International Organizations and Groupings

🌐 UNITED NATIONS (UN)

• Founded: 24th October 1945
• Members: 193 (South Sudan last in 2011)
• Term Coined By: Franklin D. Roosevelt

Main Organs (6):

• UNGA (General Assembly): “Parliament of Nations” | 1 vote per member | HQ: New York
• UNSC (Security Council): 5 Permanent (P5: USA, UK, France, Russia, China) + 10 Non-permanent | HQ: NY
• ECOSOC: 54 members, 3-year term | HQ: NY
• Trusteeship Council: Suspended since 1st Nov 1994 | HQ: NY
• ICJ (International Court of Justice): 15 Judges | 9-year term | Disputes between states | HQ: The Hague
• Secretariat: Headed by UN Secretary-General | 5-year term | HQ: NY

UN Charter:

• Signed: 26th June 1945 (San Francisco)
• Chapters: 19 | Amended in 1963, 1965, 1973

Key Chapters:

• Ch 1: Purposes & Principles
• Ch 2: Membership
• Ch 6: Peaceful dispute resolution
• Ch 7: Use of force (aggression)
• Ch 18: Amendments

UN Secretary Generals (Chronological Order):

Trygve Lie → Dag Hammarskjöld → U Thant → Kurt Waldheim → Javier Pérez de Cuéllar → Boutros Boutros-Ghali → Kofi Annan → Ban Ki-moon → Antonio Guterres (2017–present)

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⚖️ ICJ vs. ICC

Feature	ICJ	ICC
Nature	UN’s principal judicial organ	Independent body
Focus	Civil disputes between states	Criminal trials (genocide, war crimes)
Creation	UN Charter	Rome Statute, 1998
Members	193 members	123 members
HQ	The Hague	The Hague

ICC = “Court of last resort” – intervenes when national systems fail

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💰 BRETTON WOODS SYSTEM (1944)

• Also called: UN Monetary & Financial Conference
• Location: Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, USA

Outcome:

• IMF (1944)
• World Bank/IBRD (1944)
• GATT (1948) → Replaced by WTO in 1995

• Collapsed: 1970s after Oil Crisis | 1971: US dropped fixed exchange rate

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🏦 INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND (IMF)

• Founded: 1944
• Members: 190
• HQ: Washington, D.C.
• Purpose: Exchange rate stability, BOP support, monetary cooperation
• Quota System: Determines voting power and financial commitment

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🌍 WORLD BANK (IBRD)

• Founded: 1944
• Members: 189
• HQ: Washington, D.C.
• Purpose: Development loans for reconstruction, poverty alleviation

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📈 WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION (WTO)

• Established: 1st January 1995 (via Marrakesh Agreement)
• HQ: Geneva
• Predecessor: GATT (1948)
• Purpose: Regulate international trade & tariffs

Rounds leading to WTO:

Geneva (1947) → Annecy → Torquay → Geneva (1956) → Dillon → Kennedy → Tokyo → Uruguay (1986–94) → WTO

• Doha Round (2001): China joins WTO

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👥 G20

• Formed: 1999
• Members: 19 countries + EU
• No HQ
• Permanent Guest: Spain
• Presidency: Rotates annually | Troika System (Previous, Current, Next: Indonesia → India → Brazil)
• India’s 2023 Theme: "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam"

Channels:

• Sherpa (Leaders)
• Finance (Finance Ministers)

• Nature: Informal forum, decisions not binding

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⭐ G7

• Formed: 1975
• Members: USA, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan
• G8 → G7: Russia expelled in 2014 (Crimea)
• 2021 G7 Invites: India, Australia, South Korea
• Carbis Bay Declaration: Pandemic preparedness initiative

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🤝 G4 Nations

• Formed: 2005
• Members: Brazil, India, Germany, Japan
• Goal: UNSC reform & permanent seat bids
• Opposition Group: Uniting for Consensus or Coffee Club (Italy, Pakistan, South Korea, etc.)

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🧱 BRICS

• Members: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa
• Term Coined: 2001 by Jim O’Neil (originally BRIC)

Key Summits:

• 2009: 1st BRIC Summit – Yekaterinburg
• 2010: South Africa joins – becomes BRICS
• 2014 Fortaleza Summit:
  • Formation of New Development Bank (NDB)
  • Signing of Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA)

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🌏 ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations)

• Formed: 1967
• HQ: Jakarta
• Motto: "One Vision. One Identity. One Community."
• Members (10): Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia

Plus formats:

• ASEAN + 3 = China, Japan, South Korea
• ASEAN + 6 = + India, Australia, NZ
• East Asia Summit (EAS): ASEAN + 8 (includes US & Russia)

• India-ASEAN Relations: Celebrated 30 years at 19th Summit (2022)

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🇪🇺 EUROPEAN UNION (EU)

• Formed: 1993 (Maastricht Treaty)
• Members: 27
• HQ: Brussels
• European Council: Top decision-making body