International+Institutions+and+Law

=**__International Institutions and Law__**=

This wiki corresponds with Chapter 5 of our text. Use it as a place to begin and then branch out to other sources. Your descriptions, sources, links and comments will make for another fascinating page.

United Nations: The General Assembly (GA)
Following the end of World War II (1939-1945), the United Nations was established to preserve and promote peace as well as human rights. The UN is composed of 3 principle organs: the General Assembly, the Security Council and the Secretary General. All member states of the UN are represented in the GA, each state having one vote. However states like the Vatican City and Kosovo only have an observer status; that is, they can participate in the discussions but cannot vote. It takes a two-thirds majority to make a decision regarding major matters, for instance international security and the admission of new members. On a side note, these major decisions are the only ones which need Security Council approval; on the other hand, the Security Council has no veto over ordinary resolutions, particularly because they are not binding. For example, in 1967, the GA called on Israel to respect the boundaries which exist before the 1967 war. Yet Israel promptly ignored this resolution and there was no and could be no consequences for doing so. Although the GA is not able to demand action by a member state, its resolutions do carry strong moral authority, particularly in cases where the vote has been almost unanimous.(1)

While the GA is a paramount forum for governments to meet and discuss issues (especially for those countries that are too poor to maintain an embassy in several different countries), the majority of the work is done in committees, at international conferences, and by the Secretary General and his staff.[5]

The General Assembly:


 * may discuss any issue, except when it is being discussed by the Security Council
 * makes recommendations to members on any issue if the Security Council fails to act
 * may refer issues to Committees (and most are)
 * has a president and 21 vice presidents
 * elects the 10 temporary members of the Security Council

Currently, 193 countries are represented. [2]. The general assembly provides a forum in which all countries can discuss international issues covered by the Charter. These meetings take place intensively from September and December, each year or as required throughout the year. The general debate for the 66th session that will take place on September 21-24 and September 26-30 is "The role of mediation in the settlement of disputes by peaceful means". The topics for such debate as decided by the proposal of the President of the General Assembly to the member states. After their approval of an issue of global concern, the member states discuss it in the general debate. [6]

As Palestine is currently applying for membership into the United Nations [3], it must have the approval of at least nine of the fifteen members on the Security Council. If it is passed (or 'recommended') or rejected, the report and ensuing discussions of the Security Council must be submitted through the General Assembly for discussion, as that assembly has the last say in whatever decision is made. [4] The Obama administration has pledged to veto any Palestinian statehood bid, arguing that the only way for Palestinians to achieve the benefits of statehood peacefully is through further negotiations with Israel.[7] Sources: > Retrieved on Monday September 26, 2011. > @http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/09/21/obama-un-abbas-netanyahu.html
 * 1) Gibson, Dwight and Murphy, Terry and Jarman, Frederick and Grant, Derek. __All About Law: Exploring the Canadian Legal System__, Fifth Addition. Nelson Thomson 2003. Pg. 26.
 * 2) The United Nations. "United Nations Member States." //The United Nations//. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2011. <[]>.
 * 3) CBC. "Canada, U.S. oppose Palestinian UN bid - World - CBC News." //CBC//. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2011. [].
 * 4) The United Nations. "Provisional Rules of Procedure, Chapter X." //The United Nations//. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2011. [].
 * 5) Casey, Brian. Ed. //The UN//. 2011 Summer Debate Camp Materials. Organizations Pg 3. Print.
 * 6) The United Nations. "General Assembly of the United Nations." //The United Nations//. http://www.un.org/en/ga/
 * 1) CBC. "Obama says no UN shortcut to Palestinian-Israeli peace." CBC. September 21, 2011 7:21 PM ET

United Nations: Secretary-General
The United Nations Secretary-General is the chief bureaucrat of the UN. The position was originally intended purely to oversee the administration of the UN, but increasingly Secretary-Generals have taken more active roles in mediating international conflicts and acting as spokesperson for the UN. [1]

The Security Council selects the Secretary General from those nominated by the General Assembly.[4] Once elected, each term lasts five years. When the term is up another election is held, the old Secretary General may be nominated and re-elected. There is no set number of terms that one person may hold the position, but to date no one has had it for more than two terms (10 years). (5)

Technically, the first Secretary General of The United Nations Was an Englishman named Gladwyn Jebb, he was appointed to the position at the formation of the United Nations on 24th October 1945. He held it until the 1st of February 1946, by which time the nations had managed to elect a Secretary General. (7)

The first ** elected ** Secretary General was Trygve Lie who took office on the 1st February 1946 to the 10th November 1952.

Read more: [|http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Who_was_the_first_elected_Secretary_General_of_the_United_Nations#ixzz1Z6uGdG7E] The current Secretary General is Ban Ki-moon. [2] He took office on 1 January 2007, replacing his predecessor Kofi Annan (1997-2006). [3]

Ban Ki-Moon was born in the Republic of Korea, and speaks Korean, English as well as French. After receiving a Bachelors degree in international relations he earned his master’s in public administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. After 37 years of serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Korea, he was elected as Secretary General for the UN. Not only did his extensive and impressive resume help him achieve this position, but his numerous relations with the UN previously that date back to 1975. He was Chairman of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization as well as Chef de Cabinet for the UN General Assembly during the Republic of Korea’s presidency in 2001-2002. Ki Moon’s accomplishments allowed him to be elected for this position in 2007, where he has been striving to resolved global concerns. We can see through this the amount of work and accomplishment one needs to attain before even considering a position in the United Nations. [6] On January 21st the UN General Assembly voted unanimously to give Ban Ki-Moon a second term as UN Secretary-General. This term will run from January first 2012 to December 31st 2016. [9] Ban Ki-Moon(8)

Sources: > http://www.un.org/sg/biography.shtml. Retrieved on Monday September 26th, 2011.
 * 1) Sens, Allen and Stoett, Peter. __Global Politics: Origins, Currents, Directions__, Second Edition. Nelson Thomson Learning. 2002. Pg 129.
 * 2) The United Nations. "Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon." //The United Nations//. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. .
 * 3) The United Nations. "Office of the Secretary-General ." //The United Nations//. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. .
 * 4) Casey, Brian. Ed. //The UN//. 2011 Summer Debate Camp Materials. Organizations Pg 4. Print.
 * 5) United Nations Secretary General. [] Retrieved Sunday September 25, 2011
 * 6) The United Nations. "Secretary- General Ban Ki-Moon."
 * 1) First Secretary general, http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Who_was_the_first_elected_Secretary_General_of_the_United_Nations, retrieved Monday September 26th.
 * 2) Google images. [|www.google.com/images]. Retrieved on Friday, September 30th, 2011.
 * 3) CBC. "Ban Ki-moon gets 2nd term as UN cheif." CBC. Jun 21, 2011 10:31 PM ET

UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is a group of nations from the Southern hemisphere that meet to work on common concerns. The group was founded in 1964. [1] UNCATAD has three main functions. I) A forum for intergovernmental deliberators. II) Undertaking research and data collection II Providing assistance by the specific requirements of developing countries. (2) One of UNCTAD's principle achievements is the Generalized System of Preferences. This program works to promote trade between member nations of the WTO and the UN. It works by requiring all nations to give the same trade benefits to every member rather than just its strongest trading partner. The United States government did authorize and implement this program but it expired in December 2010. The Secretary of State Hilary Clinton has urged the Senate to re-authorize this program as it helps to build and sustain strong international free trade. (3)

UNCTAD, has bodies of decision making within its organization. The highest decision making body in UNCTAD is the quadrennial conference where member states make assessments of current trade and development issues, discuss policy options and formulate global policy responses. Furthermore, the UNCTAD has a Secretariat that provides substantive and technical services to the international bodies of UNCTAD's member states. It consists of over 400 staff members, and a Secretary General by the name of Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi of Thailand. [4] On september 6th UNCTAD says the "global economic recovery is increasingly fragile in many developed countries as they shift from fiscal stimulus to retrenchment." which caused UNCTAD to ask for countries to maintain stimulation in the financial markets instead of creating confidence in the financial markets. [5]

Sources:
 * 1) Sens, Allen and Stoett, Peter. __Global Politics: Origins, Currents, Directions__, Second Edition. Nelson Thomson Learning. 2002. Pg 425.
 * 2) NGLS. __www.un-ngls.org/spip.php?page=article_s&id_article=806__ Retrieved on Wednesday September 21, 2011
 * 3) Office of the United States Trade Representative [] Retrived Sunday September 25th, 2011
 * 4) UNCTAD. http://www.unctad.org/Templates/Page.asp?intItemID=1931〈=1. Retrieved on Monday September 26th, 2011.
 * 5) TheGuardian. "UN trade body says spending cuts threaten economic recovery." TheGuardian. Tuesday 6 September 2011

Atlantic Charter
The Atlantic Charter was an agreement signed by the governments of the Allied powers (United States, Great Britain, Soviet Union, and China) in 1943 that expressed to their desire to create a general international organization. This laid the groundwork for the UN. [1] The Atlantic Charter contained eight important points. Which included that U.S and Great Britain agreed to seek not territorial gains and that territorial adjustments made by other countries would have to be made with the people living there. Freedom of the seas and work towards postwar disarmament. Another point of why they decided to create this is, because they were all convinced that that complete victory over their enemies is essential to defend life, liberty, independence and religious freedom, and to preserve human rights and justice in their own lands as well as in other lands, and that they are now engaged in a common struggle against savage and brutal forces seeking to subjugate the world.(5)

the Atlantic Charter was a major initial step towards the United Nations, establishing a vision of Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill for a post World War II world. At the time the Charter was signed, the United States was not even apart of the war. This is considered an interesting aspect of the Atlantic Charter.(3)

The united nations themselves declared that: 1. Each Government pledges itself to employ its full resources, military or economic, against those members of the Tripartite Pact: and its adherents with which such government is at war.

2. Each Government pledges itself to cooperate with the Governments signatory hereto and not to make a separate armistice or peace with the enemies.

The foregoing declaration may be adhered to by other nations which are, or which may be, rendering material assistance and contributions in the struggle for victory over Hitlerism. Done at Washington, January First, 1942 (6)

The 8 points of the Atlantic Charter are: 1.No territorial gains were to be sought by the United States or the United Kingdom. 2.Territorial adjustments must be in accord with the wishes of the peoples concerned. 3.All peoples had a right to self-determination. 4.Trade barriers were to be lowered. 5.There was to be global economic cooperation and advancement of social welfare. 6.Freedom from want and fear; 7.Freedom of the seas; 8.Disarmament of aggressor nations, postwar common disarmament. (4)

Sources: > Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) A UN-affiliated organization concerned with the development and management of international agriculture. It preceded the UN, being created in 1943. [1] Achieving food security for all is at the heart of FAO's efforts - to make sure people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives. FAO's mandate is to raise levels of nutrition, improve agricultural productivity, better the lives of rural populations and contribute to the growth of the world economy. (2) This year’s //FAO at work//looks at the huge boost to food production that would occur if women farmers were given the same access as men to productive resources such as land and credit – enough to feed 100-150 million people. The publication also reviews the evolution of the US$1.5 billion FAO field programme and highlights key events and achievements during the time period.(3) The Director-General of the FAO is Jacques Diouf. He was elected on november 8th 1993 and is currently serving his 3rd 6th year term as of 2006. He was born in Senegal.[5] On the 24th of September FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf Called for an "adequate and predictable" financial resources to fix the food crisis in the horn of africa. [4]
 * 1) Sens, Allen and Stoett, Peter. __Global Politics: Origins, Currents, Directions__, Second Edition. Nelson Thomson Learning. 2002. Pg 133.
 * 2) About.com. __americanhistory.about.com/od/worldwarii/a/atlantic_charte.htm__ Retrieved on Wedesnday September 21, 2011.
 * 3) About.com. []. Retrieved on Saturday, September 24th, 2011
 * 4) The 8 points of the Atlantic Charter, unknown author, http://www.massicricco.com/web/didattica/sri/Atlantic-Charter_UN-Declaration.pdf, Retrieved September 26th 2011
 * 5) Declaration by the United Nations, http://www.massicricco.com/web/didattica/sri/Atlantic-Charter_UN-Declaration.pdf, Retrieved September 26th 2011.
 * 6) UN's declarations, http://www.massicricco.com/web/didattica/sri/Atlantic-Charter_UN-Declaration.pdf, Retrieved September 26th 2011.

Sources:
 * 1) Sens, Allen and Stoett, Peter. __Global Politics: Origins, Currents, Directions__, Second Edition. Nelson Thomson Learning. 2002. Pg 133.
 * 2) [] Retrieved 21 September, 2011.
 * 3) [] Retrieved 21 September, 2011.
 * 4) @http://www.fao.org/about/director-gen/en/ Retrieved 26 september, 2011.

Yalta Conference
A famous conference between the leaders of the Allied powers in World War II, chiefly Prime Minister Winston Churchill of the United Kingdom, President Franklin Roosevelt of the United States, and Secretary-General Josef Stalin of the Soviet Union. This was mainly held in order to ensure that no further world wars would be held. It laid the groundwork for the post-war world. [1] This Conference (February 1945) made much progress towards filling several of the technical gaps from the earlier Dumbarton Oaks Conference.(2) At the Yalta conference the voting protocol of the Security Council was determined and a United Nations meeting was called, it was to be held on April 25 1945. (3) What ultimately became of these discussions was the United Nations.(2) Also, during the conference, the powers involved created various "spheres of influence" to ensure stability. In a move that would be later criticized as the "Western Betrayal", Stalin sought to gain more territory, and was permitted to annex or occupy several Eastern European countries. The three small Baltic countries Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia became part of the Soviet Union, and the Soviet Union also exerted power over Poland. The Soviet Union also agreed to join America's war against Japan at Roosevelt's request. (4) Taken at the Yalta Conference 1945. Right- Winston Churchill, Middle- Franklin Roosevelt, Left- Joseph Stalin (5) Sources:
 * 1) This photo immortalizes what appears to be the height of Soviet- American cooperation before the Cold War. However even during this conference both the Soviets and the Americans were already jockeying for position in a post-World War Two world. An example of this is the annexation of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia by the Soviet Union. The Yalta conference and the big three conferences the came after it are responsible for deciding who got what. After the war it was decided that the US, Britain, and the Soviet Union would each take on some role in assisting war torn Europe. This led to the emergence of the Eastern Bloc nations under Soviet Control. Perhaps the most notable of the divisions was Berlin as it was essentially split half and half between the USSR, Britain and the US. Berlin became the best example of Soviet-Western Division during the cold war with the USSR's construction of the Berlin Wall. (6)
 * 1) Sens, Allen and Stoett, Peter. __Global Politics: Origins, Currents, Directions__, Second Edition. Nelson Thomson Learning. 2002. Pg 133.
 * 2) Sens, Allen and Stoett, Peter. __Global Politics: Origins, Currents, Directions__, Second Edition. Nelson Thomson Learning. 2002. Pg 133.
 * 3) History of the United Nations, [], Retrieved September 23 2011
 * 4) The Yalta Conference, Feb. 1945. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1945YALTA.html Retrieved September 25, 2011.
 * 5) Perekop.net [] Retrived Sunday September 25th, 2011
 * 6) Perekop.net [] Retrived Sunday Septermber 25th, 2011

International Court of Justice (ICJ)
Also known as the World Court, the International Court of Justice, established in 1945, is the judicial division of the United Nations. The ICJ headquarters are in The Hague, the Netherlands, of the six principal organs of the United Nations, it is the only one not located in New York (United States of America),(2) and it only hears civil cases. Merely member states of the UN are permitted to bring cases before the ICJ. The decisions of the ICJ are based on international law. Only a small number of cases have been trialled since the creation of the ICJ, for numerous countries are not willing to submit themselves to its jurisdiction.(1) The Court’s role is to settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted to it by States and to give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by authorized United Nations organs and specialized agencies. The Court is composed of 15 judges, who are elected for terms of office of nine years by the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council. It is assisted by a Registry, its administrative organ. Its official languages are English and French.(3) Hisashi Owada of Japan is the current President of the ICJ. A very unique feature of the ICJ is that member states can nominate one judge of their own country that would have the state's perspective. This was mainly done in order to encourage member states to come forward and bring cases to the International Court of Justice.(6)

The International Court of Justice should not be confused with the International Criminal Court; although they both act under international law, they have very distinct purposes. The ICJ deals with disputes between states, while the ICC prosecutes individuals. Cases referred to the ICJ can only be by consent, and not by any sort of compulsory jurisdiction. This means that both states involved in the conflict must agree to submit to the ruling of the court's decision before their case is heard. Because of this, the disputes dealt by the ICJ are usually compromised as the mutual consent shows that both parties are willing to resolve the problem. Uncooperative states or instances of aggression cannot be adjudicated - these cases are usually sent to the Security Council whose job is to enforce action. However, this causes one of the biggest problems with the functioning of the ICJ in that if one of the five permanent members of the Security Council is an ally of the offending party or is the offending party itself, that country can choose to veto any further action from taking place. For example, in 1986 Nicaragua won a case against the United States who was found guilty of supplying financial and military support to Contra guerrillas in their war against the Nicaragua government. However, the US blocked any enforcement by the Security Council, making it impossible for Nicaragua to demand any compliance with the ICJ ruling. All in all, the ICJ is effective in solving disputes yet it contains some prominent flaws.(4)

The creation of the Court represented the culmination of a long development of methods for the pacific settlement of international disputes, the origins of which can be traced back to classical times. Article 33 of the United Nations Charter lists the following methods for the pacific settlement of disputes between States: negotiation, enquiry, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement, and resort to regional agencies or arrangements; good offices should also be added to this list. Among these methods, certain involve appealing to third parties. For example, mediation places the parties to a dispute in a position in which they can themselves resolve their dispute thanks to the intervention of a third party. Arbitration goes further, in the sense that the dispute is submitted to the decision or award of an impartial third party, so that a binding settlement can be achieved. The same is true of judicial settlement (the method applied by the International Court of Justice), except that a court is subject to stricter rules than an arbitral tribunal, particularly in procedural matters. Mediation and arbitration preceded judicial settlement in history. The former was known in ancient India and in the Islamic world, whilst numerous examples of the latter are to be found in ancient Greece, in China, among the Arabian tribes, in maritime customary law in medieval Europe and in Papal practice. (10)

The Hague Peace Conference: The Hague Peace Conference of 1899, convened at the initiative of the Russian Czar Nicholas II, marked the beginning of a third phase in the modern history of international arbitration. The chief object of the Conference, in which — a remarkable innovation for the time — the smaller States of Europe, some Asian States and Mexico also participated, was to discuss peace and disarmament. It ended by adopting a Convention on the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes, which dealt not only with arbitration but also with other methods of pacific settlement, such as good offices and mediation.

A few years later, in 1907, a second Hague Peace Conference, to which the States of Central and South America were also invited, revised the Convention and improved the rules governing arbitral proceedings. Some participants would have preferred the Conference not to confine itself to improving the machinery created in 1899. The United States Secretary of State, Elihu Root, had instructed the United States delegation to work towards the creation of a permanent tribunal composed of judges who were judicial officers and nothing else, who had no other occupation, and who would devote their entire time to the trial and decision of international cases by judicial methods. “These judges”, wrote Secretary Root, “should be so selected from the different countries that the different systems of law and procedure and the principal languages shall be fairly represented”. The United States, the United Kingdom and Germany submitted a joint proposal for a permanent court, but the Conference was unable to reach agreement upon it. It became apparent in the course of the discussions that one of the major difficulties was that of finding an acceptable way of choosing the judges, none of the proposals made having managed to command general support. The Conference confined itself to recommending that States should adopt a draft convention for the creation of a court of arbitral justice as soon as agreement was reached “respecting the selection of the judges and the constitution of the court”. Although this court was never in fact to see the light of day, the draft convention that was to have given birth to it enshrined certain fundamental ideas that some years later were to serve as a source of inspiration for the drafting of the Statute of the Permanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ). To read more about the conferance go to http://www.icj-cij.org/court/index.php?p1=1&p2=1 (11) (7)

Advisory Opinions
When asked by the General Assembly, states or agencies, The Court of Justice is able to provide advisory opinions, this is a nonbinding legal opinion.

An example of an advisory opinion is the case on the legality of the threat or use of nuclear weapons on July 8th, 1996. The ICJ used the below process:(8)(9)

The court first agreed unanimously that there was no current law that allowed the threat or use of nuclear weapons:

" There is in neither customary nor conventional international law any specific authorization of the threat or use of nuclear weapons;"

Another example of a recent and important advisory opinion issued by the ICJ is the 2008 opinion on the declaration of independence of Kosovo. The court concluded "the declaration of independence of the 17th of February 2008 did not violate general [|international law] because international law contains no 'prohibition on declarations of independence". (12) Sources
 * 1) Gibson, Dwight and Murphy, Terry and Jarman, Frederick and Grant, Derek. __All About Law: Exploring the Canadian Legal System__, Fifth Addition. Nelson Thomson 2003. Pg. 28.
 * 2) [] Retrieved 21 September, 2011.
 * 3) [] Retrieved 21 September, 2011.
 * 4) Casey, Brian. Ed. //The UN and International Courts//. 2011 Summer Debate Camp Materials. Issues Pg 40. Print.
 * 5) Sens, Allen and Stoett, Peter. __Global Politics: Origins, Currents, Directions__, Second Edition. Nelson Thomson Learning. 2002. Pg 133.
 * 6) [] Retrieved on September 24, 2011
 * 7) Google images. [|www.google.com/images]. Retrieved on Saturday, September 24th, 2011.
 * 8) []
 * 9) []
 * 10) History of the international court of justice, http://www.icj-cij.org/court/index.php?p1=1&p2=1, retrieved September 26th 2011
 * 11) Modern international court of justice http://www.icj-cij.org/court/index.php?p1=1&p2=1, retrieved September 26th 2011
 * 12) Tanner, Adam; Stevenson, Reed. [|"Kosovo independence declaration deemed legal"]. //[|Reuters]// . [] . Retrieved Septmeber 27, 2011.

International Civil Aviation Organization
A specialized agency of the UN, organized in 1947; formed to expand international air trade and promote safety. Headquarters are in Montreal.(1) One of it's functions is managing a database (ADREP), where safety information is kept during an aviation investigation and that new information gained is considered vital to accident prevention is shared worldwide.(2) The International Civil Aviation Organization sets standards and regulations in order or promote aviation environmental protection, safety, security, efficiency, and regularity.(3) Currently, the ICAO has 190 member states.(4)

Governance:

The ICAO consists of various governing bodies. One of which includes the Council, a permanent body of the organization responsible of the Assembly for three year terms. One of their major duties is to adopt international standards and recommended practices. The Council elects a president for a 3-year term, in which they can be reelected. Roberto Kobeh Gonzalez has been elected, and reelected since August 2006 as President of Council. [5]

Link to International Civil Aviation Organization live stream: []

Sources:
 * 1) Sens, Allen and Stoett, Peter. __Global Politics: Origins, Currents, Directions__, Second Edition. Nelson Thomson Learning. 2002. Pg 420.
 * 2) Department of Infastructure and Transport. []Retrieved on Friday September 23, 2011.
 * 3) livestream.ca. []. Retrieved on Saturday September 24th, 2011.
 * 4) ICAO. http://www2.icao.int/en/Home/Pages/Membership.aspx . Retrieved on Sunday September 25, 2011.
 * 5) ICAO. http://www2.icao.int/en/Home/Pages/Governance.aspx. Retrieved on Monday September 26th, 2011.

Arab League
An organization of Arab nations formed in Cairo in 1945 to collaborate on common interests, strengthen ties among the member states, coordinate their policies, and preserve their independence.[1](4) A voluntary association of 22 Arab states(2), founded by Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Jordan, and Yemen.(4) The Arab League has been instrumental in solving a lot of tensions in the Arab region. Also, Palestine has a tremendous amount of support from the Arab League.(3) It has been recently reported that several ministers of the Arab League desire the suspension of membership of Syria and Yemen in the wake of violent crackdowns on protesters by both regimes. (5) The Arab league has collaborated to make a school curriculum that features their culture and history, and to conclude and draft landmark documents. It has also worked hard to create economic integration and to do this it created the Joint Arab Economic Action Charter which set the values and principals for economic activity within the league.(6)

Conflict: After WW1 The decline of British and French colonial empires and the emergence of a bipolar Cold War altered the architecture of power in the region. Inter-Arab antagonisms, the strategic implications of Mideast oil, and a U.S. policy of Soviet containment provided ample seeds of conflict for the newly formed League. Nasser's assent to power in 1952, the first military coup in the Arab world, was seen as a victory against Western imperialism and an inspiration to other Arab states. Still, the pan-Arabism project suffered several setbacks under his reign. The brief political union of Egypt and Syria, known as the United Arab Republic, fell apart after only three years (1958-1961). The outbreak of civil war in Yemen in 1962 deteriorated into a disastrous eight-year proxy battle between Egyptian and Saudi-backed forces. Even Palestine proved to be a source of contention as Arab League members vied to assert control over the PLO, founded in 1964. Writing in //Foreign Affairs//, Michael Scott Doran says, "Arab politics were more chaotic than at any point in modern history. Nassers revolution promised unity--but delivered fragmentation and discord." In 1956 Washington provided economic and military assistance, primarily to Israel, to counter the similar flows of Soviet assistance to Egypt, Iraq, and Syria. This arms race culminated in the Six-Day War (1967), a defeat for Arab armies that included the Israeli occupation of the remnants of Arab Palestine.(7)

On March 12th the Arab League asked the UN Security council to impose a "No Fly" zone over Libya to protect citizens from air attach from Moammar Gadhafi's government.[9]

Reform: The Arab League continues to struggle with disunity and dysfunction, and critics question whether the organization has any relevance in its current form. Though it achieved notable consensus over the Saudi-sponsored __ [|Arab Peace Initiative] __ in 2002, the League failed to coordinate its policy over both the 1990-1991 Gulf War and the __ [|2003 Iraq War] __. Interviews conducted by al-Jazeera in 2009 illustrate __ the Arab public's frustration __ with the organization**.** "If we are to measure competence in terms of results and achievements," said a twenty-four-year old Syrian, "then the Arab League is not competent simply because they have not achieved anything." Even the League's newly appointed __ secretary-general (AP) __, Nabil al-Araby, joined the chorus of criticism in September 2011, describing the organization as "impotent." The Arab revolts throughout the Middle East and North Africa in 2011 offer the League a new opportunity to pursue much-needed reform. Some critics see the appointment al-Araby as a step toward this end. Brookings' Hamid says, "Here is someone who is more in tune with Arab public opinion, who is respected among Arab activists, protestors, and members of the opposition. He's not someone who is a stooge of the regime by any stretch of the imagination. All of this suggests that the Arab League is changing." (8)

(4)

Sources: The Asian Development League is a regional development bank formed in 1966 to facilitate the advancement of East Asian countries.(1) Headquarters established in 1966 in Manila, Philippines. (2) It's current president is Haruhiko Kuroda. One of it's main goal is to help it's member countries develop it's economy that will be better built for interacting with other countries, not only that but they also approved more than $17.5 billion dollars of financing for it's member countries to build new projects to help it's citizens.(3) One example of how the ADB helping a member nation is the, almost, 21 billion dollar loan it gave Pakistan to help it avert and economic crisis. The bank will, not unlike the IMF, often dole out loans in order to help member nations with domestic finance. In the example of Pakistan, as a result of ADB funded programs the country has built 80,000 schools and trained more than 145,000 teachers. These improvements affected the lives of almost 4 million school children.(4)(5) Sources:
 * 1) //[|The Avalon Project]//. [|"Pact of the League of Arab States, 22 March 1945"]. [|Yale Law School]. 1998 . [] . Retrieved 21 September, 2011.
 * 2) Sens, Allen and Stoett, Peter. __Global Politics: Origins, Currents, Directions__, Second Edition. Nelson Thomson Learning. 2002. Pg 415.
 * 3) "Avalon Project - The Middle East 1916-2001 : A Documentary Record." //Avalon Project - Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy//. Yale University. Web. 22 Sept. 2011. []
 * 4) []. Retrieved on Saturday, September 24th, 2011.
 * 5) Reuters Africa. http://af.reuters.com/article/egyptNews/idAFL5E7KK0RX20110920?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0. Retrieved on Saturday September 25, 2011.
 * 6) The Arab League [] Retrieved on Sunday September 25, 2011
 * 7) Arab leagues seed of conflict, http://www.cfr.org/middle-east/arab-league/p25967, retrieved September 26th 2011
 * 8) A chance to reform, http://www.cfr.org/middle-east/arab-league/p25967, Retrieved September 26th 2011
 * 9) CBC. "Arab League backs no-fly zone over Lybia." CBC. Mar 12, 2011 @http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/03/12/libya-arab-league-legitimacy-239.html
 * 10) Asian Development League
 * 1) [[||Ming, Wan]] (Winter, 1995-1996). "Japan and the Asian Development Bank". //Pacific Affairs// (University of British Columbia) **68** (4): 509–528. [|doi]:[|10.2307/2761274]. [|JSTOR] [|2761274].
 * 2) Sens, Allen and Stoett, Peter. __Global Politics: Origins, Currents, Directions__, Second Edition. Nelson Thomson Learning. 2002. Pg 414.
 * 3) Asian Development Bank [] Retrieved on Friday September 23, 2011.
 * 4) Asian Development Fund [] Retrived Sunday September 25th, 2011
 * 5) Asian Development Bank and Pakistan. Fact Sheet [] Retrived September 25th, 2011

International Telecommunications Union
International Telecommunications Union was founded in Paris in 1865. It was not until 1934 that it adopted its current name(3). It is as an amalgamation of the International Telegraph Union (1865) and the International Radiotelegraph Union (1906).(1) In 1947, ITU became a specialized agency of the United Nations and presently has 192 members along with approximately 700 private-sector entities. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland, with twelve regional and area offices around the world.(3) The main job of International Telecommunications Union is to define and adopt international technical standards which can interconnect electronic equipment around the world, it also regulate the radio frequency spectrum which ensures all international wireless communications to be interference-free. (2) There are three ITU sectors. There is the ITU Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R) which is there to ensure the efficient, equitable, rational, and economical use of the entire radio-frequency spectrum. The Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) is another one of the three sectors. It's there to is there to standardize infocommunications, ranging from core network functionality to next-generation services. Lastly, there sit the Telecommunication Developement Sector (ITU-D). In order to stimulate broader social and economic development, the ITU-D was established to help spread sustainable, equitable, and affordable access to telecommunications.(4)

There vision is Among technological developments, national and international policies, and the many diverse interests of commercial businesses, there needs to be an organization that safeguards everyone’s fundamental right to communicate. It is in their tasks to ensure that people around the world can communicate with each other in an efficient, safe, easy and affordable manner. It is our responsibility to be proactive about what the world might need in the future, not just what it needs right now. We will do our utmost to get everyone to work together – government and industry alike – to come up with solutions that work: for sharing knowledge, developing tools, and building and safeguarding networks. (5) Sources:
 * 1) Sens, Allen and Stoett, Peter. __Global Politics: Origins, Currents, Directions__, Second Edition. Nelson Thomson Learning. 2002. Pg 420.
 * 2) IHS []Retrieved on Friday September 23, 2011.
 * 3) ITU. []. Retrieved on Saturday, September 24th, 2011.
 * 4) ITU. http://www.itu.int/en/pages/default.aspx . Retrieved on Sunday September 25, 2011.
 * 5) ITU: committed to connecting people together, http://www.itu.int/net/about/vision.aspx, Retrieved on September 26th 2011.

Universal Postal Union
Established in 1874 with headquarters in Bern, Switzerland; became a specialized agency of the UN in 1947. (1) The Universal Postal Union establishes international regulations for postal services, as well as provides technical assistance, promoting cooperation regarding postal matters.(2) The Universal Postal Union provides information about international postal items and also includes prohibited items by country.(3) The UPU has 191 member countries.(4) The UPU is the second oldest World-wide International Organization. The UPU consists of four bodies and two cooperatives. The four bodies are the Congress, the Council of Administration (CA), the Postal Operations Council (POC), and the International Bureau (IB). The two cooperatives are Telematics Cooperative and EMS Cooperative.(4) The Congress is the ruling authority within the UPU, it's main job it legislative and it mostly focuses on strategic issues. It also has the important job of setting the ceiling of the annual budget. The congress consists of all members and meets every four years. The Council of Administration ensures that work carries on between congresses. It is in charge of supervising the work being done and studying legislative, administrative, legal, and regulatory issues. The CA consists of 41 members and meets once a year. The POC deals with the technical and operational aspects of UPU. It deals with economics, operations, and the commercial aspects of post. It also advises and helps to modernize the postal systems within the countries that belong to the UPU. It consists of 40 members and meets once annually. The International Bureau is the headquarters of the UPU. It has over 250 staff from many countries around the world. It fulfills most of the practical functions the the UPU such as providing consultation, information, and technical cooperation.(5)

One of the Universal Postal Union priorities is promoting the postal sector worldwide. One of the ways it accomplishes this by organizing the World Postal Business Forum. It also organizes World Post Day.(6)

UPU logo:

Sources:
 * 1) Sens, Allen and Stoett, Peter. __Global Politics: Origins, Currents, Directions__, Second Edition. Nelson Thomson Learning. 2002. Pg 425.
 * 2) crwflags. []. Retrieved on Thursday, September 22nd, 2011.
 * 3) Universal Postal Union [] Retrieved on Friday September 23, 2011.
 * 4) Universal Postal Union http://www.upu.int/en/the-upu/the-upu.html Retrieved on Sunday September 25, 2011.
 * 5) Universal Postal Union [] Retrieved Sunday September 25 2011
 * 6) Universal Postal Union.[]. Retrieved on Sunday September 25th, 2011.

International Office of Weights and Measures
Intergovernmental organization established in 1875 to standardize weights and measures, affiliated with the UN since 1949.(1) This is also known as the BIPM, Bureau International des Poids et Measures. The International Office of Weights and Measures also play an role in maintaining accurate worldwide time of day.(2)

Their task is, according to their website, is to: "ensure world-wide uniformity of measurements and their traceability to the International System of Units (SI)." It also carries out calibrations for states that are members, and uses the Convention of the Metre treaty, explained below. [2]

The BIPM was created through the Convention of the Metre treaty. The Convention was signed in Paris in 1875 by representatives from 17 countries. In 1921, the Convention was slightly modified and 38 countries were added.(3)

Sources:
 * 1) Sens, Allen and Stoett, Peter. __Global Politics: Origins, Currents, Directions__, Second Edition. Nelson Thomson Learning. 2002. Pg 420.
 * 2) BIPM. "Home Page." //BIPM: Bureau International des Poids et Mesures//. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Oct. 2011. .
 * 3) BIPM. http://www.bipm.org/en/convention/ Retrieved on Sunday September 25, 2011.

The League of Nations
The League of Nations was an organization the existed between the First and Second World War. This organization was set up in the hope that it would help prevent another World War (a task in which it failed colossally). While each member nation agreed to respect the political sovereignty of each other, the main idea behind the League of Nations was it was a collective security agreement which made an attack on any member state an attack on all member states. (1) After its failure in preventing World War II, the League of Nations' influence weakened until is was finally officially disbanded in 1946.(5)

President Woodrow Wilson was instrumental in laying the fundamental structure of the League of Nations. However, since he failed to convince the legislature of the United States, it was not a member of the League of Nations. This led to a big failure because the US at that time had gained a lot of power and it was important to include the US in all future negotiations in order to prevent war.

One of its successes was that, by December 20 1920, 48 countries had officially signed on. However, a distinct problem of the League of Nations did not have a 'force', or the power to place economic sanctions, nor military power, in which to stop other nations from challenging the status quo. [2]

While its goal, as stated before, was to prevent another World War, it failed and did not serve much purpose during the Second World War. After Germany and Japan left the League of Nations, the policies of the Axis Powers effectively prevented the League of Nations from accomplishing anything(6). (3) The carton above is a satirical explanation of one of the Leagues main weaknesses. One of the main mechanisms for preventing war was the imposition for economic sanctions on aggressing nations; however because of the absence of the United States from the league, their ability to actually prevent conflicts was greatly diminished. It was not only the absence of the United States that cause the league to fail. Many of the states that were actually in the union were also reluctant to pull through on economic sanctions. Some examples of these failures would be when the Soviet Union invaded Finland, when Italy invaded Ethiopia and when the league was unable to place an arms embargo on Japan during the Sino-Japanese war.(4)

Other significant problems with the league had to do with it's structure. To enact a resolution, all 9 (later 15) members of the Council had to be in unanimous agreement. This, in effect, gave every country a veto power, allowing any country, such as Nazi Germany, to completely get around the opinions of other members. (7) Furthermore, the League relied upon the cooperation of it's members to go along with a resolution if passed, as it lacked any power of it's own. (8) For instance, during the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939, the League created an embargo and a non-intervention committee. Germany and Italy, despite providing direct military aid to the Nationalists, were on this committee. (9) Sources:


 * 1) Sens, Allen and Stoett, Peter. __Global Politics: Origins, Currents, Directions__, Second Edition. Nelson Thomson Learning. 2002. Pg 415(glossary of terms)
 * 2) Townshend, Charles. "The League of Nations and the United Nations." //BBC//. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. [].
 * 3) File: Gap in the Bridge. Gif [] retrieved Sunday September 25th 2011
 * 4) Sens, Allen and Stoett, Peter. __Global Politics: Origins, Currents, Directions__, Second Edition. Nelson Thomson Learning. 2002. Pg 132-133
 * 5) Sens, Allen and Stoett, Peter. __Global Politics: Origins, Currents, Directions__, Second Edition. Nelson Thomson Learning. 2002. Pg 132-133.
 * 6) Sens, Allen and Stoett, Peter. __Global Politics: Origins, Currents, Directions__, Second Edition. Nelson Thomson Learning. 2002. Pg 132-133.
 * 7) Birn, Donald S. //The League of Nations Union//. Clarendon Press. 1981.Pg. 226–227.
 * 8) McDonough, Frank. //The Origins of the First and Second World Wars//. Cambridge University Press. 1997. Pg.54-55.
 * 9) Northedge, F.S. //The League of Nations: Its Life and Times, 1920–1946//. Holmes & Meier. 1986. Pg. 264-265.

Balfour Declaration
A declaration signed during the Imperial Conference of 1926 by former British Prime Minister Arthur Balfour outlining the creation of a Commonwealth of Nations between Britain and it's former colonies.(1) The commonwealth was created with the goal of uniting past colonies of Britain in loyalty and cooperation without the exertion of British dominance. (2) The Commonwealth, however, was not officially created until the Statute of Westminster of 1931. (4)

This should not be confused with an identically named declaration made on November 2, 1917. The biggest impact of this declaration was that Britain, a major powerhouse to recognize the Jewish Zionist as a political force. (3)

It is said that the Balfour Declaration was issued so that the British could influence the Jews to side with the Allies during WWI, and the resulting settlement of "pro-British Jews" in Palestine would defend access to the Suez Canal leading to Egypt, resulting in access to India, Britain's then colonial possession. [5]

Sources:
 * 1) Sens, Allen and Stoett, Peter. __Global Politics: Origins, Currents, Directions__, Second Edition. Nelson Thomson Learning. 2002. Pg 141.
 * 2) Commonwealth Secretariat. http://www.thecommonwealth.org/ Retrieved on Saturday September 24, 2011
 * 3) Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. [] Retrieved on Wednesday September 21, 2011
 * 4) Sens, Allen and Stoett, Peter. __Global Politics: Origins, Currents, Directions__, Second Edition. Nelson Thomson Learning. 2002. Pg 141.
 * 5) Britannica Online Encyclopedia. "Balfour Declaration."//Britannica Online Encyclopedia//. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Oct. 2011. .

Collective Security
Collective security is a multilateral agreement between nations where it is acknowledged by all parties that an attack on anyone member is an attack on the whole of the group. It is this idea that is central to the security ideas behind the United Nations. With this system it becomes much more difficult for any state to attack another without incurring the intervention of a much more substantial force (1). This differs from collective defense in that collective defense ensures protection from attacks from countries outside the group whereas with collective security, protection is guaranteed for countries that are attacked by any other country, regardless of whether or not they are in the same group.(3)

An example of collective defense, but not collective security, is NATO, which contains 28 member states, if one member of NATO gets attacked, it would be considered an attack on all the members of NATO.

Another example of collective defense, but not collective security, are the alliances formed before World War I. As a result, as Germany attacked Belgium, England joined the war. Eventually, because of treaties of collective security, all of Europe was at war.

The United Nations provides collective security to its members by attempting to maintain peace and by authorizing reprisals on countries that violate that piece.(4) Sources:
 * 1) Sens, Allen and Stoett, Peter. __Global Politics: Origins, Currents, Directions__, Second Edition. Nelson Thomson Learning. 2002. Pg 131- 132, Pg 431(glossary)
 * 2) NATO. [] Retrieved on Friday September 23, 2011.
 * 3) University of Colorado.[]. Retrieved on Sunday September 25th, 2011.
 * 4) University of Colorado.[]. Retrieved on Sunday September 25th, 2011.

Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)
Non-Government Organizations, or NGOs, are non-profit organizations unaffiliated with any nation-state, that pursue certain international goals, whether directly or indirectly through activism. [1] The exact number of NGOs is not known, but estimates range from tens of thousands to more than one hundred thousand. The growth in number and influence of NGOs in the last ten years is astounding. As the quotation from UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan suggests, NGOs increasingly work as advisors to national governments, international agencies and the UN. In the past, NGOs often convened separate and autonomous meetings alongside UN conferences to critique UN agendas, mobilize local organizations and to advocate for political, social and economic changes.(2)

Examples of widely known NGOs are: Amnesty International (website [|here]), Free the Children (website [|here]), Doctors Without Borders (website [|here]) and Greenpeace (website [|here]), amongst hundreds and thousands more. A worldwide directory of NGOs can be found [|here]

There is some criticism about how NGO's spend the money they are given through government aid or donations, seeing as it is estimated that 15 percent of all monetary aid for emergency situations is given through NGO's. There are reports of improper use of funds that come from critics and other reports saying that the people at the top of these organizations get paid enormous salaries. There is also criticism that NGO's, even though they may have good intentions, can hurt the development of countries. An example of this is when food is handed out to countries in non-emergency situation. This undermines the effort by the country to become more independent because this food competed against the food that is already produced by local farmers (3).

Sources: > Retrieved 21 September, 2011.
 * 1) Sens, Allen and Stoett, Peter. __Global Politics: Origins, Currents, Directions__, Second Edition. Nelson Thomson Learning. 2002. Pg 142-143.
 * 2) [].
 * 1) Global Issues.[]. Retrieved Sunday September 25th, 2011.

Arctic Council
‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍The Arctic council is an international council consisting of all states that boarder the arctic. The members include; Canada, Finland, Denmark, The United States, Norway, The Russian Federation, Iceland and Sweden. There are three other permanent groups involved with the council they are; Inuit Circumpolar Conference, The Saami Council made up of Russian Finland and Scandinavia, and the Association of Indigenous Minorities of the North. This council works to promote intergovernmental cooperation when it comes to affairs concerning the Arctic as well as the well being and interests of those people living in the Arctic region i.e. The Inuit peoples. (1) ‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍

The Arctic council was formally established by the Ottawa Declaration in 1996. Specific issues that may be addressed by the council include sustainable development and environmental protection in the Arctic. The Chairmanship of the council rotates every two years, currently belonging to Sweden until 2013. Ministerial Meetings of the Arctic Council are conducted twice a year, held in the country that possesses the chairmanship. In the Arctic Council, observer status is open to non-arctic states, global and regional inter-governmental and inter-parliamentary organizations, as well as non-governmental organizations.(2)

Since the creation of the Arctic Council, many issues that countries with land within the arctic circle face have been addressed. An example of this is the Arctic Council's effort to create a Pan-Arctic Monitoring Plan for Polar Bears (3). The Arctic Council also deals with the effects of Global Warming on the arctic and works to develop strategies in order to deal with the effects climate change has on the arctic (4)

Some important upcoming events for the Arctic Council are : Arctic change assessment workshop (september 28th-30th), Canada is hosting the first Arctic Search and Rescue on October 5th, Energies of the High North meeting which will bring up the topics of Arctic Geology, Hydrocarbon Reservoirs & Gas Hydrates, technological developments, environmental problems and renewable and alternative energy sources. [5]

Arctic Council Logo

Sources:
 * 1) Sens, Allen and Stoett, Peter. __Global Politics: Origins, Currents, Directions__, Second Edition. Nelson Thomson Learning. 2002. Pg 143-144
 * 2) []. Retrieved on Saturday, September 24th, 2011.
 * 3) Arctic Council. []. Retrieved on Sunday, September 25th, 2011.
 * 4) Arctic Council.[]. Retrieved on Sunday, September 25th, 2011.
 * 5) Arctic council. Homepage. []. Retrieved on the 26th of September.

International Law
International Law is a set of laws that bind the relationship and interactions between countries and which they must abide by. (1) An International Law goes into effect when treaties are signed by two nations, such as, the Kyoto Protocol. In some cases, the international law's structure must also be reflected in a country's internal laws. These laws are generally looked over by the International Court of Justice or the European Court of Human Rights, for Europe. International Law consists of three types of law: customary law, treaty law, and resolutions. Customary law is not written down in formal codes but based on the idea that states have certain rights and obligations. To make a new customary law, actors must bring to the international community case studies in the past and if historically the state's actions have been successful, then the proposal would most likely be recognized. Practices are established, followed consistently, and are assumed to be obligatory. The basic principles of customary law are: Sovereignty, Recognition, Consent, Good Faith, Freedom of the Seas, International Responsibility, Self-Defence, and Humanitarianism. Treaty law involves international treaties which are binding agreements between states, outlining their rights and obligations to each other. Charters, conventions, and protocols are particular classes of international treaties. Major matters international treaties may address include: Territory, Diplomatic Law and Immunity, The Protection of Nationals Abroad, Extradition and Asylum, International Trade, and Arms Control. Resolutions are considered "soft law" in international law, as they do not possess the force customary law or treaties possess. Although resolutions are not regarded as binding on countries, they are useful in focusing international attention on issues or situations that demand quick action, as well as may form a potential basis for negotiations on treaties.(2) Resolutions can also be considered the grey area or the general principles that "fill the gap". For example, a states enters into an agreement because the other state lied to get them to accede. There is no customary law banning lies. Because most domestic laws would call contracts signed on the basis of fraud would be void and that is most likely how this case will be solved. Resolutions are different from customary law because it needs no historical precedent and unlike treaty law in that it is not written down. It is decided on the basis that it makes the most sense.(3)

There are two main interpretations of international law, the traditional way and the evolving way. The traditional view is that international law is a set of rules and principles that govern the relationships between states and only states. This stress on "only states" means that states are required to meet criteria in order to take part. The requirements of being a state in a traditionalist point of view are: a permanent population, defined territory, government, and the capability to partake in agreements with other states. This type of view is built on two principles, sovereignty and neutrality. Sovereignty gives a state's own rights of force, boundaries, and rights to government, etc. It is important to recognize that sovereignty only exists if it is true for everyone. Because of this, the other principle of neutrality is crucial, which says that all states are equal and independent.

However, there are are a few issues with the traditionalist view of international law. Primarily because it does not reflect today's world and politics. Without a doubt, neutrality doesn't exist in the purest sense in the diplomat stage. There are obviously major powers, who exercise a great deal more influence, and then there are states which people don't even know the name of. As well, states are not truly independent either. Many states have become "puppet nations" or basically tools and shadows of other more powerful states. Even the make-up of the United Nations gives disproportional power to the countries in the Security Council, intrinsically showing that not all states are equal, and that some may have and will have more influence than others. Additionally, the traditional style protects rogue states like totalitarian states and brutal nations. Because of sovereignty and neutrality, no one is technically allowed to infringe on another state by questioning the state's actions - as long as its within its own borders. As the world globalizes more and more, it is getting easier and easier to exacerbate local issues, and harder and harder to limit worldly influential actors as only states. In current day, due to globalization, many non-state international players are emerging - such as transnational corporations, non-government organizations, and nations within states - that make designating international law for "only states" obsolete because these parties are powerful and have the capability to engage in international agreements. The traditional view of international law fails to recognize this possibility and also does not address the other flaws mentioned previously, due to this, a second interpretation of international law has also been introduced - the evolving view.

The second interpretation of international law is the view that it is the law of international society and that it should reflect the changes in principles and values self-determination. Self-determination is the right of a people to determine their own political status and how they will be governed without external influence. This is the key difference between the two views, any particular group can go to the international community and ask to be a separate, independent state after holding a referendum under this evolving, unorthodox interpretation of international law. With the traditional view, sovereignty and governing rights lie solely with the original state. However, this new view has complications regarding what groups ought to be separate or has an acceptable claim. Self-determination is messy especially when the people of a state or clearly delineated but the territory is not. In these cases, the international community should get involved or else there is high risk of mass conflict and death. To be an independent state, the group needs to have the capability to make international agreements, this means that they must be internationally recognized. Thus which states recognize the group become increasingly important as the relevant parties seek approval for their sovereignty. This can cause many issues for if a major power or affiliate condemns the acceptance of a certain group, then many other countries may not recognize either due to fear of the major power.(3)

Sources:
 * 1) "International Law." //Thefreedictionary.com//. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. []
 * 2) Gibson, Dwight and Murphy, Terry and Jarman, Frederick and Grant, Derek. __All About Law: Exploring the Canadian Legal System__, Fifth Addition. Nelson Thomson 2003. Pg. 23-26.
 * 3) Casey, Brian. Ed. //An Introduction to International Law and Some Basic Organs of International Law//. 2011 Summer Debate Camp Materials. Issues Pg 39. Print.

Reprisals
A reprisal is an action in international affairs that is illegal in international law, except when it is done in response to the illegal actions of another state. [1] An example of a reprisal was when Iraq violated the sovereignty of Kuwait and the United Nations authorized a war on Iraq.(2) A reprisal does not always have to be an act of war or aggression but it can be something like and economic sanction placed on a country such as the sanctions placed on Iran by the United States (3) Other examples of reprisals are the United States' efforts to eradicate terrorism worldwide and their attacks on countries that have been known to harbor terrorists such as Aghanistan where Al-Qaeda is centered (4). The effectiveness of reprisals such as sanctions and war have been questioned, particularly in the case of apartheid South Africa. Some say that apartheid South Africa changed because of the sanctions imposed while others affirm that apartheid South Africa would have changed regardless of whether or not there had been sanctions imposed upon it. (5) Sources:
 * 1) Sens, Allen and Stoett, Peter. __Global Politics: Origins, Currents, Directions__, Second Edition. Nelson Thomson Learning. 2002. Pg 147.
 * 2) Sens, Allen and Stoett, Peter. __Global Politics: Origins, Currents, Directions__, Second Edition. Nelson Thomson Learning. 2002. Pg 147.
 * 3) Us Department of the Treasury [] Retrived sunday September 25th, 2011.
 * 4) People's Daily. []. Retrieved Sunday September 25th, 2011.
 * 5) Sens, Allen and Stoett, Peter. __Global Politics: Origins, Currents, Directions__, Second Edition. Nelson Thomson Learning. 2002. Pg 147.

Capital-Intensive Production
Industry (such as computers) that depends on infusions of capital investment to acquire the technology necessary to be competitive. (1) Capital-intensive production concerns techniques of production, and the capital-labour ratio that is measured by the portion of capital, such as machinery, equipment, and inventories, relative to labour. This term is often used to illustrate the nature of industrialization.(2) Capital-Intensive industry's, such as the oil refinery industry, often have very high investment returns, and very high production rate, which makes them very beneficial to most economies. However the cost to start up a Capital- Intensive business is very high, so the number of new entrants are fewer than the number of new entrants in Labor- Intensive industry'. (3)

Sources:
 * 1) Sens, Allen and Stoett, Peter. __Global Politics: Origins, Currents, Directions__, Second Edition. Nelson Thomson Learning. 2002. Pg 415.
 * 2) Oxford Dictionary of Sociology. []. Retrieved on Thursday, September 22nd, 2011.
 * 3) Economy Watch. http://www.economywatch.com/world-industries/capital-intensive.html . Retrieved Sunday September 25, 2011.

Functionalism
International cooperation in largely technical areas (communications, travel, trade, environmental protection) and related theories about possibly resultant political integration.(1) This is a branch of thinking following World War II, this idea has roots in the writings of David Mitrany.(2) An example of functionalism in today's society is the European Union. The European Union has individual states within it, and they are united by it and follow its rules and leadership to serve their own purposes. (2) **Structural functionalism** is a broad perspective in sociology and anthropology which sets out to interpret society as a structure with interrelated parts. Functionalism addresses society as a whole in terms of the function of its constituent elements; namely norms, customs, traditions and institutions. A common analogy, popularized by Herbest Spencer presents these parts of society as "organs" that work toward the proper functioning of the "body" as a whole. In the most basic terms, it simply emphasizes "the effort to impute, as rigorously as possible, to each feature, custom, or practice, its effect on the functioning of a supposedly stable, cohesive system." (3) Sources:
 * 1) Sens, Allen and Stoett, Peter. __Global Politics: Origins, Currents, Directions__, Second Edition. Nelson Thomson Learning. 2002. Pg 418.
 * 2) Sens, Allen and Stoett, Peter. __Global Politics: Origins, Currents, Directions__, Second Edition. Nelson Thomson Learning. 2002. Pg 152.
 * 3) structural Functionalism, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structural_functionalism, retrieved September 26th 2011

= ﻿The Asian Development Bank =

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) was established in 1966 and currently includes 67 countries, 19 of which are outside Asia including Canada. The ADB's main goal is to abolish all poverty in Asian and Eastern Pacific countries. The ADB has 5 areas of focus (1): Also the ADB has a special sector for disaster relief aid. When the 2004 earthquake and tsunami devastated several countries in Asian, the ADB was one of many financial international institutions to respond. By March 18, 2005, the ADB was able to have a well documented and organized goal in order to help people titled __From Disaster to Reconstruction: ADB's Response to the Indian Ocean Tsunami__. (2) However, like most international organizations and institution, many question the ADB effectiveness. Accusations of the United States having too much authority and control of decision making, staffing and policy making have been made by several small countries. Also it has been criticized for making hasty and overly expensive decisions that ultimately not necessarily benefiting smaller local communities in developing areas and being detrimental to the environment. Overall, the ADB has successfully managed to help and support many Asian nations and programs, like the tsunami relief efforts. And with a substantial 18 billion dollar budge, the ADB is able to make noticeable improvements to the quality of life in Asian nations. (3)
 * Infrastucture - Over half the Asian population is living in poverty, and the majority of individuals are living without electricity, clean running water, or heating. ADB aims at building roads, schools, and providing clean running water to people in need. Also to better develop urban and rural living.
 * Environment
 * Regional Cooperation and Integration
 * Financial Aid
 * Education

For example, the ADB has had a success story with Vietnam, Through aid of infrastructure, Vietnam has been able to sharply reduce it's poverty levels from 58% in 1993 to just about 10% in 2010, using not only aid, but foreign investments, privatisation and exports. [4]

> >
 * 1) "Overview | Asian Development Bank." //Asian Development Bank (ADB)//. Web. 27 Sept. 2011. .
 * 2) "From Disaster to Reconstruction: ADB’s Response to the Indian Ocean Tsunami." //The ADB//. Web. 27 Sept. 2011. .
 * 3) "ADB/OECD Anti-Corruption Initiative for Asia-Pacific." //Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development//. Web. 27 Sept. 2011. .
 * 4) Nguyen, Thuy. "ADB: Vietnam, a success story of poverty reduction, development."//SGGP//. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Oct. 2011. <http://www.saigon-gpdaily.com.vn/National/2011/3/90059/>.