . It is the only international organization that contemplates the norms in force in international trade , ensuring the best possible understanding between producers, consumers and exporters of goods and services, so that the commercial activity is as fair, beneficial and equitable as possible.
• International Monetary Fund (IMF) . International financial organization based in Washington, USA, born in 1944 as a way of economically protecting developing countries. Their work has been strongly questioned during the last decades, especially due to the bias of the institution that favors developed countries and the promotion of the so-calledneoliberal economy in third world countries, which resulted in catastrophic social conditions in many of their cases. more distinguished, like the Argentine.
• Organization of American States (OAS) . The main political forum available to the States of the American continent, with capacity for diplomatic and financial pressure in case any of its member countries violates the fundamental guidelines of the organization in terms of human rights and adherence to democracy .
• Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). International financial organization offering loans to governments provincial national, municipal and civil societies and companies private, after growth and support initiatives that allow economic diversification in the Americas.