LESSON 4:
REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
I. REGIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
→ The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, was established on August 8 1967 in Bangkok,
Thailand.
→ It is with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) by the Founding Fathers of ASEAN:
Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
→ On January 7, 1984 Brunei Darussalam joined ASEAN, followed by Vietnam on July 28 1995, Laos, and
Myanmar on July 23 1997, and Cambodia on April 30 1999, making up the ten Member States of ASEAN.
Structural Organization – The Secretary-General of ASEAN and the ASEAN Secretariat shall be functioned as
coordinating Secretariat to help facilitate effective decision-making within and amongst ASEAN bodies.
Logo – The ASEAN Emblem represents a stable, peaceful, united and dynamic ASEAN with the colours of the
state crests of all the ASEAN Member States.
Main Body – Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Brunei, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam,
Cambodia.
ASEAN Founding Fathers – Adam Malik, S. Rajaratnam, Narciso Ramos, Thanat Khoman, Tun Abdul Razak.
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
→ APEC begins as an informal Ministerial-level dialogue group in Canberra, Australia in 1989.
→ It is a 21-member economic forum at present.
→ Founding members are Australia, New Zealand, 6 ASEAN economies, Japan and South Korea, Canada
and the United States
→ Later the co-operation expanded to China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong in 1991 Papua New Guinea in 1993,
Chile (1994), Russia, Vietnam, Peru in 1998.
→ India, Mongolia, Pakistan, Laos, Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Colombia, Panama and Ecuador are among a
dozen countries seeking membership in APEC.
Mission/Vision:
• To support sustainable economic growth and prosperity in Asia-Pacific region
• To build a dynamic and harmonious Asia-Pacific community
• Decrease number of obstacles in trade and also reduce tariffs across APEC nations
• Set its eye on achieving ‘Bogor goals' by the year 2010
• To encourage the flow of goods, services, capital, and technology
• To develop and strengthen the multilateral trading system.
Member-Economies – Russia, People’s Republic of China, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Republic of
Korea, Japan, Chinese Taipei. Hong Kong, China, Philippines, Brunei Darussalam, Papua New Guinea,
Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, United States, Mexico, Peru, Chile.
APEC Relations:
1. ASEAN and APEC
• ASEAN has been at APEC's core from the very beginning and is doing its part to advance APEC's
purposes and is consistent with APEC goals.
, • ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) can be said to be a building block for the fulfillment of the goals that
APEC set for eventual free trade among its members.
• It can be said that the two organizations could be seen as complementing, and not competing with each
other.
2. NAFTA and APEC
• Accomplishment of Bogor goals and free trade among APEC member economies leads to significant
trade diversion from western countries to APEC member economies.
• Western economies trying to maintain balance of power between east and west in APEC decisions by
restricting Asian countries into economic co-operation.
Logo – The globe-shaped green, blue and white APEC logo was thus adopted in 1991. The logo has come to
represent not only APEC, the most important vehicle for regional economic cooperation, but also the hopes and
aspirations of the Asia-Pacific region itself.
APEC Founding Father – Robert James Lee Hawke AC GCL (December 9 1929 – May 16 2019) was an
Australian politician and trade unionist who served as the 23rd prime minister of Australia from 1983 to 1991.
Arab League (AL)
→ Regional organization of Arab states in the Middle East and parts of Africa, formed in Cairo on March 22,
1945, as an outgrowth of Pan-Arabism.
→ The founding member states were Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Transjordan (now Jordan), Saudi Arabia,
and Yemen.
→ Each member has one vote on the League Council, decisions being binding only on those states that
have voted for them.
Purpose/Aims:
• The aims of the league in 1945 were to strengthen and coordinate the political, cultural, economic, and
social programs of its members and to mediate disputes among them or between them and third parties.
• The signing on April 13, 1950, of an agreement on joint defense and economic cooperation also
committed the signatories to coordination of military defense measures.
• In its early years the Arab League concentrated mainly on economic, cultural, and social programs.
Arab Maghreb Union (AMU)
→ A political union and economic union trade agreement aiming for economic and future political unity
among Arab countries States that are located primarily in the Maghreb in North Africa.
→ Its members are the nations of Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia.
→ The idea for an economic union of the Maghreb began with the independence of Tunisia and Morocco in
1956.
→ It was not until thirty years later, though, that five Maghreb states—Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco,
and Tunisia—met for the first Maghreb summit in 1988.
Purpose/Aims:
1. Guarantee cooperation with similar regional institutions
2. Take part in the enrichment of the international dialogue
3. Reinforce the independence of the member states
4. Safeguard their assets
The Union has been unable to achieve tangible progress on its goals due to deep economic and political
disagreements between Morocco and Algeria regarding, among others, the issue of Western Sahara. No high-
level meetings have taken place since 3 July 2008, and commentators regard the Union as largely dormant.
, African Union (AU)
→ The AU is guided by its vision of “An Integrated, Prosperous and Peaceful Africa, driven by its own
citizens and representing a dynamic force in the global arena.”
→ The African Union (AU) is a continental body consisting of the 55 member states that make up the
countries of the African Continent.
→ The Organization of African Unity (OAU) was the manifestation of the pan-African vision for an Africa that
was united, free, and in control of its own destiny and this was solemnized in the OAU Charter in which
the founding fathers recognized that freedom, equality, justice, and dignity were essential objectives for
the achievement of the legitimate aspirations of the African people.
→ The decision to re-launch Africa’s pan-African organization was the outcome of a consensus by African
leaders that in order to realize Africa’s potential, there was a need to refocus attention.
• OAU - fight for decolonization and ridding the continent of apartheid.
• AU - increased cooperation and integration of African states to drive Africa’s growth and economic
development.
Member States – The AU is made up of 55 Member States which represent all the countries on the African
continent. AU Member States are divided into five geographic region.
• Central Africa – Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, DR Congo, Equatorial
Guinea, Gabon, São Tomé and Príncipe
• Eastern Africa – Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Rwanda,
Seychelles Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda
• Northern Africa – Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Sahrawi Republic, Tunisia
• Southern Africa – Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia
• Western Africa – Benin, Burkina, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau,
Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra, Leone, Togo
Structure - In structure, the OAU began as one entity, whereas the AU, integrating itself with the African
Economic Community and building other structures, consists of:
• The Assembly
• The Executive Council
• The Pan-African Parliament
• The Court of Justice
• The Permanent Representatives Committee
• The Specialized Technical Committees
• The Economic, Social and Cultural Council; the Peace and Security Council
• The Financial Institutions
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
→ Founded in the aftermath of World War II.
→ Established by the North Atlantic Treaty (also called as Washington Treaty).
NATO’s purpose is to guarantee the freedom and security of its members through political and military means.
1. POLITICAL – NATO promotes democratic values and enables members to consult and cooperate on
defence and security-related issues to solve problems, build trust and, in the long run, prevent conflict.
2. MILITARY – NATO is committed to the peaceful resolution of disputes. If diplomatic efforts fail, it has the
military power to undertake crisis-management operations. These are carried out under the collective
defence clause of NATO's founding treaty – Article 5 of the Washington Treaty or under a United Nations
mandate, alone or in cooperation with other countries and international organisations.
REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
I. REGIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
→ The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, was established on August 8 1967 in Bangkok,
Thailand.
→ It is with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) by the Founding Fathers of ASEAN:
Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
→ On January 7, 1984 Brunei Darussalam joined ASEAN, followed by Vietnam on July 28 1995, Laos, and
Myanmar on July 23 1997, and Cambodia on April 30 1999, making up the ten Member States of ASEAN.
Structural Organization – The Secretary-General of ASEAN and the ASEAN Secretariat shall be functioned as
coordinating Secretariat to help facilitate effective decision-making within and amongst ASEAN bodies.
Logo – The ASEAN Emblem represents a stable, peaceful, united and dynamic ASEAN with the colours of the
state crests of all the ASEAN Member States.
Main Body – Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Brunei, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam,
Cambodia.
ASEAN Founding Fathers – Adam Malik, S. Rajaratnam, Narciso Ramos, Thanat Khoman, Tun Abdul Razak.
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
→ APEC begins as an informal Ministerial-level dialogue group in Canberra, Australia in 1989.
→ It is a 21-member economic forum at present.
→ Founding members are Australia, New Zealand, 6 ASEAN economies, Japan and South Korea, Canada
and the United States
→ Later the co-operation expanded to China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong in 1991 Papua New Guinea in 1993,
Chile (1994), Russia, Vietnam, Peru in 1998.
→ India, Mongolia, Pakistan, Laos, Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Colombia, Panama and Ecuador are among a
dozen countries seeking membership in APEC.
Mission/Vision:
• To support sustainable economic growth and prosperity in Asia-Pacific region
• To build a dynamic and harmonious Asia-Pacific community
• Decrease number of obstacles in trade and also reduce tariffs across APEC nations
• Set its eye on achieving ‘Bogor goals' by the year 2010
• To encourage the flow of goods, services, capital, and technology
• To develop and strengthen the multilateral trading system.
Member-Economies – Russia, People’s Republic of China, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Republic of
Korea, Japan, Chinese Taipei. Hong Kong, China, Philippines, Brunei Darussalam, Papua New Guinea,
Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, United States, Mexico, Peru, Chile.
APEC Relations:
1. ASEAN and APEC
• ASEAN has been at APEC's core from the very beginning and is doing its part to advance APEC's
purposes and is consistent with APEC goals.
, • ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) can be said to be a building block for the fulfillment of the goals that
APEC set for eventual free trade among its members.
• It can be said that the two organizations could be seen as complementing, and not competing with each
other.
2. NAFTA and APEC
• Accomplishment of Bogor goals and free trade among APEC member economies leads to significant
trade diversion from western countries to APEC member economies.
• Western economies trying to maintain balance of power between east and west in APEC decisions by
restricting Asian countries into economic co-operation.
Logo – The globe-shaped green, blue and white APEC logo was thus adopted in 1991. The logo has come to
represent not only APEC, the most important vehicle for regional economic cooperation, but also the hopes and
aspirations of the Asia-Pacific region itself.
APEC Founding Father – Robert James Lee Hawke AC GCL (December 9 1929 – May 16 2019) was an
Australian politician and trade unionist who served as the 23rd prime minister of Australia from 1983 to 1991.
Arab League (AL)
→ Regional organization of Arab states in the Middle East and parts of Africa, formed in Cairo on March 22,
1945, as an outgrowth of Pan-Arabism.
→ The founding member states were Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Transjordan (now Jordan), Saudi Arabia,
and Yemen.
→ Each member has one vote on the League Council, decisions being binding only on those states that
have voted for them.
Purpose/Aims:
• The aims of the league in 1945 were to strengthen and coordinate the political, cultural, economic, and
social programs of its members and to mediate disputes among them or between them and third parties.
• The signing on April 13, 1950, of an agreement on joint defense and economic cooperation also
committed the signatories to coordination of military defense measures.
• In its early years the Arab League concentrated mainly on economic, cultural, and social programs.
Arab Maghreb Union (AMU)
→ A political union and economic union trade agreement aiming for economic and future political unity
among Arab countries States that are located primarily in the Maghreb in North Africa.
→ Its members are the nations of Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia.
→ The idea for an economic union of the Maghreb began with the independence of Tunisia and Morocco in
1956.
→ It was not until thirty years later, though, that five Maghreb states—Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco,
and Tunisia—met for the first Maghreb summit in 1988.
Purpose/Aims:
1. Guarantee cooperation with similar regional institutions
2. Take part in the enrichment of the international dialogue
3. Reinforce the independence of the member states
4. Safeguard their assets
The Union has been unable to achieve tangible progress on its goals due to deep economic and political
disagreements between Morocco and Algeria regarding, among others, the issue of Western Sahara. No high-
level meetings have taken place since 3 July 2008, and commentators regard the Union as largely dormant.
, African Union (AU)
→ The AU is guided by its vision of “An Integrated, Prosperous and Peaceful Africa, driven by its own
citizens and representing a dynamic force in the global arena.”
→ The African Union (AU) is a continental body consisting of the 55 member states that make up the
countries of the African Continent.
→ The Organization of African Unity (OAU) was the manifestation of the pan-African vision for an Africa that
was united, free, and in control of its own destiny and this was solemnized in the OAU Charter in which
the founding fathers recognized that freedom, equality, justice, and dignity were essential objectives for
the achievement of the legitimate aspirations of the African people.
→ The decision to re-launch Africa’s pan-African organization was the outcome of a consensus by African
leaders that in order to realize Africa’s potential, there was a need to refocus attention.
• OAU - fight for decolonization and ridding the continent of apartheid.
• AU - increased cooperation and integration of African states to drive Africa’s growth and economic
development.
Member States – The AU is made up of 55 Member States which represent all the countries on the African
continent. AU Member States are divided into five geographic region.
• Central Africa – Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, DR Congo, Equatorial
Guinea, Gabon, São Tomé and Príncipe
• Eastern Africa – Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Rwanda,
Seychelles Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda
• Northern Africa – Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Sahrawi Republic, Tunisia
• Southern Africa – Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia
• Western Africa – Benin, Burkina, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau,
Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra, Leone, Togo
Structure - In structure, the OAU began as one entity, whereas the AU, integrating itself with the African
Economic Community and building other structures, consists of:
• The Assembly
• The Executive Council
• The Pan-African Parliament
• The Court of Justice
• The Permanent Representatives Committee
• The Specialized Technical Committees
• The Economic, Social and Cultural Council; the Peace and Security Council
• The Financial Institutions
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
→ Founded in the aftermath of World War II.
→ Established by the North Atlantic Treaty (also called as Washington Treaty).
NATO’s purpose is to guarantee the freedom and security of its members through political and military means.
1. POLITICAL – NATO promotes democratic values and enables members to consult and cooperate on
defence and security-related issues to solve problems, build trust and, in the long run, prevent conflict.
2. MILITARY – NATO is committed to the peaceful resolution of disputes. If diplomatic efforts fail, it has the
military power to undertake crisis-management operations. These are carried out under the collective
defence clause of NATO's founding treaty – Article 5 of the Washington Treaty or under a United Nations
mandate, alone or in cooperation with other countries and international organisations.
