Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Foreword
- Acknowledgements
- Table of cases
- Table of treaties
- List of abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 The move to institutions in the age of rights
- 2 The challenge of universality – the League of Nations and the United Nations
- 3 Rights, regionalism and participation in Europe
- 4 Restricting the ranks – excluding states from closed organisations
- 5 The relationship between powers, purposes and participation in specialised organisations
- 6 Legitimacy, democracy and membership
- Conclusion
- Select bibliography
- Index
- CAMBRIDGE STUDIES IN INTERNATIONAL AND COMPARATIVE LAW
- References
5 - The relationship between powers, purposes and participation in specialised organisations
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 March 2011
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Foreword
- Acknowledgements
- Table of cases
- Table of treaties
- List of abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 The move to institutions in the age of rights
- 2 The challenge of universality – the League of Nations and the United Nations
- 3 Rights, regionalism and participation in Europe
- 4 Restricting the ranks – excluding states from closed organisations
- 5 The relationship between powers, purposes and participation in specialised organisations
- 6 Legitimacy, democracy and membership
- Conclusion
- Select bibliography
- Index
- CAMBRIDGE STUDIES IN INTERNATIONAL AND COMPARATIVE LAW
- References
Summary
Introduction
In May 1947, following the adoption of a resolution by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) effectively barring Spain from membership, the Peruvian delegate made the following statement:
Both in the United Nations and here, Peru has defined its ideological position, which is that the specialized agencies should have the widest possible membership, that their actions should be governed by technical criteria, and that the intervention of political considerations may jeopardize the attainment of the objectives which these agencies have been created to serve.
Despite these reservations, Peru voted for the resolution on the basis that it had previously been approved by the UN General Assembly. The delegate's statement, although not Peru's ultimate vote, reflects Claude's comments as set out in Chapter 1 – that decisions on membership should be made with reference to the aims of the organisation. For the most part, the organisations examined to date were established for, or have subsequently developed, wide-ranging aims and purposes of a general political nature. This chapter moves away from organisations founded to fulfil general purposes in order to examine organisations dealing with specialised, sometimes quite technical matters. While the division between general and specialised institutions is not always clear-cut, as all international organisations are established for specific purposes, the functions of the organisations discussed in this chapter are more confined than those examined previously. Cooperation between states is still a fundamental goal, but it is cooperation on a specific topic.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Participation of States in International OrganisationsThe Role of Human Rights and Democracy, pp. 222 - 264Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2011