The document discusses the functions and roles of international organizations. It provides details on how international organizations can: 1) Articulate and aggregate the interests of member states and bring them together in a common framework. 2) Create norms, laws, and standards to govern international relations in areas like human rights, trade, and security. 3) Recruit new members and socialize states into the international system through education and training. 4) Make rules for members to follow, apply rules through formal agreements, and provide judicial solutions through international courts. 5) Collect and disseminate information to members and carry out specialized operations depending on their focus area like health, refugees, or financing.

1. FUNCTIONS OF
INTERNATIONAL
ORGANIZATIONS

2. International organisations function in the
following ways:
1. Articulation and aggregation
2. Norms creation
3. Recruitment
4. Socialisation
5. Rule-making
6. Rule-application
7. Rule-adjudication
8. Information
9. Operations

3. Articulation and Aggregation
 International organisations can function for the aggregation
and articulation of the national interests of its members into
the international system. Thus, they bring the interested
states into the same framework to articulate their interests
into the world society. Just like interests groups in the
national systems articulate and aggregate their common
interests by forming institutions, associations, and interest-
groups such as unions for better wages and working
conditions, or green peace for cleaner environment, states do
the same by articulating and aggregating their common
interests onto the international political system through the
international organisations. To achieve this, they form
coalition, co-operation, alliance.

4.  For example, OPEC is a organisation for the
aggregation and articulation of the oil exporting
countries, to raise the oil prices, or to increase their
power by using oil as a weapon. UNCTAD is sub-
organ of the UN to articulate the interests of the
developing countries, and to augment their voice in
the system. On the other hand, there are some
INGOs for the same objective, such as World
Zionist Organisation, International Chamber of
Shipping, etc.

5. Norms
 They can function as the makers of norms and law for the operation
of international relations. In other words, they make law for the
states to follow. Their activities are grouped into three groups:
1. On political issues: They produced several documents or treaties in
improving human rights, for example 1948 UN Universal Declaration
of Human Rights, 1982 Law of Sea.
2. On economic issues, they make arrangements to improve trade and
economic relations among the nations. For example, GATT developed
important norms for free international trade and commerce by lowering
the custom tariffs and bringing some standards for the running of the
world trade.
3. On security issues, the UN and other regional organisations
developed some norms in the filed of disarmament, nuclear non-
proliferation, ban the use of force, de-legitimisation of colonaialization,
etc.

6. Recruitment
 They function as the forces to recruit new actors
into the international system. Especially the U
encouraged the colonial powers to free their
colonies, and the colonies to join into the
international system by joining the organisation.
So in the 1950-60s, many new states became
members to the UN. As a result, the number of the
UN members sharply increased from to 50s to the
100s.

7. Socialisation
 They adapt the states into the international system by
socialising them. Just like in the national system there are
institutions such as military, schools, foundations to socialise
the citizens into the national system, international
organisations educate and train them in such a way. It takes
place at two levels:
1. By direct means.
Any organisations provide educational, social, psyhcological
environment to the citizens of the member countries. Thus they
create a "community sprit" In that some INGOs play a great role
by affecting the people in different ways.

8. 2. By formal and diplomatic ways.
State representatives or diplomats can be
"socialised" to act in certain ways that is acceptable
to the rest of the "international community". They
learn new thinking and alternative ways of living. As
a result they are persuaded in a way in line with the
general norms of international system.

9. Rule-Making
 They make rules for the arrangements of relations
between its members. Rules can take form of a
decision, a resolution, a recommendation, a
conference declaration, or a treaty or agreement.
For example, the EU makes rule for its member
states, civil groups or citizens to follow. The UN
takes resolutions or recommendations on different
issues. But in most cases, these rule should be
taken by the consensus of the members to be
effective.

10. Rule-Application
 Rule – application means putting the rule into
effect In most cases, the rules are expected to be
put into effect by the member governments
because the international organisations may not
have the resource or means to put them into effect.
But for the rules to be applied widely, they should
be accepted by the members states as useful for
their interests. Otherwise, they can remain as
papers.
 For example, the UN Security Council imposed sanctions to
several aggressors, but only a few of them were put into
practice, such against Iraq, but not against Israel.

11. Rule - Adjudication
 Rule – adjudication means the legal solution of the
problems by the judicial courts. In nation-states,
the rule-adjudication is carried out by the
judiciary- law courts, arbitration panels, tribunals,
an so on. In international level, this is done by
some institutions such as International Court of
Justice inn the case of the UN, and the Permanent
Court of International Justice in the case of the
League of Nations, or the European Court of
Justice in the Case of the European Union.
 But the decisions of these courts are boundary only
for those who accept its authority.

12. Information
 They collect, keep, and disseminate
information to the states which need them.
For example, the WHO, WMO, FAO, and
many other functional international
organisations have wide array of
information in their own special field. And
states uses their own interests.

13. Operations
 Their operations vary depending on
the field of the international
organisation. Thus some deal with
providing credit (IMF-World Bank),
some with helping refugees (UNHCR),
some with health problems (WHO)
and so on.

14. THE
INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL
COURT

15. What is the International Criminal
Court?
 The International Criminal Court (“the ICC” or
“the Court”) is a permanent international
court established to investigate, prosecute
and try individuals accused of committing the
most serious crimes of concern to the
international community as a whole, namely
the crime of genocide, crimes against
humanity, war crimes and the crime of
aggression.

16. Why was the ICC established?
 Some of the most heinous crimes were committed
during the conflicts which marked the twentieth
century. Unfortunately, many of these violations of
international law have remained unpunished. The
Nuremberg and Tokyo tribunals were established in
the wake of the Second World War. In 1948, when
the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of
the Crime of Genocide was adopted, the United
Nations General Assembly recognised the need for a
permanent international court to deal with the kinds
of atrocities which had just been perpetrated.

17.  The idea of a system of international criminal justice
re-emerged after the end of the Cold War. However,
while negotiations on the ICC Statute were underway
at the United Nations, the world was witnessing the
commission of heinous crimes in the territory of the
former Yugoslavia and in Rwanda. In response to
these atrocities, the United Nations Security Council
established an ad hoc tribunal for each of these
situations.

18.  These events undoubtedly had a most
significant impact on the decision to
convene the conference which
established the ICC in Rome in the
summer of 1998

19. What is the Rome Statute?
 On 17 July 1998, a conference of 160 States
established the first treaty-based permanent
international criminal court. The treaty adopted
during that conference is known as the Rome Statute
of the International Criminal Court. Among other
things, it sets out the crimes falling within the
jurisdiction of the ICC, the rules of procedure and the
mechanisms for States to cooperate with the ICC.
The countries which have accepted these rules are
known as States Parties and are represented in the
Assembly of States Parties.

20.  The Assembly of States Parties, which meets
at least once a year, sets the general policies
for the administration of the Court and
reviews its activities. During those meetings,
the States Parties review the activities of the
working groups established by the States and
any other issues relevant to the ICC, discuss
new projects and adopt the ICC’s annual
budget.

21. How many countries have ratified
the Rome Statute?
 Over 120 countries are States Parties to
the Rome Statute, representing all
regions: Africa, the AsiaPacific, Eastern
Europe, Latin America and the
Caribbean, as well as Western European
and North America.

22. Where is the seat of the
Court?
 The seat of the Court is in The Hague in
the Netherlands. The Rome Statute
provides that the Court may sit
elsewhere whenever the judges
consider it desirable. The Court has also
set up offices in the areas where it is
conducting investigations.

23. How is the Court funded?
 The Court is funded by contributions
from the States Parties and by
voluntary contributions from
governments, international
organisations, individuals, corporations
and other entities.

24. How does the ICC differ from other
courts?
 The ICC is a permanent autonomous court, whereas
the ad hoc tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and
Rwanda, as well as other similar courts established
within the framework of the United Nations to deal
with specific situations only have a limited mandate
and jurisdiction. The ICC, which tries individuals, is
also different from the International Court of Justice,
which is the principal judicial organ of the United
Nations for the settlement of disputes between
States. The ad hoc tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
and the International Court of Justice also have their
seats in The Hague.

25. Is the ICC an office or agency of the
United Nations?
 No. The ICC is an independent body
whose mission is to try individuals for
crimes within its jurisdiction without the
need for a special mandate from the
United Nations. On 4 October 2004, the
ICC and the United Nations signed an
agreement governing their institutional
relationship.

26. Is the ICC meant to replace
national courts?
 No. The ICC does not replace national criminal justice
systems; rather, it complements them. It can
investigate and, where warranted, prosecute and try
individuals only if the State concerned does not,
cannot or is unwilling genuinely to do so. This might
occur where proceedings are unduly delayed or are
intended to shield individuals from their criminal
responsibility. This is known as the principle of
complementarity, under which priority is given to
national systems. States retain primary responsibility
for trying the perpetrators of the most serious of
crimes.

27. INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS ON
SHAPING NATIONAL WELFARE STATES

28.  Globalization challenges national welfare systems and
stretches the creative capacities of citizens, political
leaders and academics to invent suitable policy
responses. Some labor advocates, fearing the erosion
of worker rights, fight to limit free trade, while others
seek to strengthen domestic labor laws. Other groups
propose compensating displaced workers, or
toughening labor standards in multinationals'
corporate codes of conduct. Parallel to these national
efforts, a more coordinated alternative is on the
rise— international legislation regulating domestic
labor and social conditions.

29.  While the ILO promotes a new wave of core
labor rights, and the EU, NAFTA, MERCOSUR
and ASEAN develop regional responses,2
academics delay in including these
increasingly important solutions in their
studies. As supra-national organizations
promote new and potentially powerful labor
norms, a key question emerges: will national
governments comply with their international
obligations, and how will this shape national
social systems?

30.  Examining the most advanced system of regional and
social employment coordination, the European Union,
can help us understand how existing and upcoming
international social policy agreements matter. The EU
influences social policy through a multiplicity of
channels. Instruments of EU law, including treaties,
regulations, and directives, bind states to uphold
labor and social standards. On the “soft law” side,
the practice of issuing recommendations and other
non-binding documents has been expanding into the
Open-Method of Coordination of member state
employment, pension and inclusion policies. The
structural funds provide substantial monetary
incentives for policymaking to benefit poor regions,
sectors and individuals.