1

GENERAL KNOWLEDGE
Contents
1.16 World organization
1.16.1 United Nations Organization (UNO)
1.16.2 The Commonwealth
1.16.3 The Non–Aligned Movement (NAM)
1.16.4 South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)
1.16.5 European Union (EU)
1.16.6 Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
1.16.7 North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)
1.16.8 G-7 (Now G-8)
1.16.9 Association of South-East Asian Nation (ASEAN)
1.16.10 World Trade Prganisation (WTO)
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1. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE (WORLD)

1.16 WORLD ORGANISATIONS
1.16.1. United Nations Organization (UNO)
Headquarters of UNO: New York City (USA)
The United Nations Organization (UNO) or simply United Nations (UN) is an international
organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international
security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and the achieving of world
peace. The UN was founded in 1945 after World War II to replace the League of Nations, to
stop wars between countries, and to provide a platform for dialogue. It contains multiple
subsidiary organizations to carry out its missions.
There are currently 192 member states, including nearly every sovereign state in the world.
The organization has six principal organs:
 The General Assembly (the main deliberative assembly).
 The Security Council (for deciding certain resolutions for peace and security).
 The Economic and Social Council (for assisting in promoting international economic and
social cooperation and development).
 The Secretariat (for providing studies, information, and facilities needed by the UN).
 The International Court of Justice (the primary judicial organ).
 The United Nations Trusteeship Council (which is currently inactive).
Other prominent UN System agencies include the World Health Organization (WHO), the World
Food Programme (WFP) and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). The Secretary-General
of UNO is, Ban Ki-moon of South Korea, who attained the post in 2007. The organization has
six official languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
The Security Council is made up of 15 member states, consisting of 5 permanent members –
China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States – and 10 non-permanent
members, currently Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Gabon, Japan, Lebanon, Mexico,
Nigeria, Turkey, and Uganda.
Secretaries-General of the United Nations
No. Name Country Took office Left office Note
of origin
1 Trygve Lie Norway 2February 10November Resigned
1946 1952
2 Dag Sweden 10April 18September Died while in
Hammarskjöld 1953 1961 office
3 U Thant Burma 30 1January1972 FirstSecretary-
November General from Asia
1961
4 Kurt Waldheim Austria 1January 1January 1982
1972
5 Javier Pérez de Peru 1January 1January 1992 First Secretary-
Cuéllar 1982 General from
South America
6 Boutros Egypt 1January 1January 1997 First Secretary-
Boutros-Ghali 1992 General from
Africa
7 Kofi Annan Ghana 1January 1January 2007
1997
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8 Ban Ki-moon South 1January Incumbent

Korea 2007
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice (ICJ), located in The Hague, Netherlands, is the primary
judicial organ of the United Nations. Established in 1945 by the United Nations Charter, the
Court began work in 1946 as the successor to the Permanent Court of International Justice.
Economic and Social Council
The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) assists the General Assembly in promoting
international economic and social cooperation and development. ECOSOC has 54 members, all
of which are elected by the General Assembly for a three-year term. The president is elected
for a one-year term and chosen amongst the small or middle powers represented on ECOSOC..

SPECIALIZED AGENCIES OF THE UNITED NATIONS

No. Acronyms Agency Headquarters Head Established

in
1 FAO Food and Agriculture Rome, Italy Jacques 1945
Organization Diouf
2 IAEA International Atomic Vienna, Austria Yukiya 1957
Energy Agency Amano
3 ICAO International Civil Montreal, Raymond 1947
Aviation Organization Canada Benjamin
4 IFAD International Fund for Rome, Italy Kanayo F. 1977
Agricultural Nwanze
Development
5 ILO International Labour Geneva, Juan 1946
Organization Switzerland Somavía
6 IMO International London, United Efthimios E. 1948
Maritime Organization Kingdom Mitropoulos
7 IMF International Washington, Dominique 1945
Monetary Fund D.C., USA Strauss-
Kahn
8 ITU International Genea, Hamadoun 1947
Telecommunication Switzerland Touré
Union
9 UNESCO United Nations Paris, France Irina 1946
Educational, Scientific Bokova
and Cultural
Organization
10 UNIDO United Nations Vienna, Austria Kandeh 1967
Industrial Yumkella
Development
Organization
11 UPU Universal Postal Berne, Edouard 1947
Union Switzerland Dayan
12 WB World Bank Washington, Robert B. 1945
D.C, USA Zoellick
13 WFP World Food Rome, Italy Josette 1963
Programme Sheeran
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14 WHO World Health Geneva, Margaret 1948

Organization Switzerland Chan
15 WIPO World Intellectual Geneva, Francis 1974
Property Organization Switzerland Gurry
16 WMO World Meteorological Geneva, Alexander 1950
Organization Switzerland Bedritsky
17 UNWTO World Tourism Madrid, Spain Taleb Rifai 1974
Organization
Group of 77
The Group of 77 at the UN is a loose coalition of developing nations, designed to promote its
members' collective economic interests and create an enhanced joint negotiating capacity in
the United Nations. There were 77 founding members of the organization, but the organization
has since expanded to 130 member countries. The group was founded on 15 June 1964 by the
"Joint Declaration of the Seventy-Seven Countries" issued at the United Nations Conference on
Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
1.16.2 The Commonwealth
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and previously
as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent
member states, all but two of which were formerly part of the British Empire.
The member states co-operate within a framework of common values and goals as outlined in
the Singapore Declaration. These include the promotion of democracy, human rights, good
governance, the rule of law, individual liberty, egalitarianism, free trade, multilateralism and
world peace.
The symbol of their free association is the Head of the Commonwealth, which is a ceremonial
position currently held by Queen Elizabeth II. Elizabeth II is also monarch, separately and
independently, of sixteen Commonwealth members, which are informally known as
"Commonwealth realms".
Origins
The Commonwealth is generally considered to be the successor to the British Empire. In 1884,
while visiting Australia, Lord Rosebery described the changing British Empire, as some of its
colonies became more independent, as a "Commonwealth of Nations". In the Balfour
Declaration at the 1926 Imperial Conference, Britain and its dominions agreed they were "equal
in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic or external
affairs, though united by common allegiance to the Crown, and freely associated as members of
the British Commonwealth of Nations". These aspects to the relationship were eventually
formalised by the Statute of Westminster in 1931 (Australia, New Zealand and Newfoundland
had to ratify the statute for it to come into effect; which Newfoundland never did and Australia
and New Zealand did in 1942 and 1947 respectively).
Member Countries
Anguilla ,Antigua and Barbuda ,Australia ,Australian Antarctic Territory ,Bahamas ,Bangladesh ,
Barbados ,Belize ,Bermuda ,Botswana ,British Antarctic Territory ,British Indian Ocean
Territory, British Virgin Islands ,Brunei ,Cameroon ,Canada ,Cayman Islands ,Channel Islands ,
Cook Islands ,Cyprus ,Dominica ,Falkland Islands ,Falkland Islands Dependencies ,Fiji ,Gambia ,
Ghana ,Gibraltar ,Grenada ,Guyana ,India ,Isle of Man ,Jamaica ,Kenya ,Kiribati ,Lesotho,
Malawi ,Malaysia ,Maldives ,Malta ,Mauritius ,Montserrat ,Mozambique ,Namibia ,Nauru ,New
Zealand ,Nigeria ,Niue ,Norfolk Island ,Pakistan ,Papua New Guinea ,Pitcairn Islands ,Ross
Dependency ,Seychelles ,Sierra Leone ,Singapore ,Solomon Islands ,South Africa ,Sri Lanka ,St
Christopher-Nevis ,St Helena ,St Lucia ,St Vincent and the Grenadines ,Swaziland ,Tanzania ,
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Tokelau ,Tonga ,Trinidad and Tobago ,Turks and Caicos Islands ,Tuvalu ,Uganda ,Vanuatu ,
Western Samoa ,Zambia ,Zimbabwe .

1.16.3 The Non – Aligned Movement (NAM)

Independent countries, who chose not to join any of the Cold War blocs, were also known as
non aligned nations.
The term "non-alignment" itself was coined by India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru
during his speech in 1954 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. In this speech, Nehru described the five
pillars to be used as a guide for Sino-Indian relations, which were first put forth by Chinese
Premier Zhou Enlai. Called Panchsheel (five restraints), these principles would later serve as
the basis of the Non-Aligned Movement.
The five principles were:
 Mutual respect for each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty
 Mutual non-aggression
 Mutual non-interference in domestic affairs
 Equality and mutual benefit
 Peaceful co-existence
A significant milestone in the development of the Non-aligned movement was the 1955
Bandung Conference, a conference of Asian and African states hosted by Indonesian president
Sukarno. The attending nations declared their desire not to become involved in the Cold War
and adopted a "declaration on promotion of world peace and cooperation", which included
Nehru's five principles. Six years after Bandung, an initiative of Yugoslav president Tito led to
the first official Non-Aligned Movement Summit, which was held in September 1961 in
Belgrade.
The founding fathers of the Non-aligned movement were: Nehru of India, Sukarno of Indonesia
and Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia, Gamal Abdul Nasser of Egypt and Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana.
Their actions were known as 'The Initiative of Five'.
They represent nearly two-thirds of the United Nations's members and comprise 55% of the
world population, particularly countries considered to be developing or part of the third world.
Twenty-nine countries were present representing over half the world's population.

Secretaries-General - Hosni Mubarak, Egypt (14 July 2009 to present)

NAM Conferences
1. Belgrade, September 1-6, 1961
2. Cairo, October 5-10, 1964
3. Lusaka, September 8-10, 1970
4. Algiers, September 5-9, 1973
5. Colombo, August 16-19, 1976
6. Havana, September 3-9, 1979
7. New Delhi (originally planned for Baghdad), March 7-12, 1983
8. Harare, September 1-6, 1986
9. Belgrade, September 4-7, 1989
10. Jakarta, September 1-6, 1992
11. Cartagena de Indias, October 18-20, 1995
12. Durban, September 2-3, 1998
13. Kuala Lumpur, February 20-25, 2003
14. Havana, September 15-16, 2006
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15. Sharm El Sheikh, July 11-16, 2009

16. Tehran, 2012
G-15
The G-15 is an informal group of nations composed by the 15 leading economies of the world in
2006: USA, China, India, Japan, Germany, UK, Brazil, France, Russia, Italy, Spain, South
Korea, Mexico, Canada and Indonesia. These countries together were expected to comprise
73.3% of the world Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) in 2008.
Chile was admitted into the Group in November 1992 at the tenth summit held at Dakar in
Senegal. G-15 was established in order to further the process of south-south co-operation and
consolation on matters of tangible and material interest to the economic performance of
developing countries.
1.16.4 South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)
Headquarters - Kathmandu, Nepal
Secretaries General - Sheel Kant Sharma, India (March 1, 2008 to present)
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is an economic and
political organization of eight countries in Southern Asia. In the late 1970s, Bangladeshi
President Ziaur Rahman proposed the creation of a trade bloc consisting of South Asian
countries. The idea of regional cooperation in South Asia was again mooted in May 1980. It was
established on December 8, 1985 by Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, India and
Sri Lanka. In April 2007, at the Association's 14th summit, Afghanistan became its eighth
member.
The objectives of the Association as defined in the Charter are:
 to promote the welfare of the people of South Asia and to improve their quality of life;
 to accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region and
to provide all individuals the opportunity to live in dignity and to realize their full potential;
 to promote and strengthen collective self-reliance among the countries of South Asia;
 to contribute to mutual trust, understanding and appreciation of one another's problems;
 to promote active collaboration and mutual assistance in the economic, social, cultural,
technical and scientific fields;
 to strengthen cooperation with other developing countries;
 to strengthen cooperation among themselves in international forums on matters of common
interest; and
 to cooperate with international and regional organisations with similar aims and purposes.
SAARC Preferential Trading Arrangement
The Agreement on SAARC Preferential Trading Arrangement (SAPTA) was signed on 11 April
1993 and entered into force on 7 December 1995, with the desire of the Member States of
SAARC (India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan and the Maldives) to promote
and sustain mutual trade and economic cooperation within the SAARC region through the
exchange of concessions.
The basic principles of SAPTA are:
1. overall reciprocity and mutuality of advantages so as to benefit equitably all Contracting
States, taking into account their respective level of economic and industrial development,
the pattern of their external trade, and trade and tariff policies and systems;
2. negotiation of tariff reform step by step, improved and extended in successive stages
through periodic reviews;
3. recognition of the special needs of the Least Developed Contracting States and agreement
on concrete preferential measures in their favour;
4. inclusion of all products, manufactures and commodities in their raw, semi-processed and
processed forms.
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South Asian Free Trade Area

The Agreement on the South Asian Free Trade Area is an agreement reached at the 12th
SAARC summit at Islamabad, capital of Pakistan on 6 January 2004. It creates a framework for
the creation of a free trade area covering 1.4 billion people in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka,
Bangladesh, Bhutan and the Maldives.The seven foreign ministers of the region signed a
framework agreement on SAFTA with zero customs duty on the trade of practically all products
in the region by end 2016. The new agreement i.e. SAFTA, came into being on 1 January 2006
and will be operational following the ratification of the agreement by the seven governments.
SAARC summits
1st Dhaka December 7-8 1985 9th Malé May 12-14 1997
2nd Bangalore November 16-17 1986 10th Colombo July 29-31 1998
3rd Kathmandu November 2-4 1987 11th Kathmandu January 4-6 2002
4th Islamabad December 29-31 1988 12th Islamabad January 2-6 2004
5th Malé November 21-23 1990 13th Dhaka November 12-13 2005
6th Colombo December 21, 1991 14th New Delhi April 3-4 2007
7th Dhaka April 10-11 1993 15th Colombo August 1-3 2008
8th New Delhi May 2-4 1995 16th Bhutan Scheduled to held in 2010

1.16.5 European Union (EU)

The European Union (EU) is an economic and political union of 27 member states, located
primarily in Europe. Committed to regional integration, the EU was established by the Treaty of
Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the European Communities.
The EU has developed a single market through a standardised system of laws which apply in all
member states, ensuring the free movement of people, goods, services, and capital. It
maintains common policies on trade, agriculture, fisheries and regional development. Sixteen
member states have adopted a common currency, the euro, constituting the Eurozone.
The European Union is composed of 27 sovereign Member States: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria,
Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary,
Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal,
Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

1.16.6 Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries(OPEC)

Headquarters - Vienna, Austria

Secretary General - Abdallah Salem el-Badri(since January 1, 2007)
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is a cartel of twelve
countries made up of Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi
Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. OPEC has maintained its headquarters in
Vienna since 1965, and hosts regular meetings among the oil ministers of its Member
Countries. Indonesia withdrew its membership in OPEC in 2008 after it became a net importer
of oil, but stated it would likely return if it became a net exporter in the world again.
According to its statutes, one of the principal goals is the determination of the best means for
safeguarding the cartel's interests, individually and collectively. It also pursues ways and
means of ensuring the stabilization of prices in international oil markets with a view to
eliminating harmful and unnecessary fluctuations; giving due regard at all times to the interests
of the producing nations and to the necessity of securing a steady income to the producing
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countries; an efficient and regular supply of petroleum to consuming nations, and a fair return
on their capital to those investing in the petroleum industry.
1.16.7 North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)

Headquarters - Brussels, Belgium

Secretary General - Anders Fogh Rasmussen

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), also called "the (North) Atlantic Alliance",
is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed
on 4 April 1949. The NATO headquarters are in Brussels, Belgium, and the organization
constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defence
in response to an attack by any external party.
The first NATO Secretary General, Lord Ismay, famously stated the organization's goal was "to
keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down". After the fall of the Berlin
Wall in 1989, the organization became drawn into the Balkans while building better links with
former potential enemies to the east, which culminated with several former Warsaw Pact states
joining the alliance in 1999 and 2004. On 1 April 2009, membership was enlarged to 28 with
the entrance of Albania and Croatia. Since the 11 September attacks, NATO has attempted to
refocus itself to new challenges and has deployed troops to Afghanistan as well as trainers to
Iraq.
NATO comprises 28 members: Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic,
Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania,
Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain,
Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

1.19.8 G-7 (Now G-8)

The Group of Eight (G8, and formerly the G6 or Group of Six and also the G7 or Group of
Seven) is a forum, created by France in 1975, for governments of six countries in the world:
France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 1976, Canada
joined the group (thus creating the G7). In becoming the G8, the group added Russia in 1997.
In addition, the European Union is represented within the G8, but cannot host or chair. "G8"
can refer to the member states or to the annual summit meeting of the G8 heads of
government.
Each calendar year, the responsibility of hosting the G8 rotates through the member states in
the following order: France, United States, United Kingdom, Russia, Germany, Japan, Italy, and
Canada. Lately, both France and the United Kingdom have expressed a desire to expand the
group to include five developing countries, referred to as the Outreach Five (O5) or the Plus
Five: Brazil, China, India, Mexico, and South Africa. These countries have participated as guests
in previous meetings, which are sometimes called G8+5.

1.16.9 Association Of South-East Asian Nation (ASEAN)

Headquarters - Jakarta, Indonesia
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN) is a geo-political and economic
organization of 10 countries located in Southeast Asia, which was formed on 8 August 1967 by
Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Since then, membership has
expanded to include Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. Its aims include
the acceleration of economic growth, social progress, cultural development among its
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members, the protection of the peace and stability of the region, and to provide opportunities
for member countries to discuss differences peacefully.
The foundation of the AEC is the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), a common external
preferential tariff scheme to promote the free flow of goods within ASEAN. The ASEAN Free
Trade Area (AFTA) is an agreement by the member nations of ASEAN concerning local
manufacturing in all ASEAN countries. The AFTA agreement was signed on 28 January 1992 in
Singapore. When the AFTA agreement was originally signed, ASEAN had six members, namely,
Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Vietnam joined in 1995,
Laos and Myanmar in 1997, and Cambodia in 1999.

1.16.10 World Trade Organisation (WTO)

Headquarters -Centre William Rappard, Geneva, Switzerland
Director-General -Pascal Lamy
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an international organization designed by its
founders to supervise and liberalize international trade. The organization officially commenced
on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which commenced in 1947.
The World Trade Organization deals with regulation of trade between participating countries; it
provides a framework for negotiating and formalising trade agreements, and a dispute
resolution process aimed at enforcing participants' adherence to WTO agreements which are
signed by representatives of member governments and ratified by their parliaments. Most of
the issues that the WTO focuses on derive from previous trade negotiations, especially from the
Uruguay Round (1986-1994).
The organization is currently endeavouring to persist with a trade negotiation called the Doha
Development Agenda (or Doha Round), which was launched in 2001 to enhance equitable
participation of poorer countries which represent a majority of the world's population. However,
the negotiation has been dogged by "disagreement between exporters of agricultural bulk
commodities and countries with large numbers of subsistence farmers on the precise terms of a
'special safeguard measure' to protect farmers from surges in imports. At this time, the future
of the Doha Round is uncertain.
The WTO has 153 members, representing more than 97% of total world trade and 30
observers, most seeking membership.