An international organization (intergovernmental organization) is an organization established by

a treaty or other instrument governed by international law and possessing its own international legal
personality, such as the United Nations, the World Health Organization and NATO. International
organizations are composed of primarily Member states, but may also include other entities, such as
other international organizations. Additionally, entities (including states) may hold observer status.

The role of international organizations is helping to set the international agenda, mediating political
bargaining, providing a place for political initiatives and acting as catalysts for the coalition- formation.
They facilitate cooperation and coordination among member nations.

There are many international organizations working with this purpose.

1. International Monetary Fund (IMF)

The IMF was established in 1944 and promotes world trade. It has 184 member countries.
Headquartered in Washington D.C.,  it works to improve the financial condition of its member
countries. Some senior officials of IMF

 Kristalina Georgieva (Managing Director)

 Geoffrey W.S. Okamoto (First Deputy Managing Director)
 Antoinette Sayeh (Deputy Managing Director)
 Mitsuhiro Furusawa (Deputy Managing Director)
 Tao Zhang (Deputy Managing Director)
 Gita Gopinath (Economic Counsellor)
 Tobias Adrian (Financial Counsellor)

The first half of the 20th century was marked by two world wars that caused enormous physical and
economic destruction in Europe and a Great Depression that wrought economic devastation in both
Europe and the United States. These events kindled a desire to create a new international monetary
system that would stabilize currency exchange rates without backing currencies entirely with gold; to
reduce the frequency and severity of balance-of-payments deficits (which occur when more foreign
currency leaves a country than enters it); and to eliminate destructive mercantilist trade policies, such as
competitive devaluations and foreign exchange restrictions—all while substantially preserving each
country’s ability to pursue independent economic policies. Multilateral discussions led to the UN
Monetary and Financial Conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, U.S., in July 1944. Delegates
representing 44 countries drafted the Articles of Agreement for a proposed International Monetary
Fund that would supervise the new international monetary system. The framers of the new Bretton
Woods monetary regime hoped to promote world trade, investment, and economic growth by
maintaining convertible currencies at stable exchange rates. Countries with temporary, moderate
balance-of-payments deficits were expected to finance their deficits by borrowing foreign currencies
from the IMF rather than by imposing exchange controls, devaluations, or deflationary economic
policies that could spread their economic problems to other countries.After ratification by 29 countries,
the Articles of Agreement entered into force on December 27, 1945. The fund’s board of governors
convened the following year in Savannah, Georgia, U.S., to adopt bylaws and to elect the IMF’s first
executive directors. The governors decided to locate the organization’s permanent headquarters in
Washington, D.C., where its 12 original executive directors first met in May 1946. The IMF’s financial
operations began the following year. The IMF is headed by a board of governors, each of whom
represents one of the organization’s approximately 180 member states. The governors, who are usually
their countries’ finance ministers or central bank directors, attend annual meetings on IMF issues. The
fund’s day-to-day operations are administered by an executive board, which consists of 24 executive
directors who meet at least three times a week. Eight directors represent individual countries (China,
France, Germany, Japan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, and the United States), and the
other 16 represent the fund’s remaining members, grouped by world regions. Because it makes most
decisions by consensus, the executive board rarely conducts formal voting. The board is chaired by a
managing director, who is appointed by the board for a renewable five-year term and supervises the
fund’s staff of about 2,700 employees from more than 140 countries. The managing director is usually a
European and—by tradition—not an American. The first female managing director, Christine Lagarde of
France, was appointed in June 2011. Each member contributes a sum of money called a quota
subscription. Quotas are reviewed every five years and are based on each country’s wealth and
economic performance—the richer the country, the larger its quota. The quotas form a pool of loanable
funds and determine how much money each member can borrow and how much voting power it will
have. For example, the United States’ approximately $83 billion contribution is the most of any IMF
member, accounting for approximately 17 percent of total quotas. Accordingly, the United States
receives about 17 percent of the total votes on both the board of governors and the executive board.
The Group of Eight industrialized nations (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United
Kingdom, and the United States) controls nearly 50 percent of the fund’s total votes. Since its creation,
the IMF’s principal activities have included stabilizing currency exchange rates, financing the short-term
balance-of-payments deficits of member countries, and providing advice and technical assistance to
borrowing countries.

2. World Wildlife Fund (WWF)

The WWF was set up in 1961 and is the world’s largest conservation organization. Its main aim is to
protect endangered animals and the place where they live. In North America it is called the World
Wildlife Fund. Leadership of World Wildlife Fund:

 Carter Roberts (President & CEO)

 Loren Mayor( Chief Operating Officer)
  Loren Mayor (Chief Operating Officer)
 Nik Sekhran (Chief Conservation Officer)
 Margaret Ackerley (Senior Vice President and General Counsel)
 Valerie Blain-Smith (Vice President of Human Resources)
 Sheila Bonini (Senior Vice President, Private Sector Engagement)
 Kerry Cesareo (Senior Vice President, Forests)

 Jason ClaySenior Vice President, Markets | Executive Director, Markets Institute

In 1960 a group of British naturalists—most notably biologist Sir Julian Huxley, artist and conservationist
Peter Scott, and ornithologists Guy Mountfort and Max Nicholson—led an effort to establish an
organization that protected endangered species and their habitats. The following year the World
Wildlife Fund was founded; the international name was subsequently changed to World Wide Fund for
Nature in 1989, although in the United States and Canada it retained the founding name. The
organization’s distinctive panda logo was created by Scott. In the face of growing environmental threats
over the ensuing years, the WWF’s activities expanded in scope. Today its mission statement is
threefold: to conserve the world’s biological diversity, to ensure that the use of renewable natural
resources is sustainable, and to promote the reduction of pollution and of wasteful consumption. The
organization has long included both conservationists and businesspeople with the intention of
combining solid scientific data with well-managed action. It also seeks cooperation between
nongovernmental organizations, local governments, and local populations. The WWF works closely with
the World Conservation Union and has formed partnerships with the United Nations, the World Bank,
and the European Union.The WWF provides money for conservation initiatives around the world. These
include programs focused on individual species, forests, and freshwater and marine issues as well as
climate change and responsible international trade. The group has also been involved in efforts to
provide a safe and sustainable habitat for the world’s peoples, both urban and rural, including clean
water, clean air, healthful food, and rewarding recreation areas. Among the WWF’s notable
achievements is its use of debt-for-nature swaps, in which an organization buys some of a country’s
foreign debt at a discount, converts the money to local currency, and then uses it to finance
conservation efforts. The WWF’s first successful debt-for-nature swap took place in 1987 in Ecuador.At
the beginning of the 21st century, the WWF was active in more than 100 countries and had more than
five million supporters. The organization’s international headquarters are in Gland, Switz., and it has
more than 90 offices around the world.

3. World Health Organization (WHO)

The WHO is a part of the United Nations. It promotes health matters worldwide and aims to raise
medical standards and monitor diseases. The International Sanitary Conferences, originally held on 23
June 1851, were the first predecessors of the WHO. A series of 14 conferences that lasted from 1851 to
1938, the International Sanitary Conferences worked to combat many diseases, chief among them
cholera, yellow fever, and the bubonic plague. The conferences were largely ineffective until the
seventh, in 1892; when an International Sanitary Convention that dealt with cholera was passed.Five
years later, a convention for the plague was signed. In part as a result of the successes of the
Conferences, the Pan-American Sanitary Bureau (1902), and the Office International d'Hygiène Publique
(1907) were soon founded. When the League of Nations was formed in 1920, they established the
Health Organization of the League of Nations. After World War II, the United Nations absorbed all the
other health organizations, to form the WHO.

Senior Officials of WHO:

 Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General

 Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab, Deputy Director-General
 Dr Bernhard Schwartländer, Chef de Cabinet
 Ms Jane Ellison, Executive Director for External Relations and Governance
 Dr Michael Ryan, Executive Director, WHO Health Emergencies Programme
 Dr Peter Salama, Executive Director, Universal Health Coverage / Life Course
 Dr Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist
 Dr Samira Asma, Assistant Director-General, for Data, Analytics and Delivery
 Professor Hanan H. Balkhy, Assistant Director-General, Antimicrobial resistance
 Ms Michèle Boccoz, Director-General Envoy for Multilateral Affairs

The WHO's Constitution states that its objective "is the attainment by all people of the highest possible
level of health"The WHO fulfills this objective through its functions as defined in its Constitution: (a) To
act as the directing and coordinating authority on international health work; (b) To establish and
maintain effective collaboration with the United Nations, specialized agencies, governmental health
administrations, professional groups and such other organizations as may be deemed appropriate; (c) To
assist Governments, upon request, in strengthening health services; (d) To furnish appropriate technical
assistance and, in emergencies, necessary aid upon the request or acceptance of Governments; (e) To
provide or assist in providing, upon the request of the United Nations, health services and facilities to
special groups, such as the peoples of trust territories; (f) To establish and maintain such administrative
and technical services as may be required, including epidemiological and statistical services; (g) to
stimulate and advance work to eradicate epidemic, endemic and other diseases; (h) To promote, in co-
operation with other specialized agencies where necessary, the prevention of accidental injuries; (i) To
promote, in co-operation with other specialized agencies where necessary, the improvement of
nutrition, housing, sanitation, recreation, economic or working conditions and other aspects of
environmental hygiene; (j) To promote co-operation among scientific and professional groups which
contribute to the advancement of health; (k) To propose conventions, agreements and regulations, and
make recommendations with respect to international health matters and to perform.

 As of 2012, the WHO has defined its role in public health as follows:
 providing leadership on matters critical to health and engaging in partnerships where joint
action is needed;
 shaping the research agenda and stimulating the generation, translation, and dissemination of
valuable knowledge.
  setting norms and standards and promoting and monitoring their implementation;
 articulating ethical and evidence-based policy options;
 providing technical support, catalysing change, and building sustainable institutional capacity;
and
 monitoring the health situation and assessing health trends.
 CRVS (civil registration and vital statistics) to provide monitoring of vital events (birth, death,
wedding, divorce).

4. United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

UNICEF was set up in 1947. It works to improve the health and welfare of children and mothers in
developing countries. UNICEF was created in 1946 to provide relief to children in countries devastated
by World War II. After 1950 the fund directed its efforts toward general programs for the improvement
of children’s welfare, particularly in less-developed countries and in various emergency situations. The
organization’s broader mission was reflected in the name it adopted in 1953, the United Nations
Children’s Fund. UNICEF was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1965. It is headquartered in New York
City. UNICEF has concentrated much of its effort in areas in which relatively small expenditures can have
a significant impact on the lives of the most disadvantaged children, such as the prevention and
treatment of disease. In keeping with this strategy, UNICEF supports immunization programs for
childhood diseases and programs to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS; it also provides funding for health
services, educational facilities, and other welfare services. Since 1996 UNICEF programs have been
guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), which affirms the right of all children to “the
enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health and to facilities for the treatment of illness and
rehabilitation of health.” UNICEF’s activities are financed by both government and private contributions.

Senior officials of UNICEF:

President

 H.E. Ms. Rabab Fatima, Permanent Representative (Bangladesh)

Vice-Presidents

 H.E. Mr. Omar Hilale, Permanent Representative (Morocco)

 H.E. Ms. Audra Plepytė, Permanent Representative (Lithuania)
 H.E. Mr. João Genésio de Almeida Filho, Deputy Permanent Representative (Brazil)
 Mr. Dominique Michel Favre, Deputy Permanent Representative (Switzerland)

UNICEF's programs emphasize developing community-level services to promote the health and well-
being of children. Most of its work is in the field, with a network that includes 150 country offices,
headquarters and other facilities and 34 "national committees" that carry out its mission through
programs developed with host governments. Seven regional offices provide technical assistance to
country offices as needed, while its Supply Division—based in Copenhagen and New York—helps
provide over $3 billion in critical aid and services. In 2018, UNICEF assisted in the birth of 27 million
babies, administered Pentavalent vaccines to an estimated 65.5 million children, provided education for
12 million children, treated four million children with severe acute malnutrition, and responded to 285
humanitarian emergencies in 90 countries.UNICEF had received recognition for its work, including the
Nobel Peace Prize in 1965, the Indira Gandhi Prize in 1989 and the Princess of Asturias Award in 2006.
During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic UNICEF published along with the World Health Organization
guidance about healthy parenting.

 5. United Nations (UN)

The UN was founded in 1945. Most countries of the world – a total of 191, are members. The general
assembly of UN makes the decision about peacekeeping and human rights. United Nations (UN),
international organization established on October 24, 1945. The United Nations (UN) was the second
multipurpose international organization established in the 20th century that was worldwide in scope
and membership. Its predecessor, the League of Nations, was created by the Treaty of Versailles in 1919
and disbanded in 1946. Headquartered in New York City, the UN also has regional offices in Geneva,
Vienna, and Nairobi. Its official languages are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish. For
a list of UN member countries and secretaries-general.

Despite the problems encountered by the League of Nations in arbitrating conflict and ensuring
international peace and security prior to World War II, the major Allied powers agreed during the war to
establish a new global organization to help manage international affairs. This agreement was first
articulated when U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill
signed the Atlantic Charter in August 1941. The name United Nations was originally used to denote the
countries allied against Germany, Italy, and Japan. On January 1, 1942, 26 countries signed the
Declaration by United Nations, which set forth the war aims of the Allied powers.

Some Senior officials of United nation organization:

 Ms. Amina J. Mohammed (Nigeria) Deputy Secretary-General

 Mr. Movses Abelian (Armenia) Under-Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference
Management
 Ms. Jan Beagle (New Zealand) Under-Secretary-General, Special Adviser on System-wide
Implementation of Chief Executive Board (CEB) decisions
 Mr. Michael Bloomberg (United States) Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Cities and
Climate Change
 Ms. Christine Schraner Burgener (Switzerland) Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on
Myanmar
 Ms. Rosemary Anne DiCarlo (United States) Under-Secretary-General for Political and
Peacebuilding Affairs
 Mr. Adama Dieng (Senegal) Under-Secretary-General, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General
on the Prevention of Genocide
  Mr. Larbi Djacta (Algeria) Chairman of the International Civil Service Commission, ICSC

According to its Charter, the UN aims:

“To save succeeding generations from the scourge of war,…to reaffirm faith in fundamental human
rights,…to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties
and other sources of international law can be maintained, and to promote social progress and better
standards of life in larger freedom.”

In addition to maintaining peace and security, other important objectives include developing friendly
relations among countries based on respect for the principles of equal rights and self-determination of
peoples; achieving worldwide cooperation to solve international economic, social, cultural, and
humanitarian problems; respecting and promoting human rights; and serving as a centre where
countries can coordinate their actions and activities toward these various ends.

6. Organization of the Islamic Cooperation(OIC)

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is the second largest organization after the United Nations
with a membership of 57 states spread over four continents. The Organization is the collective voice of
the Muslim world. It endeavors to safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit
of promoting international peace and harmony among various people of the world.The Organization
was established upon a decision of the historical summit which took place in Rabat, Kingdom of
Morocco on 12th Rajab 1389 Hijra (25 September 1969) following the criminal arson of Al-Aqsa Mosque
in occupied Jerusalem.

In 1970 the first ever meeting of Islamic Conference of Foreign Minister (ICFM) was held in Jeddah which
decided to establish a permanent secretariat in Jeddah headed by the organization’s secretary general.
Dr. Yousef Ahmed Al-Othaimeen is the 11th Secretary General who assumed the office in November
2016.The first OIC Charter was adopted by the 3rd ICFM Session held in 1972. The Charter laid down the
objectives and principles of the organization and fundamental purposes to strengthen the solidarity and
cooperation among the Member States. Over the last 40 years, the membership has grown from its
founding members of 30 to 57 states. The Charter was amended to keep pace with the developments
that have unraveled across the world. The present Charter of the OIC was adopted by the Eleventh
Islamic Summit held in Dakar on 13-14 March 2008 to become the pillar of the OIC future Islamic action
in line with the requirements of the 21st century.The Organization has the singular honor to galvanize
the Ummah into a unified body and have actively represented the Muslims by espousing all causes close
to the hearts of over 1.5 billion Muslims of the world. The Organization has consultative and cooperative
relations with the UN and other inter-governmental organizations to protect the vital interests of the
Muslims and to work for the settlement of conflicts and disputes involving Member States. In
safeguarding the true values of Islam and the Muslims, the organization has taken various steps to
remove misperceptions and has strongly advocated elimination of discrimination against Muslims in all
forms and manifestations.The Member States of the OIC face many challenges in the 21st century and
to address those challenges, the Third Extraordinary Session of the Islamic Summit held in Makkah in
December 2005, laid down the blue print called the Ten-Year Program of Action. It successfully
concluded with the close of 2015. A successor programme for the next decade (2016-2025) has since
then been adopted.

The Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is Dr. Yousef A. Al-Othaimeen.
He received his office on, Tuesday, 29 November 2016

Subsidiary organisations

 The Islamic University of Technology was set up by the OIC in Bangladesh

 The Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries, in
Ankara, Turkey
 The Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA), located in Istanbul, Turkey
 The Islamic University of Technology, located in Dhaka, Bangladesh
 The Islamic Centre for the Development of Trade, located in Casablanca, Morocco
 The Islamic Fiqh Academy, located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
 The Islamsate Islamic Network, located at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
 The Executive Bureau of the Islamic Solidarity Fund and its Waqf, located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
 The Islamic University in Niger, located in Say, Niger.
 The Islamic University in Uganda, located in Mbale, Uganda.
 The Tabriz Islamic Arts University, located in Tabriz, Iran.

Specialised institutions

 The Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (ISESCO), located in Rabat,
Morocco.
 The Islamic States Broadcasting Organisation (ISBO) and the International Islamic News Agency
(IINA), located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Affiliated institutions

 Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI), located in Karachi, Pakistan.

 World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF), located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
 Organisation of Islamic Capitals and Cities (OICC), located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
 Sports Federation of Islamic Solidarity Games, located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
 Islamic Committee of the International Crescent (ICIC), located in Benghazi, Libya.
 Islamic Shipowners Association (ISA), located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
 World Federation of International Arab-Islamic Schools, located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
 International Association of Islamic Banks (IAIB), located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
 Islamic Conference Youth Forum for Dialogue and Cooperation (ICYF-DC), located in Istanbul,
Turkey.
  General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI), located in Manama,
Bahrain.
 Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries (SMIIC), located in Istanbul, Turkey.[81]

The new programme OIC-2025 is anchored in the provisions of the OIC Charter and focuses on 18
priority areas with 107 goals. The priority areas include issues of Peace and Security, Palestine and Al-
Quds, Poverty Alleviation, Counter-terrorism, Investment and Finance, Food Security, Science and
Technology, Climate Change and Sustainability, Moderation, Culture and Interfaith Harmony,
Empowerment of Women, Joint Islamic Humanitarian Action, Human Rights and Good Governance,
among others. Among the OIC’s key bodies: the Islamic Summit, the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM),
the General Secretariat, in addition to the Al-Quds Committee and three permanent committees
concerned with science and technology, economy and trade, and information and culture. There are
also specialized organs under the banner of the OIC including the Islamic Development Bank and the
Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, as well as subsidiary and affiliate organs that
play a vital role in boosting cooperation in various fields among the OIC member states.

7. African Union(AU)
The African Union (AU) is a continental body consisting of the 55 member states that make up the countries of the
African Continent. It was officially launched in 2002 as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU, 1963-
1999).

In May 1963, 32 Heads of independent African States met in Addis Ababa Ethiopia to sign the Charter creating
Africa’s first post-independence continental institution, The Organisation of African Unity (OAU). The 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 solemnised in the OAU Charter in which the founding fathers recognised that freedom, equality, justice and
dignity were essential objectives for the achievement of the legitimate aspirations of the African peoples and that
there was a need to promote understanding among Africa’s peoples and foster cooperation among African states
in response to the aspirations of Africans for brother-hood and solidarity, in a larger unity transcending ethnic and
national Differences. The guiding philosophy was that of Pan-Africanism which centred on African socialism and
promoted African unity, the communal characteristic and practices of African communities, and a drive to embrace
Africa’s culture and common heritage

The main objectives of the OAU were to rid the continent of the remaining vestiges of colonisation and apartheid;
to promote unity and solidarity amongst African States; to coordinate and intensify cooperation for development;
to safeguard the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Member States and to promote international cooperation.
The OAU Charter spelled out the purpose of the Organisation namely:

 To promote the unity and solidarity of the African States;

 To coordinate and intensify their cooperation and efforts to achieve a better life for the peoples of Africa;
 To defend their sovereignty, their territorial integrity and independence;
 To eradicate all forms of colonialism from Africa; and
 To promote international cooperation, having due regard to the Charter of the United Nations and the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Through the OAU Coordinating Committee for the Liberation of Africa, the Continent worked and spoke as one
with undivided determination in forging an international consensus in support of the liberation struggle and the
fight against apartheid. The OAU had provided an effective forum that enabled all Member States to adopt
coordinated positions on matters of common concern to the continent in international fora and defend the
interests of Africa effectively.On 9.9.1999, the Heads of State and Government of the Organisation of African Unity
(OAU) issued the Sirte Declaration calling for the establishment of an African Union, with a view, to accelerating
the process of integration in the continent to enable Africa to play its rightful role in the global economy while
addressing multifaceted social, economic and political problems compounded as they were by certain negative
aspects of globalisation.

8. Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, generally known simply as the Commonwealth is a political association of 54
member states, nearly all former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organization are the
Commonwealth Secretariat, which focuses on intergovernmental aspects, and the Commonwealth Foundation,
which focuses on non-governmental relations between member states.

Over time different countries of the British Empire gained different levels of freedom from Britain. Semi-
independent countries were called Dominions. Leaders of the Dominions attended conferences with Britain from
1887.The 1926 Imperial Conference was attended by the leaders of Australia, Canada, India, the Irish Free State,
Newfoundland, New Zealand and South Africa.At the 1926 conference Britain and the Dominions agreed that they
were all equal members of a community within the British Empire. They all owed allegiance to the British king or
queen, but the United Kingdom did not rule over them. This community was called the British Commonwealth of
Nations or just the Commonwealth. Since 1949 independent countries from Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and
the Pacific have joined the Commonwealth. Membership today is based on free and equal voluntary co-
operation.The last 2 countries to join the Commonwealth - Rwanda and Mozambique - have no historical ties to
the British Empire.The Commonwealth Secretariat was created in 1965 as a central intergovermental organisation
to manage the Commonwealth's work. The purpose of the voluntary Commonwealth is for international
cooperation and to advance economics, social development, and human rights in member countries. Decisions of
the various Commonwealth councils are non-binding.

the core values and principles of the Commonwealth as declared Commonwealth by Charter:

 Democracy
 Human rights
 International peace and security
 Tolerance, respect and understanding
 Freedom of Expression
 Separation of Powers
 Rule of Law
 Good Governance
 Sustainable Development
 Protecting the Environment
 Access to Health, Education, Food and Shelter
 Gender Equality
 Importance of Young People in the Commonwealth
  Recognition of the Needs of Small States
 Recognition of the Needs of Vulnerable States
 The Role of Civil Society

The Commonwealth of Nations supports the Commonwealth Games, which is a sporting event held every four
years for member countries.A Commonwealth Day is celebrated on the second Monday in March. Each year carries
a different theme but each country can celebrate the day as they choose.The population of the 54 member states
exceeds two billion, about 30% of the world population (India is responsible for a majority of the Commonwealth's
population).