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Example Of Intergovernmental Organizations

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Intergovernmental organizations are an important facet of public international law. According to Margaret P. Karns, “intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) are organizations that include at least three states as members, that have activities in several different states and that are created through a formal intergovernmental agreement such as a treaty, stature or statute. Most intergovernmental organizations also consist of headquarters, executive heads, bureaucracies and budgets.” Karns also states that between the years 2013-2016 the “Yearbook of International Organizations,” identified about around 265 different intergovernmental organizations that varied from consisting of 3 member countries, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), to more than 190 member countries, such as the Universal Postal Union (UPU). In intergovernmental organizations, Karns explains, the members that compose these IGO’s can come from specifically one geographic area, the Organization of American States (OAS), for example. This is not the case for every IGO, though. Members of IGO’s can also come from all geographic regions, using the World Bank as an example. Karns also describes how some intergovernmental organizations are designed to achieve a single purpose, and others are developed in order to complete multiple tasks. When discussing intergovernmental organizations, it is safe to say that most of them are regional or sub regional, with a similarity of interests motivating

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