YEARBOOK OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

The Yearbook attempts to cover all “international organizations”, according to a broad range of criteria. It therefore includes many bodies that may be perceived as not being fully international, or as not being organizations as such. These bodies are nevertheless included so as to enable users to make their own evaluation in the light of their own criteria.

To assist this evaluation, the editors have developed a hierarchical typology, assigning each organization to one of 15 types. This hierarchical typology may be used to help determine the status or level of "internationality" of an organization. All of these types include both intergovernmental and non-governmental international organizations (see IGOs and NGOs tab for a discussion of the terms "intergovernmental " and "non-governmental"). The 15 types are designated by an upper case letter.

The 15 upper case letters used for Type 1, their significance, and their chief characteristics (as determined by information regarding membership and structure) are the following.

Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs) and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)

The approach to the selection of organizations for inclusion in this Yearbook was first developed by the Union of International Associations for the Annuaire de la Vie Internationale (1908-1909, 1910-1911). It was further developed after 1945 for the early editions of the Yearbook of International Organizations. The approach was endorsed by the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC) in 1950 and in 1953.

The Economic and Social Council, in considering these matters in 1950, itself clarified the distinction between intergovernmental and international non-governmental organizations as follows:

Intergovernmental organizations (IGOs)

The view of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations concerning intergovernmental organizations is implicit in its Resolution 288 (X) of 27 February 1950: “Any international organization which is not established by intergovernmental agreement shall be considered as a non-governmental organization for the purpose of these arrangements.” The resolution was concerned with the implementation of Article 71 of the United Nations Charter on consultative status of non-governmental organizations, and it was amplified by Resolution 1296 (XLIV) of 25 June 1968: “...including organizations which accept members designated by government authorities, provided that such membership does not interfere with the free expression of views of the organizations.”

The matter is complicated by the fact that, pursuant to Article 12 of the regulations of the General Assembly of the United Nations (giving effect to Article 102 of the Charter), the Secretariat publishes, in the UN Treaty Series, every instrument submitted to it by a Member State, when “so far as that party is concerned, the instrument is a treaty or an international agreement within the meaning of Article 102” (Note in UN Treaty Series, Vol. 748). The terms “treaty” and “international agreement” have not been defined either in the Charter or in the regulations. Furthermore: “It is the understanding of the Secretariat that its action does not confer on the instrument the status of a treaty or an international agreement if it does not already have that status ...”

Further complications arise from:

• the increasing number of “international agreements” in which one or more of the parties is a constituent state of a federal state system (e.g. Quebec); this matter was not resolved by the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (Vienna, 1969);
• bilateralization of treaties when several states act together to aid another state under a “multilateral” treaty signed by all of them;
• agreements in which one of the parties is itself an intergovernmental organization (thus “multilateralizing” the agreement) acting to establish an intergovernmental institute in a particular country (thus “bilateralizing” the agreement), of which the government is one of the parties to that agreement (e.g. many UNESCO agreements with individual developing countries to establish regional research centres);
• agreements signed on behalf of national government agencies or departments which, in the case of purely technical matters, may not fully engage the state; the resulting organizations may then define themselves as “non-governmental”.

In practice therefore, the editors assume that an organization is intergovernmental if it is established by signature of an agreement engendering obligations between governments, whether or not that agreement is eventually published. If any organization declares itself to be non-governmental, it is accepted as such by the editors.

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs)

The problem of identifying eligible non-governmental organizations is more difficult. Resolution 288 (X) makes no attempt to explain what is meant by the term “international organization”. Editorial experience has shown that it is useful to take seven aspects of organizational life as indicators of the eligibility of an organization: aims; membership; structure; officers; finance; relations with other organizations; and activities. These aspects are discussed below for different types of organization.

Detailed comments on Type 1

The complexity of the hierarchical typology warrants further explanation.

Type A: Federations of international organizations

An organization is classified as Type A if:

• its membership includes at least three autonomous international bodies.

An organization is not classified as Type A if:

• it meets the criteria for another Type more closely than it meets the criteria for this Type;
• its membership includes only regional organizations;
• its membership is limited to international organizations linked to a particular place or organization or people;
• its membership is limited to non-autonomous commissions or sections of one or more international organizations;
• its international organizational membership is of secondary importance (e.g. “associate members”);
• its preoccupation or field of activity is limited to one region or continent;
• it is in some way a “joint committee”, created to liaise between international organizations;
• it has been created by one or more international organizations which then themselves become members of it.

The United Nations is included in Type A because of its focal role in relation to the specialized agencies; these can be seen as “members” of the UN system.

“Umbrella” organizations which have national organizations as an additional membership category may also be included here.

Type B: Universal membership organizations

An organization is classified as Type B if:

• its membership covers at least 60 countries regardless of distribution, or if its membership covers at least 30 countries and is equitably distributed over several continents (the fewer the number of countries represented, the greater must be the number of continents represented);
• its management structure and its activities reflect its membership in terms of geographical distribution and balance.

An organization is not classified as Type B if:

• it meets the criteria for another Type more closely than it meets the criteria for this Type;
• its title mentions any term effectively restricting its membership or activities to a particular group of countries or particular group of people (e.g. Commonwealth, French-speaking);
• it is universal in aims or activities only.

Type C: Intercontinental membership organizations

An organization is classified as Type C if:

• its membership and preoccupations exceed that of a particular continental region though not to the degree of justifying its inclusion in Type B;
• its membership covers at least 10 countries and is equitably distributed over at least two continents;
• its management structure and its activities reflect its membership in terms of geographical distribution and balance.

An organization is not classified as Type C if:

• it meets the criteria for another Type more closely than it meets the criteria for this Type;
• its title mentions any term effectively restricting its membership or activities to a single continental region or contiguous group of countries (e.g. European, Inter-American, Mediterranean).

Type D: Regionally defined membership organizations

An organization is classified as Type D if:

• its membership and preoccupations are restricted to a particular continental or sub-continental region or contiguous group of countries;
• its membership covers at least three countries or includes at least three autonomous international bodies;
• its title mentions a single continental region or contiguous group of countries (e.g. European, Inter-American, Mediterranean) regardless of membership.

An organization is not classified as Type D if:

• it meets the criteria for another Type more closely than it meets the criteria for this Type;
• its title mentions another organization or a particular place or person.

Type E: Organizations emanating from places, persons or other bodies

An organization is classified as Type E if:

• it can be considered as an “emanation” of another organization or of a place, person or proprietary product, regardless of membership;
• its title incorporates, in any way, the name of another organization (excepting intergovernmental organizations that are the subject of a special multi-lateral treaty, e.g. the FAO);
• provision is made for its creation in the statutes of another organization though it nonetheless functions autonomously (non-autonomous bodies being included in Type K);
• it is in some way a “joint committee”, created to liaise between international organizations, functioning autonomously;
• it is a centre or institute created by intergovernmental bodies, possibly by agreement with a particular government;
• it is especially identified with a particular physical location and its activities are largely determined by that location (e.g. training courses, experimental stations);
• it is specifically concerned with a single country (NB an organization specifically concerned with a single language, though it may be spoken in a single country, is not necessarily classified as Type E).

An organization is not classified as Type E if:

• it meets the criteria for another Type more closely than it meets the criteria for this Type;
• it does not function at least semi-autonomously.

Type F: Organizations having a special form

An organization is classified as Type F if:

• its formal characteristics would cause fundamental questions to be raised were it included in one of the preceding Types;
• it has international dimensions which make it equivalent to a more conventional international organization;
• its special nature is implied by the presence of certain terms in its title, whether or not the use of such terms is in effect a misnomer; such terms include:
• Activities: campaign, programme, project, service, survey
• Arbitration and legislation: court, parliament, tribunal
• Buildings: laboratory, library, museum, observatory
• Collections: cultures, gene bank, organ bank, reserve
• Education: college, school, training institute, university
• Financing: bank, clearing house, foundation, fund, trust
• Information: data network, information system, inventory, registry
• Media and entertainment: news agency, orchestra, radio
• Military: army, brigade, corps, force
• Politics: international party or group, international movement
• Semi-formal groupings: club, community, governmental grouping, movement, network
• Treaty-oriented: agreement, intellectual property unions, treaty
• Trade: common market, free trade zone, monetary zone
• it is a patronage body, e.g. under pontifical or royal charter, or is headed by a charismatic leader (unless more appropriate to classify it as Type R);
• it includes a significant membership of exiled groups from named countries;
• it is a “quasi” organization, possibly without a well-defined secretariat or structure (e.g. Group of 8), sometimes even a non-existent organization nonetheless recognized in common usage (e.g. World Bank Group);
• it is an unusual, possibly illegal or questionable, body.

An organization is not classified as Type F if:

• it meets the criteria for another Type more closely than it meets the criteria for this Type;
• it does not function at least semi-autonomously.

Type G: Internationally-oriented national organizations

An organization is classified as Type G if:

• it is a bilateral governmental body;
• its membership or management structure is limited to a single country, yet its name or activities indicate an international character;
• it has been granted consultative status by a body of the UN system;
• it is formally linked to an international organization included in one of the preceding Types (e.g. as a member, a funder, a partner).

An organization is not classified as Type G if:

• it meets the criteria for another Type more closely than it meets the criteria for this Type;
• it has no links with an organization included in one of the preceding Types and is not a bilateral governmental body.

Type H: Inactive or dissolved international organizations

An organization is classified as Type H if:

• it has been dissolved, has been inactive for several years (that is, there has been no indication of activity for several years), or is dormant for a period of years;
• as an active body it was or would have been classified as Type A, B, C or D, or if it was or would have been intergovernmental.

An organization is not classified as Type H if:

• it meets the criteria for another Type more closely than it meets the criteria for this Type.

Type J: Recently reported or proposed international organizations

An organization is classified as Type J if:

• the information available is insufficient to enable classification as another Type, usually because its creation has only recently been reported, or because its creation has been proposed but has not yet taken place.

An organization is not classified as Type J if:

• it meets the criteria for another Type more closely than it meets the criteria for this Type.

Type K: Subsidiary and internal bodies

An organization is classified as Type K if:

• it is a substantive unit with a complex international organization;
• it has a degree of autonomy which, if it had more independent activities, would allow it to be classified as another Type (usually Type E or F).

An organization is not classified as Type K if:

• it meets the criteria for another Type more closely than it meets the criteria for this Type.

Type N: National organizations

An organization is classified as Type N if:

• its membership or management structure is essentially limited to a single country, yet its title or activities make it appear to be international;
• it appears on public information lists of a body of the UN system.

An organization is not classified as Type N if:

• it meets the criteria for another Type more closely than it meets the criteria for this Type;
• it has links with an organization included in another Type.

Type R: Religious orders, fraternities and secular institutes

An organization is classified as Type R if:

• it is a religious, military or fraternal order, or is a similar body based on charismatic leadership or commitment to a set of religious practices;
• its membership covers at least three countries;
• though not widely active now, it has a historical significance (the older the body, the more relaxed the criteria).

An organization is not classified as Type R if:

• it meets the criteria for another Type more closely than it meets the criteria for this Type.

Type S: Autonomous conference series

A conference series is classified as Type S if:

• while not being an organization as such, it represents a continuing series of international meetings;
• the series has a name which could be assumed to refer to an international body.

A conference series is not classified as Type S if:

• it meets the criteria for another Type more closely than it meets the criteria for this Type;
• a more conventional or formal organization, whether national or international, is responsible for the series.

Type T: Multilateral treaties and agreements

A treaty is classified as Type T if:

• while not being an organization as such, it is a multilateral treaty, convention, agreement, pact, protocol or covenant signed by at least three parties, whether States or intergovernmental organizations.

A treaty is not classified as Type T if:

• it is a peace treaty for a specific war or for the consequences of a specific war;
• it pertains to the relations between two countries under the auspices of an intergovernmental agency (e.g. the transfer of uranium, the resolution of border issues);
• regardless of the number of signatories, its articles pertain to one country or one event.

Type U: Inactive or dissolved non-conventional bodies

An organization is classified as Type U if:

• it has been dissolved, has been inactive for several years (that is, there has been no indication of activity for several years), or is dormant for a period of years;
• as an active body it was or would have been classified as a Type other than Type A, B, C or D.

An organization is not classified as Type U if:

• it meets the criteria for another Type more closely than it meets the criteria for this Type;
• as an active body it was or would have been intergovernmental.