Autonomous organizations of the OECD
One of the most powerful organizations within the OECD system is the G7 group, created in 1975 to resolve global financial and monetary issues at the level of heads of government of leading Western countries. In 1997, Russia joined this organization, and the group began to be called the “Big Eight” (Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Canada, USA, France, Japan, Russia).
At the meetings of the organization, issues of achieving a balanced growth dynamics of the main exchange rates, coordination and harmonization of economic development strategies, and the development of a common economic course for the leading countries of the world are discussed.
An autonomous body within the OECD, the International Energy Agency (MEA), created in 1974, with the participation of all OECD member countries, with the exception of Iceland and Mexico.
The MEA's organizational structure includes: a Governing Council, which consists of senior representatives from each state responsible for energy issues; permanent groups and special committees (on long-term cooperation in the field of energy, emergency situations, oil markets, etc.); A secretariat consisting of experts in the field of energy and performs supporting functions.
Main goals and objectives of MEA:
Cooperation on the development and application of various energy sources;
Measures to improve energy efficiency;
Ensuring the constant functioning of the information system on the state of the international oil market;
Establishing cooperation with non-MEA countries and international organizations to solve global energy development problems;
Improving the system for overcoming disruptions in the power supply.
The OECD system also includes the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), established in 1958 with the participation of OECD member countries, with the exception of New Zealand and the Republic of Korea. The purpose of this organization is cooperation between the governments of participating countries in the use of nuclear energy as a safe, economical source.
The main functions of the Nuclear Energy Agency include: - assessing the contribution of nuclear energy to the overall energy supply; - Development of a system for the exchange of scientific and technical information; - Organization of international research, preparation of nuclear energy development programs; - Encouraging cooperation to harmonize nuclear energy regulatory policies and practices (protecting people from radiation and protecting the environment).
The organizational structure of the Agency includes the following divisions: OECD Council; Nuclear Energy Executive Committee; five specialized committees (on the development of nuclear energy and the fuel cycle; on regulation of activities in the field of nuclear energy; on the safety of nuclear devices, radiation protection; on health protection).
International organizations of general competence within the framework of economic cooperation
Organizations of general competence include organizations formed after the collapse of colonial empires or as a result of macro-regionalization of world economic relations.
The most important of them are the Council of Europe, the Commonwealth of Nations, the Northern Cooperation Organization, the League of Arab States, the Organization for Security and Cooperation, and the Organization of the Islamic Conference.
1. The Council of Europe (has 46 countries, founded in 1949) is a broad-based organization that covers the following areas of activity: human rights, media, cooperation in the legal field, social and economic issues; healthcare, education, culture, youth, sports, environmental protection. The Council of Europe develops pan-European conventions and agreements, which form the basis for corresponding changes in national legislation with a view to their harmonization.
Ukraine has chosen a democratic path of development that meets the standards of the European community. On November 9, 1995, at the headquarters of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg (France), a solemn ceremony of Ukraine's accession to this organization took place. The Council of Europe has developed a number of programs to promote democratic and legal reforms in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, for the implementation of which approximately $10 million was provided. The programs concerned local self-government, legal proceedings, and elections. Thus, the “Demosthenes” program provided for an expert analysis of draft bilateral agreements to ensure the rights of national minorities, which Ukraine proposed to conclude with the newly independent states on the territory of the former USSR. The Council of Europe provides advisory assistance in the development of educational programs for the training of lawyers in Ukraine (for example, at the Institute of International Relations of the Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv). Representatives of our state participate in the work of the main and special committees of the Council of Europe, in particular on human rights, social security, migration, cultural heritage, and the media. Ukrainian experts worked in the committee on legal problems of refugees and stateless persons, the rights of national minorities and their linguistic rights. Ukraine has become one of the contracting parties to some conventions of the Council of Europe, the European Cultural Convention, the European Framework Convention on Trans-Border Co-operation between Territorial Communities and Authorities, the European Convention on Information on Foreign Legislation, as well as conventions on the fight against crime, the protection of the rights of national minorities.
2. The Commonwealth of Nations (including 53 countries and founded in 1931) operates in the following main areas: supporting political and economic cooperation; promoting sustainable development of the economies of participating countries; consulting, representation and information tasks; development and implementation of Commonwealth development programs; organizing and holding conferences to adopt declarations on various issues of world politics. In 1987, the Declaration on World Trade was adopted; in 1991 - the Declaration of Fundamental Rights.
3. The Nordic Cooperation Organization, including five countries, was established in 1971. its main objectives are: improving the quality and competitiveness of products in the northern region; ensuring environmental protection and environmentally sustainable use of natural resources; growth in employment, improvement of working conditions and social security.
4. The League of Arab States (LAS) was created in 1945. its members are 21 Arab countries and the Palestinian Authority. The purpose of operation is thorough and coordination of the participating countries in various fields, protection of national security and independence.
5. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), created in 1975, has 55 countries, with 6 main objectives: achieving sustainable economic development; improving contacts and practical cooperation on environmental protection; promoting the strengthening of international peace and security.
6. The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) includes 57 Muslim states. II was created in 1969 with the aim of deepening cooperation in economic, social and scientific issues, holding consultations between participating countries in international organizations, and strengthening Muslim solidarity.
FEDERAL FISHERIES AGENCY
KAMCHATKA STATE TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY
CORRESPONDENCE FACULTY
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS AND MANAGEMENT
CONTROL WORK ON DISCIPLINE
"WORLD ECONOMY"
OPTION NUMBER 4
SUBJECT:International organizations of general competence and their activities in the field of economic cooperation: Council of Europe; Commonwealth of Nations; Arab League; Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe - OSCE.
Performed I checked
Student of group 06AUs acting as head
Distance learning of the Department of Economics and Management
Miroshnichenko O.A. Eremina M.Yu.
Record book code 061074-ZF
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
Introduction. pp. 3 - 5
Council of Europe. pp. 6 - 12
Commonwealth of Nations. pp. 13 – 15
League of Arab States. pp. 15 – 18
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe - OSCE
Bibliography.
In modern international relations, international organizations play a significant role as a form of cooperation between states and multilateral diplomacy.
Since the creation of the Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine in 1815, international organizations have been given their own competence and powers.
Modern international organizations are characterized by further expansion of their competence and complication of structure.
Currently, there are more than 4 thousand international organizations, of which more than 300 are intergovernmental. At their center is the UN.
An interstate organization is characterized by the following features:
membership of states;
existence of a constituent international treaty;
permanent organs;
respect for the sovereignty of member states.
The main feature of non-governmental international organizations is that they were not created on the basis of an interstate treaty (for example, the Association of International Law, the League of Red Cross Societies, etc.).
Based on the nature of their membership, international organizations are divided into interstate and non-governmental. Based on the range of participants, international organizations are divided into universal (UN, its specialized agencies) and regional (Organization of African Unity, Organization of American States). International organizations are also divided into organizations of general competence (UN, OAU, OAS) and special ones (Universal Postal Union, International Labor Organization). Classification by the nature of powers allows us to distinguish between interstate and suprastate organizations. The first group includes the vast majority of international organizations. The goal of supranational organizations is integration. For example, the European Union. From the point of view of the procedure for joining them, organizations are divided into open (any state can become a member at its own discretion) and closed (admission with the consent of the founders).
International organizations are created by states. The process of creating an international organization takes place in three stages: the adoption of a constituent document, the creation of the material structure of the organization, and the convening of the main bodies.
The first step involves convening an international conference to develop and adopt the text of the treaty. Its name may be different, for example, statute (League of Nations), charter (UN, OAS, OAU), convention (UPU, WIPO).
The second stage involves the creation of the material structure of the organization. For these purposes, specially trained bodies are most often used, which prepare draft rules of procedure for future organs of the organization, process the entire range of issues relating to the creation of headquarters, etc.
The convening of the main bodies completes the efforts to create an international organization.
Council of Europe.
The Council of Europe plays an important role in the development of pan-European legislation and, in particular, in solving legal and ethical problems arising in connection with scientific and technological progress. The activities of the Council of Europe are aimed at developing conventions and agreements, on the basis of which the unification and changes in the legislation of member states are subsequently carried out. Conventions are the main elements of interstate legal cooperation, which are binding on states that ratify them. The conventions related to the legal support of business activities include the Convention on Laundering, Identification, Seizure and Confiscation of Proceeds from Crime.
Meetings of the heads of state and government of the Council of Europe countries were held twice (in 1993 and 1997). Within the framework of the Committee of Ministers, which is the highest body of the organization and meets twice a year as part of the foreign ministers of member countries, political aspects of cooperation in these areas are discussed and recommendations are adopted (based on unanimity) to the governments of member countries, as well as declarations and resolutions on international political issues relevant to the sphere of activity of the Council of Europe. The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, recently established as a body of the Council of Europe, aims to promote the development of local democracy. Several dozen expert committees organize intergovernmental cooperation in areas within the competence of the Council of Europe.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which is the advisory body of the Council of Europe, and in which parliamentarians of national legislative bodies (including from opposition parties) are represented, functions very actively. The Parliamentary Assembly is an advisory body and has no legislative powers. It consists of representatives of the parliaments of member states of the Council of Europe. Each national delegation is formed in such a way that it represents the interests of various political circles of its country, including opposition parties. It is the main initiator of the activities carried out by the Council of Europe and holds its plenary meetings three times a year, adopting recommendations to the Committee of Ministers and national governments by a majority vote, organizing parliamentary hearings, conferences, colloquia, forming various committees and subcommittees, study groups, etc. supervising the following economic and social areas:
economic and development issues;
agriculture and rural development;
science and technology;
social issues;
environment.
In all the main areas of its activity, the Council of Europe carries out numerous activities that promote not only the development of cooperation between member states, but also the formation of some common guidelines for them in the organization of public life. The number of representatives from each country (from 2 to 18) depends on the size of its population. The Assembly Council consists of a Chairman and 17 deputies. Elections for the Chairman of the Assembly are held every year. The Parliamentary Assembly holds its plenary sessions three times a year. It adopts, by a majority vote, recommendations to the Committee of Ministers and the governments of member states, which form the basis for specific areas of activity of the Council of Europe. The Assembly organizes conferences, colloquia, open parliamentary hearings, elects the Secretary General of the Council of Europe and judges of the European Court of Human Rights. In 1989, the Parliamentary Assembly established specially invited country status to be granted to Central and Eastern European countries prior to their admission to full membership. This status is still retained by the Republic of Belarus.
The structure of the Council of Europe includes an administrative and technical secretariat, headed by the Secretary General, who is elected for five years.
The international political confrontation that existed on the continent made it impossible for socialist countries to participate in the Council of Europe. With the end of the Cold War, a new impetus was given to the activities of this organization, prompting it to focus on issues of democratic transformation. As a result, even joining the Council of Europe itself became an additional incentive for their implementation. Thus, states newly admitted to the Council of Europe had to undertake the obligation to sign the European Convention on Human Rights, which came into force in 1953, and to accept the entire range of its control mechanisms. Conditions for new members to join the Council of Europe are also the existence of a democratic legal system and the holding of free, equal and general elections. It is also important that many issues of the formation of civil society in post-socialist countries have become the subject of attention within the Council of Europe. These include problems of protecting national minorities and issues of local self-government.
The Council of Europe is an authoritative international organization, the very participation in which serves as a kind of evidence for all member states of their compliance with the high standards of pluralistic democracy. Hence the possibility of influencing those countries that are members of the Council (or candidates for accession to the Council of Europe), where certain problems arise on this basis. At the same time, this may raise concerns in the countries concerned regarding unacceptable interference in their internal affairs. In other words, the activities of the Council of Europe often find themselves embedded in one or another international political context and are viewed by participants primarily through the prism of their direct foreign policy interests; Naturally, quite serious collisions can arise as a result. This has happened more than once in practice, for example, in connection with the internal political situation in Turkey and Belarus, the problem of the rights of the Russian-speaking population in some Baltic countries, the separatist movement in Chechnya (Russia), and when discussing the issue of Croatia joining the Council of Europe.
The European Commission of Human Rights operates within the Council of Europe. European Court of Human Rights, European Youth Centre. Standing Conference of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe, Social Development Fund.
The Council of Europe develops and adopts pan-European conventions on a variety of cooperation issues. More than 145 such conventions have already been adopted. Some of them, for example, the European Convention on Human Rights, can only participate in member states of the Council of Europe, while in others, for example, the European Convention on Culture, all European states can participate.
The Pompidou Group, an interdisciplinary body of cooperation at the ministerial level (including 28 member states), deals with issues of combating drug addiction and illicit drug trafficking.
In the field of environment and regional planning, the Council of Europe has provided a number of regulations aimed at protecting the environment in Europe and at developing integrated development and planning for territorial development.
The Convention on the Conservation of Wildlife and the Environment in Europe, known as the Berne Convention, covers all aspects of nature conservation. It came into force in 1982.
The European Conference of Ministers Responsible for Regional Planning (CEMAT), convened regularly since 1970, aims to pursue regional planning policies that will ensure continued economic and social development and environmental protection in an enlarged Europe.
The European Charter for Regional Planning puts forward a global, functional and long-term concept of regional planning, which, along with others, sets the following goals: harmonious socio-economic development of the regions; environmental protection and rational use of land.
In the social sphere, the Council of Europe aims to increase the level of social protection and promote employment, vocational training and the protection of workers' rights. In 1997 Two recommendations were accepted:
on the organization, activities and role of public employment services;
on the development of small and medium-sized enterprises.
initiatives to create jobs outside the mainstream labor market;
social and economic consequences of structural changes in the economies of European countries.
creating jobs in small and medium-sized enterprises in economically disadvantaged areas;
for vocational training programs;
housing construction and creation of social infrastructures;
environmental protection: treatment facilities, waste processing;
modernization of rural areas - creation of basic infrastructures.
Commonwealth of Nations.
The main activities are:
support for political and economic cooperation;
promoting sustainable development of the economies of member countries;
performing consulting, representative and information functions;
development and implementation of Commonwealth programs, organization and holding of conferences, seminars, workshops and other events on the following issues: economic and social development, technology, science, education, vocational training, human rights, democracy and others. Declarations on various problems of world politics and economics are adopted at conferences. So, in 1987 the Declaration on World Trade was adopted; in 1989 – Declaration of the Environment; in 1991 – Declaration of Fundamental Rights and others.
Meetings of the heads of government of the Commonwealth countries are held once every two years. They discuss issues of the international situation, regional problems, economic, social, cultural issues, and Commonwealth programs. Decisions are made by consensus. Meetings of ministers of an advisory and consultative nature are held regularly with the participation of the ministers of finance, trade, education, health, labor, etc.
The central coordinating body and head of the intergovernmental structure is the Secretariat, created in 1965. and headed by the Secretary General. The Secretary General and his three deputies (for political affairs; for economic and social affairs; for technical cooperation) are appointed by the heads of government. The secretariat develops programs and organizes conferences, seminars and various events. The Secretariat maintains contacts with almost 300 organizations, of which 200 are non-governmental. In its work, the Secretariat relies on the Commonwealth Fund, which promotes the expansion of links between professional groups in member countries; encourages the creation of associations; provides support to conferences and assistance in organizing professional training.
The activities of the secretariat are financed by five different budgets and funds:
financial resources allocated from the Commonwealth budget;
funds allocated from the budget of the Commonwealth Scientific Council;
at the expense of the Technical Cooperation Fund;
through the Commonwealth Youth Programme;
funded by the Technology Management Advisory Group.
League of Arab States.
The highest body of the League is the Council, which meets twice a year, in which each member state has one vote. , adopted unanimously, are binding on all countries; adopted by a majority vote - only for those who voted “for.” Since 1964, conferences of heads of state and government of the League countries have been regularly convened. The League's General Secretariat, located in Cairo, ensures its day-to-day activities. Within the framework of the Arab League, there are over two dozen different structures - the Economic Council, the Joint Defense Council, the Administrative Tribunal, specialized organizations (dealing with issues of industrial development, agriculture, education, culture, science, telecommunications, crime control, etc.).
The Arab League has founded a number of institutes and specialized organizations, including those providing assistance to the development of entrepreneurship. This:
Arab Management Organization;
Arab Labor Organization;
Council of Arab Economic Unity;
Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development;
Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa;
Arab Organization for Agricultural Development;
Arab Organization for Standardization and Meteorology;
Arab Academy of Maritime Transport;
Arab Telecommunications Union;
Arab Monetary Fund;
Arab Petroleum Institute.
In order to resolve issues affecting the interests of Arab countries, special committees are formed within the Arab League (the “Committee of Eight” on the situation in the territories occupied by Israel, the “Committee of Three” on Lebanon, the “Committee of Three” on the Middle East settlement, the “Committee of Seven” on Libya, “committee on Jerusalem”, “committee of seven” on Iraq, etc.).
The member states of the League are simultaneously members of specialized agencies under the Arab League, such as: the Arab Organization for Industrial Development and Extractive Industries, the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development, the Arab Atomic Energy Organization, the Arab Labor Organization, the Arab Postal Union, the Arab Satellite Telecommunications Organization (ARABSAT) and etc.
The Arab League provides financial assistance to controlled institutions and organizations. The Arab League also includes an Economic Council, including economic ministers and their representatives, who discuss and coordinate the economic and social policies of member countries.
Members of the Arab League are: Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Yemen, Qatar, Comoros, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, UAE, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Tunisia.
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
The political significance of the OSCE lies primarily in its uniqueness compared to other international governmental organizations in Europe. It is practically the only European security organization directly involved in early warning, conflict resolution and post-crisis reconstruction in crisis regions, as well as preventive diplomacy, election observation, and environmental security in Europe.
The fundamental document of the CSCE/OSCE is the Helsinki Final Act, signed on August 1, 1975 by the USSR, USA, Canada and 33 European states. This document was intended to consolidate the existing “status quo” on the European continent and continue further movement along the path of détente in relations between the West and the East. It contained the basic principles defining the norms of mutual relations and cooperation between the participating countries and consisted of three sections (or three “baskets”) corresponding to the number of main tasks of the Conference.
55 countries are members of the OSCE. A distinctive feature of the CSCE/OSCE is the universal nature of this organization: not only almost all European states, but also the USSR, the USA and Canada became its participants, and the main basic provisions of the Conference/Organization are aimed at ensuring security in Europe. It is quite obvious that the universal character of the CSCE/OSCE was also ensured by procedural rules, namely: the principle of consensus in decision-making and the principle of equality of participating countries. The Final Act was also considered as documentary confirmation of the existing balance of power between the two military-political blocs ( NATO and ATS) and non-aligned countries.
After the collapse of the USSR and the end of the ideological confrontation between West and East, former opponents attempted to transform the CSCE (and then the OSCE) into a pan-European organization engaged in maintaining security in Europe, resolving conflicts, developing new arms control agreements, as well as measures to strengthen trust in the military field. It was at this time that such key documents as the Charter of Paris for a New Europe, the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE), the Treaty on Open Skies, documents on the “third generation of confidence- and security-building measures” and other agreements were developed and signed. Thus, the participating countries tried to “adapt” the OSCE to the new realities that emerged on the continent after the end of the Cold War.
NATO's expansion to the East and the increased level of cooperation between the North Atlantic Alliance and Russia have led to significant geopolitical changes without, however, calling into question the role of the OSCE as the only pan-European international governmental organization. This organization is practically inseparable from the “key link” between NATO and the EU; it is often used by individual member countries to indirectly “voice” their own national interests. For example, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Mikhail Gorbachev and Francois Mitterrand tried to oppose the OSCE to NATO. In reality, Paris and Moscow were not interested in further strengthening NATO, since they did not have sufficient organizational resources to influence the decision-making process within NATO, which was heavily influenced by the United States. Moreover, in 1994, French Prime Minister Edouard Balladur proposed making the CSCE/OSCE the main peacekeeping organization in resolving the conflict in the former Yugoslavia. Russia also supported this position and, right up to the 1999 Istanbul Summit, tried to “promote” the OSCE as the main actor in the field of European security. However, criticism of Russian actions in Chechnya at the Istanbul OSCE Summit, as well as increased cooperation between Moscow and NATO, ultimately led to a partial loss of Russian interest in the OSCE as an organization for maintaining security in Europe. At the beginning of the 21st century. Russia pursues a pragmatic foreign policy and recognizes NATO as a key organization in the field of European security.
The OSCE Permanent Council consists of representatives of the participating states and, in fact, is the main executive body of the OSCE. The Council meets once a week at the Hofburg Congress Center in Vienna to discuss the current state of affairs in the OSCE area of territorial responsibility and make appropriate decisions. Like the Council, the Forum for Security Co-operation meets once a week in Vienna to discuss and make decisions on issues related to the military component of pan-European security. This is especially true for the Confidence and Security Measures. The Forum also deals with issues related to new security challenges and conflict resolution in the OSCE area of responsibility. In turn, the OSCE Economic Forum meets once a year in Prague to discuss economic and environmental issues affecting the security of participating countries.
The OSCE Summit or Summit is a periodic meeting of the heads of state or government of the OSCE member states. The main task of the summits is to determine political guidelines and priorities for the development of the Organization at the highest level. Each meeting is preceded by a preparatory conference, during which diplomats from the contracting parties monitor the implementation of the main legal obligations assumed by the OSCE. They coordinate the positions of the participants and prepare basic documents for the upcoming summit. During the existence of the OSCE, 6 summits were held. The most significant were:
the Helsinki Summit (1975), which ended with the signing of the Final Act, which is the fundamental document of the CSCE/OSCE;
The Paris Summit (1990), which culminated in the signing of the Charter for a New Europe and the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe. The Charter confirmed the decisions of the Vienna OSCE meeting (1986) and documented the priority of international law over national law, which subsequently led to the strengthening of separatist movements in the USSR and Eastern European countries;
The Budapest Summit (1994) resulted in a number of institutional reforms. The CSCE was transformed into a permanent OSCE organization, the contracting parties paid additional attention to the issues of resolving the Karabakh conflict, etc.;
Istanbul Summit (1999), which ended with the signing of the Charter for European Security. During the meeting, the Russian delegation was subjected to severe criticism due to Moscow's policy in Chechnya. Russia has pledged to reduce its military presence in Transcaucasia and Transnistria.
The functions of the OSCE in the economic field are determined by the following provisions:
Strive to achieve sustainable economic development;
Strengthen contacts and practical cooperation on environmental protection;
To contribute to the strengthening of international peace and security, as well as to ensuring fundamental human rights, economic and social progress and the well-being of all peoples.
Cooperation between states;
Conscientious fulfillment of international legal obligations.
Within the OSCE structures dealing with human rights issues, attention should be paid to the Office of the High Commissioner on National Minorities (The Hague). This unit deals with the early prevention of ethnic conflicts that threaten stability, peace on the continent and friendly relations between CSCE participating States.
A special place in the organizational structure of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe is occupied by Confidence and Security Building Measures. This program was created with the aim of easing tensions and strengthening mutual trust on the European continent. Within its framework, the following documents were signed: a) the CFE Treaty (Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe), establishing quotas on conventional weapons in Europe for the contracting parties; The Open Skies Treaty allows member states to exercise mutual control over each other's actions, especially in the security field. As part of the Confidence and Security Building Measures, the Chairman-in-Office appointed his personal representatives to monitor the implementation of a number of articles of the Dayton Peace Accords. To resolve conflict situations and disputes between participating States that have signed the internal OSCE Convention on Conciliation and Arbitration, the Court of Conciliation and Arbitration, located in Geneva, was created.
In 2003, the OSCE budget amounted to 185.7 million euros and mainly consists of membership fees from participating States. About 84 percent of all funds are spent on military missions and projects carried out in the Organization's field.
About 370 employees work directly in the central office of the OSCE, and in various missions and projects of this organization there are more than 1,000 international employees and 2,000 citizens of the countries on whose territory these missions are carried out.
One of the fundamentally important issues in the activities of the OSCE concerns the determination of its future role. There is general agreement that it will occupy one of the central places in the organization of international political life in Europe. However, in practice, due to the desire of a large group of countries in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as the Baltics, to join NATO and the European Union, there is a tendency to marginalize the role of the OSCE. Attempts initiated by Russian diplomacy to increase the status and real significance of this organization are often seen only as aimed at opposing it to NATO. The Charter for European Security being developed within the OSCE could neutralize this trend and contribute to a more complete use of the potential of this organization in the interests of strengthening stability on the continent.
^ BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Gerchikova I.N. International economic organizations: regulation of world economic relations and business activities. M. Publishing house JSC "Consultbankir", 2001.
A. Kireev “International Economics”, part II, Moscow, 1999.
World economy. Textbook / Ed. Bulatova A.S., M. ECONOMIST, 2004.
World economy. Textbook for universities / Ed. prof. I.P. Nikolaeva, ed. 3, - M. UNITY-DANA, 2005.
Neshataeva T.N. International organizations and law. New trends in international legal regulation. - M., 1998
Schrepler H.A. . Directory. – M., 1997.
The basic law of evolution states that there is nothing more fickle than success. Paradoxically, the most prosperous firms today become the most vulnerable tomorrow. A company whose core competencies, assets, distribution channels and mentality are perfectly aligned with meeting existing needs and fending off competitors risks losing ground as consumer needs change.
Strategy determines the direction in which the company moves to achieve its goals. At the center of the strategy are decisions in the field of marketing and innovation. The most important strategic decision is the choice of markets, the development of which will be focused on. The second most important decision is the decision about positioning, about what competitive advantages will provide the company with a leading position in the market. Strategic decisions determine the core competencies required by the company, the set of its product lines, and the production and distribution infrastructure.
Typically, the mission statement of multi-industry companies is formulated in fairly general terms, which are often perceived as parental instructions, devoid of specific content and development incentives. Many business unit managers develop their own mission statements that describe in more detail the unit's goals, prospects, core competencies of employees, and competitive advantages. Similar to the company's mission statement, they are aimed at instilling in employees a sense of pride in their work, involvement in common goals, as well as determining the direction of SBU development and developing internal priorities.
Once the company's management has determined the strategic direction of development and the required core competencies, the company begins work on acquiring new skills.
Increased competition has forced companies to concentrate their efforts on their core activities. During the economic boom of the 1960-1970s. many companies were engaged in a wide variety of completely unrelated activities. Oil companies became interested in retail trade, tobacco companies became interested in insurance, grocery companies acquired enterprises that produced electronics. However, as competition and economic conditions intensified, conglomerates found themselves lacking core competencies. Business leaders have realized that maintaining competitive advantage is determined by concentrating efforts on core competencies in a limited area of market and technology.
First, firms maximize the return on internal resources by focusing their investments and efforts on what the enterprise does best. Second, a well-developed core competency creates difficult barriers to entry for existing and potential competitors to enter the company's domain, thereby maintaining and protecting the strategic advantages of market share. Third, perhaps the greatest impact is achieved by the company getting maximum benefit from the investments, innovations and specific professional capabilities of suppliers, which would be prohibitively expensive or even impossible to duplicate on its own. Fourth, in the context of rapidly changing markets and technological features, cooperation strategies reduce risks, reduce the duration of technological cycles, reduce the level of required investments and create conditions for more effective response to customer needs.
The manager's current understanding of reality may turn out to be erroneous not only as a result of changes that have occurred in the world around him, but also because the company has moved into a new area of activity, where the game is played by different rules. When a company achieves significant success in a sector that does not offer opportunities for further growth, it often tries to apply its core competencies to other markets that at first glance appear very similar. At the same time, she does not notice the hidden differences of the new market, which require a different approach from her than before.
The search and mobilization of factors for increasing income is, in a certain sense, within the competence of the company’s top management, as well as its marketing service. The role of the financial service comes down mainly to justifying a reasonable pricing policy, assessing the feasibility and economic efficiency of new products, monitoring compliance with internal benchmarks for profitability indicators in relation to existing and new production facilities.
This model takes into account three parameters for selecting a business - market attractiveness, competitiveness of the business, and the degree of connection with the core competencies of the corporation. In Fig. Figure 5.1 shows an example of the business portfolio of one of the small Russian machine-building plants. The main production - machines - is in an area of low attractiveness, although it is part of the company's core competencies and the company's strength is great. Another type of production and, accordingly, a different business is the production of automobiles.
A classic example of integrated analyzer companies can be the branches of the world's leading auditing and consulting companies (PriceWaterhouseCooper, Deloitte&Touche and others) operating in the Russian market. The main competence of such companies is the availability of proven operating algorithms and a high level of trust on the part of Western investors. This is what allows companies to set prices for their services that, on average, significantly exceed the prices of Russian auditing and consulting firms.
By viewing the firm as a set of core competencies and focusing on products and markets that are peripheral or indirect to the firm's core organizational units, it is possible to move beyond the firm's existing market. For example, Motorola was considered the leader in the wireless communications market (core competency). Then, in addition to its existing products and markets (such as mobile phones and pagers), it explored other markets for opportunities to leverage its core competency of global positioning of satellite signal receivers. Similarly, the search for "white space" between major organizational units allowed Kodak to explore the area between traditional chemical products (photographic film) and electronic imaging devices (photocopiers) and identify a new market for photo storage and viewing. Accordingly, the company's concept is to develop a process that allows photographs to be viewed on television.
The third favorable condition for creating your share of a new market is the ability to realize the company’s existing strengths. For example, ASIO used its core competencies in microelectronics to move from producing calculators to producing watches. Marx and Spen's reputation as a reliable and trustworthy retailer allowed it to create investment trust funds with a low degree of risk and an average return on capital invested.
Among the most important Danish companies, the concept of technology ratings has attracted interest from managers, who have found such ratings to be an important tool that they lack. Although some financial institutions have rated technologically advanced firms using their own methodology, they have often focused on technology rather than other aspects. Traditionally, financial institutions in the Netherlands served the market only for a small number of technologically advanced firms, either through government incentives or as part of their core competence. And now, however, they have decided to change their approach to technologically advanced firms. Technology ratings have come to be seen by these financial institutions as adding value to serving the market, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises.
White spots. These opportunities include creating new products or services and entering new markets by leveraging the company's core competencies in other ways. The Walkman audio player provided such an opportunity for Sony. The parent company transferred its business capabilities to business units engaged in the production of tape recorders and headphones.
One of the ways to prolong the period of obtaining excess profits from technological leadership is innovative competence. The more numerous and complex the technological parameters of a new product, the more difficult it is for competitors to determine the main characteristics with which to compete. And if you add to complex technologies the special internal culture of the company, which in itself generates innovation, it is almost impossible to imitate this product. In addition to this, innovators always strive to establish close relationships with suppliers and distributors, which enhances the company's competence and know-how. The main competitive strategies to maximize the profitability of innovations are discussed in detail in Chapter 3, Innovation Planning.
By using other firms as suppliers of a variety of resources, a company can achieve benefits in a variety of ways. Considering that resources for any firm are limited, there is a need to collaborate with other organizations. Modern business requires a focus on areas of core competence where competitive advantage can be developed (Prahalad and Hamel, 1990). The company needs to invest its resources in the area of its core, core activities. Those areas of activity that are not key can be quite easily delegated (or transferred within the framework of alliances) to external organizations that are capable of producing the required product or service at the proper level. Even within core competencies, there may be opportunities for cooperation where it is much more difficult to manage alone, or where the firm's internal resources are simply insufficient. An important advantage that firms should not easily ignore is being first to market with a new or improved product or service. By concentrating on areas of core competence and collaborating with other organizations that specialize in other areas, a firm can simultaneously benefit from both economies of scale and economies of differentiation or product line variety. Alliances and partnerships can free up scarce resources for core functions, allowing them to be performed more efficiently by those organizations that focus more efforts on core competency areas. It is important to understand that other companies that have already explored this area may be able to perform some functions more effectively. Duplicating work already done by others and reinventing the wheel are unlikely to lead to significant company growth and increased profitability. And, although in most cases this conclusion may sound paradoxical, dependence on external organizations may well be the basis of a firm's independence (Lewis, 1995). Following or relying on an organization's internal, or organic, growth is just one possible alternative. There is a very diverse range of options, formed on the basis of general self-confidence, on the one hand, and on the basis of trust in resources, on the other hand. Firms must consider all options and choose the best one that can contribute to the development and maintenance of long-term competence in the areas of key activities for the company.
Competencies that are most likely to predict long-term career success for candidates that are difficult to develop through training or work experience. These include core competencies, such as achievement orientation or impact and influencing, which are better made as selection criteria rather than developed later. For example, a company hiring technical talent might want to hire 10% of new recruits for impact and influence competencies. By selecting some candidates who not only have good grades, but also have previously served as captain of a sports team or leader of a student organization, the company will receive a pool of technical employees with the competencies sufficient to become managers in the future.
In addition, as we analyzed the information we received, we also revised our initial assumptions about whether, in a particular case, there really was a serious corporate error that caused the company's failure. For example, many say that when developing the original concept of the PC in 1979, IBM made a blunder by outsourcing the operating systems to Microsoft and the microprocessors to Intel. While there is no doubt that the lion's share of value in this industry comes from operating systems and microchips, we think it's not entirely reasonable to assume that IBM should have figured this out almost twenty-five years ago. Few of us, no matter who we are, have a magic crystal that allows us to look into the future. In addition, IBM's strategy of outsourcing operating system and microprocessor work—both areas outside the company's hardware core competencies—reflects a desire to concentrate on the core business component of hardware.
The company's core competency - product innovation - laid the foundation for its resounding success. Rubbermaid's pioneering spirit and ability to bring innovations to market quickly gave them a monopoly in many product categories, allowing their products to gain a foothold before competitors could even copy their designs. By the end of the 1980s, Rubbermaid was producing 365 products a year, a record that reflected a well-established new product development process that allowed the company to narrow the gap between the time an idea was conceived and its actual implementation on the shelf. The core ingredients of this process—close customer contact, minimal market testing, and cross-functional teams—provided a killer combination of speed and innovation.
Is M&A a Core Competency Successful companies always have core competencies that help them execute their chosen competitive strategies. Accordingly, M&A companies must develop core competencies that will enable them to become effective acquirers. This problem cannot be solved if you treat each acquisition as an exceptional phenomenon. The experience gained by the people involved in a given transaction needs to be captured, shared, and complemented by knowledge gained from subsequent mergers and acquisitions, as is the case with ISO, GE, Eaton, and other established experts in the field.
This concludes our story about negative transference. It is quite possible that many of our readers will be able to draw a parallel between these stories and what is happening in their own companies, for the sake of which, in fact, this whole conversation was started. Getting to know negative transference helps us learn a serious lesson: experience and intellectual potential are not always beneficial, moreover, in some cases, experience becomes a source of great trouble. Negative transference can exist in a wide variety of manifestations, sometimes masked by the impeccable logic of core competencies. Therefore, we should always remember how carefully we need to approach the definition of these competencies. In the next section we will move from negative values to zero, and consider
Despite the solidarity with the Libyan side, expressed by eight OPEC members and including practical proposals from the ADR, Iran, Kuwait and the UAE to provide immediate assistance to it by sending oil personnel, Saudi Arabia vetoed the draft resolution, saying that due to its political nature, this issue is not included within the competence of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. However, the most important real significance, in our opinion, is not Saudi demarches of this kind, but the preservation for Aramco shareholders of the advantages enjoyed by the privileged counterparties of this Arabian monarchy. It seems that the access of outsider firms in one form or another to the development of its oil resources, the largest in the capitalist world, is not facilitated in any significant way as a result of the nationalization of the main concession. Having a strong rear here and being largely protected from competition, leading American energy concerns can afford a more stringent raw materials policy in relation to other liberated states than the bulk of independent companies.
At the end of the 1990s. A survey of the world's leading companies was conducted on the identification and development of core competencies1. CEOs and other executives from companies such as Boeing, Citicorp, Lockheed Martin, Okidata, and others have attempted to articulate their core technology competencies, processes, and key relationships and envision ways to strengthen and develop core competencies. The most popular way to maintain process reliability was found to be the creation of a corporate culture aimed at maintaining operational standards and minimizing waste in every sense. The most popular method of strengthening external relations was the acquisition of other companies and the use of the relationship potential they had accumulated. As for technological competencies, here the opinions of the leaders of the world's leading corporations are most divided. A significant portion of managers pointed out the need to fully take into account all factors of the economic and technological environment when planning and developing technological know-how. However, almost the same proportion of managers emphasized the need to partially or completely ignore prevailing opinions about existing technological or operational limitations in the production and distribution of products.
Particular attention should be paid to the analysis of the third question. Here it can be pointed out that KUR tends to increasingly turn into a purely investment company, concentrating on investments in high technology areas. This is both the strength and weakness of the chosen development model. The concentration of all investments in one, albeit very promising sector (high technology), makes the company vulnerable to all the disturbances in this sector. And, indeed, in March 2001, KUR Industries released its financial results Marketing Management (2001) - [
Main characteristics of regional organizations:
ü spatial unity of the member states, their location within a more or less integral geographical region;
ü spatial limitation of the goals, objectives and actions of member states.
In addition to regional MMPOs, in the modern world there are a large number of subregional organizations of general and special competence. When creating such MMPOs, their founders are guided not by the interests of geographical regions, but by the principle of specific interests.
League of Arab States (LAS). Any independent Arab state can become a member of the League. Members of the Arab League are the non-Arab states of Somalia and Djibouti, which brings the structure of the League closer to subregional international international organizations. The goals of the Arab League are cooperation between member states, coordination of their political actions, ensuring their independence and sovereignty.
Organization of African Unity (OAU). Any independent and sovereign African state (about 50 members) can be a member of the OAU. The main goals are to condemn politically motivated killings and subversion; commitment to the complete liberation of African states; absolute non-alignment with any military blocs.
Organization of American States (OAS). OAS members include more than 30 states of Latin America and the Caribbean, the USA and Canada.
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Members: Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar (Burma), Laos, Indonesia, Kampuchea. The goals are to create a region of peace, freedom and neutrality; cooperation between states; establishment of a free trade zone.
Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). A subregional organization of general competence - all Muslim states located in different regions can be members of the OIC. Muslim minorities in non-Muslim countries have the right to send representatives to the OIC as observers.
Over 50 states are members of the OIC. The goals of the OIC are to strengthen Muslim solidarity; unification of Muslim peoples; assistance to the people of Palestine; rapprochement of political positions of Muslim countries.
European Union - created in 1957 on the basis of the Treaty of Rome bringing together the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM) and the European Economic Community (EEC). The Maastricht Agreements (1992) completed the process of legal registration of the European Union. The main goals of the EU are the complete transformation of the common market into an economic and monetary union; formation of a unified foreign policy; the acquisition of a “European defense identity” and the creation of a common EU armed force.
The EU is a special kind of international organization: member states gave up part of their sovereign rights to create supranational structures. The communities that make up the EU are independent IGOs. The international legal personality of the EU as a whole is of a limited, secondary nature in comparison with the legal personality of the previous three European Communities.
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The agreement on the creation of the CIS was adopted in 1991 by the heads of state of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. On December 21, 1991, the heads of 11 states (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine) signed the Protocol to the Agreement and the Declaration. In 1993, Georgia joined the constituent documents of the CIS. The CIS Charter was adopted in 1993.
Article 52 of the UN Charter provides for the establishment and operation of regional agreements or bodies to resolve matters relating to international peace and security. Moreover, such bodies must be suitable for regional action, and their activities must be compatible with the goals and principles of the UN. States that have entered into relevant agreements and established such bodies shall make every effort to peacefully resolve local disputes through such regional bodies before referring such disputes to the Security Council. In turn, the UN Security Council should encourage the development of this institution both on the initiative of interested states and on its own initiative. Where appropriate, the Council may use regional agreements or enforcement bodies under its authority. Finally, in accordance with Article 54 of the Charter, he must always be fully informed of actions taken or proposed to maintain peace and security at the regional level.
Thus, the UN Charter assigns a significant role to regional organizations in achieving the main statutory purpose of the Organization. More than half a century of practice has confirmed the viability of this institution. Moreover, regional international structures began to play an increasingly important role in coordinating cooperation between states in other areas: economic, social, humanitarian, etc. In fact, several existing international organizations of general competence can be considered as a kind of “regional UN” that solves the whole complex current problems of international relations in the relevant region. The most authoritative of them are ASEAN, LAS, OAS, OAU, OSCE, etc.
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was created in 1967 by five founding countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines. Later, ASEAN included Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and other countries. The main documents regulating cooperation between states within ASEAN are the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation in Southeast Asia and the ASEAN Declaration of Concord signed in 1976 on the island of Bali, as well as the Singapore Declaration of 1992. During the Cold War, ASEAN was the object of a struggle for influence between two world social systems.
The goals of ASEAN are: 1) organizing cooperation between member states in economic, social and other fields; 2) promoting peace and stability in Southeast Asia. The main form of cooperation among member states is regular meetings and consultations of authorized officials: heads of state, foreign ministers, heads of various departments, etc. In fact, ASEAN coordinates a very wide range of issues, which includes both the development of a common approach to political problems and and the development of mutually beneficial relationships in certain sectors of the economy, environmental protection, crime control, countering the spread of drugs, etc.
The highest body of the organization is the Meeting of Heads of State and Government, at which the most important issues of regional partnership are discussed and major decisions are made. Each participating State is represented at these summits. Meetings are held once every three years, alternately in each country in alphabetical order.
Since 1994, the ASEAN Regional Security Forum (ARF) has also been in operation. Officials of not only ASEAN states, but also the organization’s partner countries, the number of which is steadily growing, take part in its work. In fact, the forum addresses two sets of issues at once: on the one hand, coordination of cooperation between ASEAN states in the field of strengthening security, on the other, coordination of positions between ASEAN and third countries, contacts with the largest states of the world.
The permanent body of ASEAN is the Standing Committee, which performs the functions of an executive and coordinating body that ensures the implementation of decisions adopted within ASEAN and signed documents. The Committee includes employees of the foreign affairs departments of the ASEAN member states: their ambassadors in the country of the organization’s chairman, as well as the heads of the ASEAN national secretariats included in the structure of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The work of the Committee is headed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the state in which the last Meeting of Heads of State and Government was held. Meetings of foreign ministers are held periodically (once a year) within the framework of ASAEN, who assume the functions of the Standing Committee for the duration of the meeting.
Ongoing organizational work is also carried out by the ASEAN Secretariat, headed by the Secretary-General.
ASEAN actively cooperates with states and organizations that are not members of it, but are interested in maintaining peace and stability in the region. Representatives of the relevant countries regularly participate in meetings and consultations held within the organization. Recently, this cooperation has begun to take on institutional forms: in many states, appropriate committees and other bodies are created, which, as a rule, include diplomats from ASEAN countries. In particular, the United States, China, Japan, Russia, Korea, Canada, the European Union, etc. have the status of permanent partners of ASEAN. Cooperation between ASEAN and the Republic of Kazakhstan is developing quite intensively.
League of Arab States (LAS) was created in 1945 in Cairo, when the Conference of Arab States adopted the main founding document - the League Pact. In accordance with it, the goals of the organization are:
Ensuring closer relations between member states;
Coordination of political actions of member states;
Organization of cooperation in economic, financial, trade, cultural and other fields;
Ensuring the independence and sovereignty of member states;
Consideration of all issues affecting Arab states and their interests.
In fact, the main activity of the Arab League for a very long time was to ensure the sovereignty of the Arab states, which is associated with the tense international situation in the region. All independent Arab countries, of which there are currently more than twenty, can be members of the Arab League. At the same time, the Palestine Liberation Organization and one non-Arab state (Somalia) are members of the Arab League. In 1979, Egypt's membership in the Arab League was suspended due to the signing of a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel.
The main bodies of the Arab League are the Council, the Conference of Heads of State and Government, and the General Secretariat. The League Council is a sessional plenary body composed of representatives of each member state. The main organizational and legal form of the Council's activities is regular sessions, which are convened twice a year.
According to the 1945 Pact, decisions of the Council are binding only on those states that voted for their adoption. The only exceptions are those decisions that relate to the internal life of the League (budget, personnel, etc.) - they are made by a majority vote and are binding on all members of the League. If any decision is made unanimously by the Arab League member states, it is binding on everyone.
Since 1964, the Conference of Heads of State and Government has been convened to discuss at the highest level the most pressing problems for the countries of the Arab world. The decisions taken at the Conference are an important source regulating the activities of the Arab League and its bodies. The Secretariat provides current and organizational issues for the activities of the League. The headquarters of the Secretariat is located in Cairo.
In addition to those mentioned, the structure of the Arab League includes various bodies that coordinate cooperation between member states in certain areas of international relations: the Joint Defense Council, the Economic Council, the Legal Committee, the Oil Committee and other specialized bodies.
In most cases, the Arab League strives to develop a common position of all Arab states on key international issues. Within the framework of the League, a mechanism for the peaceful settlement of disputes between its members, as well as a mechanism for preventing and repelling aggression, has been created and is functioning. As practice shows, the Arab League plays a significant role in modern international relations. The League has permanent observer status at the United Nations.
Organization of American States (OAS) was created in 1948, when its Charter was adopted (came into force on December 13, 1951 and was amended several times). Its creation was a logical continuation of the process of deepening cooperation between American countries: the Inter-American Conference in Bogota, which adopted the Charter, was the ninth in a row. In addition to the Charter, the main founding documents of the OAS traditionally include the Inter-American Treaty of Mutual Assistance of 1947 and the Inter-American Treaty for the Peaceful Settlement of Disputes of 1948. The OAS includes more than 30 states in North America, Latin America and the Caribbean.
The objectives of the OAS are:
Maintaining peace and security in the Western Hemisphere;
Settlement of disputes between member states;
Organization of joint actions against aggression;
Development of cooperation in political, economic, social, scientific, technical and cultural fields.
The main organs of the OAS are the General Assembly, the Consultative Meeting of Foreign Ministers, the Defense Advisory Committee, the Permanent Council, the Inter-American Council for Integrated Development, the Inter-American Judicial Committee, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the General Secretariat. In addition, several specialized organizations operate within the OAS (for example, the Pan American Health Organization), which are regional analogues of specialized UN agencies.
The General Assembly is the highest plenary body of the OAS, meeting for its regular sessions once a year. The competence of the General Assembly includes discussing the most important issues of inter-American cooperation. The Consultative Meeting of Foreign Ministers considers situations and problems of an urgent nature and meets as they arise. In fact, this is the organization’s rapid response body to crisis situations. As a rule, OAS member states are represented at the General Assembly at the level of their foreign ministers.
The Permanent Council is a permanent body (it meets twice a month) that provides general management of the activities of the OAS in the period between sessions of the General Assembly. As for the Inter-American Council for Integrated Development, it coordinates all socio-economic programs operating within the OAS. Both bodies are formed from representatives of all member states on a parity basis. The seat of the Permanent Council is Washington.
The highest official of the OAS is the Secretary General, who is elected by the Assembly for a five-year term without the right of re-election. Moreover: according to the regulations, the successor of the Secretary General cannot be a citizen of his state.
Within the framework of the OAS, it was not always possible to satisfactorily resolve issues of maintaining peace and security (for example, due to ideological differences, Cuba was at one time expelled from the OAS). At the same time, member states cooperate closely on issues such as the unification of legal systems, protection of individual rights, expansion of cultural ties, etc.
Organization of African Unity (OAU) was created on May 25, 1963. On this day, which is celebrated as African Liberation Day, the OAU Charter, the main founding document of the organization, was signed in Addis Ababa.
The goals of the OAU are:
Strengthening the unity and solidarity of African states;
Coordination and strengthening of cooperation between African states in such areas as politics and diplomacy, defense and security, economics, transport, communications, education, culture, etc.;
Defense of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of African states;
Elimination of all types of colonialism in Africa;
Encouraging international cooperation in accordance with the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The main bodies of the OAU are the Assembly of Heads of State and Government, the Council of Ministers, the Commission for Mediation, Conciliation and Arbitration, the Commission of African Jurists, the Liberation Committee, a number of specialized commissions, as well as the General Secretariat.
The Assembly of Heads of State and Government is the highest plenary body of the OAU, in which all member states are represented at the highest level. The Assembly meets for its regular meetings once a year, and at the request of 2/3 of its members - for extraordinary sessions. This body is competent to consider the most important issues of international cooperation of African states and make legally binding decisions based on the results of the discussion. The Assembly works closely with the Council of Ministers, to which it gives instructions for organizing the implementation of decisions taken. In the Council, African states are represented, as a rule, by ministers of foreign affairs, however, depending on the nature of the issues being resolved, other ministers may participate in the work of the Council. The Council of Ministers is the executive body of the OAU and has a sessional structure of work: it meets in sessions twice a year.
The day-to-day work of the OAU is organized by the Secretariat, whose headquarters are located in Addis Ababa. The rest of the OAU bodies coordinate cooperation between African countries in various areas, from the peaceful settlement of disputes to cultural exchanges.
The OAU, along with the OSCE, is the largest of all existing regional organizations: it includes more than 50 states. As practice shows, at all major international forums, including the UN General Assembly, African states try to act as a single bloc in order to better protect the special interests of Africa. Corresponding efforts are regularly reflected in various international documents (for example, in the Millennium Declaration, where African interests are highlighted in an independent structural section). According to the OAU Charter, this organization adheres to a policy of non-alignment with any military-political blocs. After the final elimination of the colonial system, the activities of the OAU are focused on implementing a fair world economic order and solving social problems. Within the framework of the OAU, there is a mechanism for peacekeeping operations; The organization has permanent observer status at the UN.
An important milestone in cooperation in Africa was the signing in 1991 of the Treaty establishing the African Economic Community, which should result in the creation of a single market for goods, services and labor on the continent, as well as the introduction of a single currency and deepening economic integration.
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) formed from among the participating states of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe and states sharing the goals and principles formulated in the 1975 CSCE Final Act. The organization has had this name since January 1, 1995. As for the OSCE's constituent documents, it is quite difficult to determine their exact list, since many acts that are important for this structure do not take the form of an international treaty. The most famous of them, in addition to the mentioned Final Act, are the Charter of Paris for a New Europe of 1990, the Declaration of the “Challenge of the Time of Change” of 1992 (Helsinki), the decisions of the Budapest Summit of 1994, the documents of Lisbon (1996) and Istanbul (1999). ) meetings and some others. In accordance with these acts, the CSCE was transformed into the OSCE with a new structure of bodies, principles and areas of activity, etc. Since 1993, the OSCE has been granted observer status at the UN.
The very renaming of the CSCE into the OSCE took place at the end of 1994 (at a meeting in Budapest), although already in the Helsinki Documents it was decided to consider the CSCE as a regional agreement in the sense as stated in the UN Charter, Chapter 8 of which makes virtually no distinction between regional agreements and regional bodies. The member states themselves have repeatedly emphasized in various documents that the renaming of the CSCE does not change its status and the obligations of its participants.
The main objectives of the OSCE are:
Creating conditions to ensure long-term peace;
Support for the easing of international tensions;
Cooperation in the field of security, disarmament and conflict prevention;
Contribution to human rights;
Deepening cooperation in economic, cultural and other fields.
According to the Declaration on a Common and Comprehensive Security Model for Europe in the 21st Century, adopted on December 3, 1996 in Lisbon, the OSCE is called upon to play a key role in strengthening security and stability in all its dimensions.
The main organs of the OSCE are the Meeting of Heads of State and Government, the Council of Ministers, the Governing Council, the Permanent Council, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, the Center for Conflict Prevention, the High Commissioner on National Minorities, the Parliamentary Assembly and the Secretariat.
The Meeting of Heads of State and Government is a body that, in its form of work, resembles an international conference. Decisions made at such meetings (they have been held at various intervals since 1990) determine the directions of cooperation between European states and set guidelines for European integration.
The Council of Ministers meets, as a rule, once a year. In this body, each state is represented at the level of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Its decisions are more normative in nature, which is why the Council is considered the central governing body of the OSCE. One of the Council members serves as OSCE Chairman for a year. As a rule, he works closely with the previous and next chairman (the so-called “leadership troika”). Currently, the issue of the upcoming chairmanship of the OSCE of the Republic of Kazakhstan in 2007 is being considered.
Monitoring the implementation of decisions of the Council of Ministers and preparing the agenda for its meetings is carried out by the Governing Council. He also coordinates the activities of all bodies within the OSCE structure. Meetings of the Governing Council take place in Prague at least twice a year.
The Permanent Council operates on a permanent basis within the OSCE, with its seat in Vienna. The Council, which deals with current OSCE policy issues, includes representatives from each participating State. One of the functions of the Permanent Council is to respond promptly in case of emergency situations. Also a permanent body is the OSCE Secretariat, headed by the Secretary General. The latter is elected for a term of three years by the Council of Ministers on the recommendation of the Governing Council.
To strengthen regional security within the OSCE, the Conflict Prevention Center operates, which is a mechanism for multilateral consultations of member states, and also coordinates cooperation between states in certain aspects of military activity. This structure operates in close contact with the Council of Ministers. The location of the Center is Vienna.
Mention should also be made of such a specific structure as the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation, which has the function of preventing possible conflict situations involving OSCE member states and strengthening confidence-building measures in the region.
Currently, 53 states are members of the OSCE, including the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Control questions
1. List the constituent documents of the CIS.
2.What is the legal nature of the Commonwealth of Independent States?
3.Name the main bodies of the CIS and describe their competence.
4.What are the main problems in the functioning of the CIS at the present stage?
5.Describe the structure of the European Union.
6.What should be understood by EU law?
7.What views on the nature of the EU exist in the doctrine of international law?
8.Tell us about the status of international regional organizations of general competence (OAU, LAS, OAS, ASEAN, OSCE).
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