At the international level, there are institutions of various natures. Some focus on cooperation with underdeveloped countries. Others focus their efforts on culture or the environment. Intergovernmental Organization
Obviously many of them have economic and financial goals. The different modalities are integrated into a general category, the intergovernmental organization, also known by its acronym OI.
The general principle of every IO is its interstate dimension. In other words, these entities are formed by a group of states and all of them create a supranational alliance in order to establish cooperation among member states.
classification criteria
One of the most common criteria is geographic. Thus, there are organizations that cover the vast majority of states in the international community, such as the UN or the ILO. Certain organizations have a regional dimension in which member countries share the same geopolitical framework, such as the OAS or the European Union . Intergovernmental Organization
In some cases, the member states of an IO are not integrated in the same region, but are united to a common interest. Thus, OPEC is made up of countries from different continents, all of which are oil exporters.
The legal system is another classification criterion related to IOs. In this context, there are organizations whose legal system is at a higher level than their member states. For example, the legal principles that govern NATO are supranational and, therefore, the member states of this organization must assume these principles.
The different types of IOs have a number of common features
- – A constitutive or foundational act (in most cases a voluntary adherence treaty is agreed between the member states of the organization).
- – Secondly, its own legal personality, different from those of the member states that form it.
- – Generally, the membership status of an organization is acquired by fulfilling certain prerequisites (for example, the nations that form the ILO commit to respect certain labor legislation).
- – As is logical, there are a series of rights and obligations that must be respected so that the different states have a voice and vote in the representative bodies of OI. Intergovernmental Organization
- – Lastly, the funding of any international organization generates costs, which must be met through the obligatory contribution of the members.
