International Information: Other Misc. Organisations
ASSOCIATION OF SOUTH EAST ASIAN NATIONS
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is an organisation of nine Southeast Asian countries - Brunei, Burma, Indonesia, Malaysia, Laos, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. It promotes economic, cultural, and social cooperation among its members. ASEAN works for peace and stability in Southeast Asia, but it is not a defence organisation.
The members of ASEAN cooperate in such fields as population control, prevention of drug abuse, and scientific research. Teachers, students, and artists of the member nations exchange visits. The organisation also develops plans to promote tourism in ASEAN countries and to encourage programs of Southeast Asian studies. It works to reduce trade barriers among the members.
The foreign ministers of the member countries meet annually to determine ASEAN policy and to consider projects recommended by ASEAN committees. These committees deal with subjects ranging from food and agriculture to the mass media. They consist of experts and officials from the member countries and are responsible for putting ASEAN projects into effect. ASEAN's administrative body, the Central Secretariat, works to make sure that the policies of the organisation are carried out. The secretariat is in Jakarta, Indonesia.
ASEAN was established in 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. During the 1970's, cooperation increased among the member nations. The ASEAN heads of government met in 1976 for the first time and made several important agreements. The member nations agreed to share basic products during shortages and to gradually remove trade restrictions. They also decided to build an industrial project in each country. The leaders established the organisation's Central Secretariat, as well as a council to settle disputes among the member nations.
Brunei became a member of ASEAN in 1984. Vietnam was admitted in 1995. In 1997, Burma and Laos became members.
BRITISH ANTARCTIC
BRITISH INDIAN OCEAN TERRITORY
CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY
CARICOM is an organisation for political and economic cooperation of Caribbean states. Its full name is the Caribbean Community and Common Market. CARICOM was established by the Treaty of Chaguaramas in 1973 to replace the former Caribbean Free Trade Association. The 14 member states are Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. The British Virgin Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands are associate members, and the Dominican Republic and Venezuela act as observers.
CARICOM's main aim is economic integration, with the creation of a single Caribbean market. Other activities include cooperation in health projects, education programs, and foreign policy.
In 1994, representatives of more than 35 nations signed a charter to establish the Association of Caribbean States (ACS). The ACS is a CARICOM-sponsored trading group that includes the Caribbean islands, Central America, Mexico, and Venezuela.
EUROPEAN UNION
The European Union was previously called the European Community.
In 1952 it consisted of the following countries:-
Belgium
France
Germany
Italy
Luxembourg
Netherlands
The following countries joined in 1973:-
Denmark
Ireland
United Kingdom
Greece joined in 1981
Portugal and Spain both joined in 1986
There was another expansion in 1995 with the addition of the following:-
Austria
Finland
Sweden
The largest expansion took place in 2004 with the addition of the following 10
countries:-
Cyprus
Czeck Republic
Estonia
Hungary
Latvia
Lithuania
Malta
Poland
Slovakia
Slovenia
With effect from 1st May 2004, the European Union consists of the following 25
countries:-
Austria
Belgium
Cyprus
Czeck Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Ireland (Eire)
Italy
Latvia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Netherlands
Poland
Portugal
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
United Kingdom
European Union, sometimes called the EU, is an organisation of 25 Western European countries that promotes cooperation among its members. The members cooperate in many areas, including politics and economics. They have achieved the most success in creating a single economic market without internal barriers to trade and investment. The union's members are Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czeck Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland (Eire), Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
Headquarters of the union are in Brussels, Belgium.
The European Union has evolved from economic cooperation that began among Western European countries in the early 1950's. These countries eventually cooperated in economic affairs as members of the European Community (EC). In 1993, the EC members - extended their cooperation into the areas of Justice and Home Affairs and a Common Foreign and Security Policy. Justice and Home Affairs concerns cooperation in such areas as law enforcement and immigration. Through the Common Foreign and Security Policy, the nations deal with military and other foreign policy matters. The European Union was officially created when cooperation was extended to these two new areas. The three areas of cooperation are sometimes referred to as the union's three "pillars."
The European Union is a major economic unit. Together, its members have more people than the United States. In addition, the total value of the goods and services produced by its members exceeds that of the goods and services produced by the United States. The combined value of the union's imports and exports is greater than that of any single country in the world. The United States is the union's main trading partner.
The European Union works to increase economic growth among its members by encouraging trade, investment, and economic competition among them. Union members impose no tariffs on one another and give European citizenship to all their people. European citizenship allows citizens of member countries to live and work anywhere in the union. They may also vote in local and European Union elections in any member country in which they live, even if they are not citizens of that country.
The European Union also fosters economic development by adopting common policies and regulations in such areas as agriculture, transportation, health and safety, antitrust matters, and industrial standards. One such policy, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), controls the prices of agricultural goods, limits agricultural production, and gives subsidies (cash grants) to farmers. In addition, the union determines common policies for its members in such areas as immigration and the control of illegal drug trafficking and other international crimes.
The European Union administers programs in education and training and in science and technology. It also provides money for economic development in poorer regions within the union. This aid is aimed at achieving economic and social equality. The union's revenue comes from a general sales tax, levies on imports from nonmember countries, and contributions from members.
Several, though not all, of the union's member states participate in the European Monetary System (EMS). The EMS encourages trade and investment among its members by stabilising the exchange rates of their currencies.
The European Union is the main partner of the United States in efforts to negotiate and manage world trade rules. The union also cooperates with the United Nations (UN) and such agencies as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. The European Union belongs to the Food and Agriculture Organisation, a UN agency. The union also gives economic help to struggling nonmember nations.
The European Union sometimes helps negotiate peace settlements between warring nonmember countries. Several European Union members form a defence alliance called the Western European Union (WEU). The WEU, in turn, works closely with the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). NATO is a larger defence alliance among whose members are the United States, Canada, and numerous European countries.
The European Union has five major institutions that share its executive, legislative, and judicial functions. These institutions are the European Council, the Council of Ministers, the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the European Court of Justice.
The European Council is the union's supreme political body. It establishes the goals of the union. The council consists of the heads of state or government of each member nation. The chairperson of the council is the leader of the country that holds the presidency of the union. Each member nation serves as president of the union for six months in rotation. The council meets at least twice a year. Each meeting is held in the capital of the country that holds the presidency, or in Brussels.
The Council of Ministers approves legislation for the European Union. It cannot propose legislation, but it can accept or reject legislative proposals from the European Commission and request proposals from the commission. The Council of Ministers also coordinates the economic policies of the union's members. The council makes many of its most important decisions by unanimous agreement. The council consists of people who serve as cabinet ministers in the government of their home nation. The council usually meets in Brussels, but it also can conduct meetings in the capital of the country that holds the union's presidency.
The European Commission proposes legislation to the Council of Ministers. It also safeguards the treaties on which the union is based and oversees implementation of the union's decisions. The commission consists of 17 commissioners, including a president, all of whom are chosen by common consent of the national governments and approved by the European Parliament. The commissioners serve five-year terms.
The commission president is the principal figurehead of the European Union. With the help of the other commissioners, the president directs the development of new legislation, oversees the implementation of the union's decisions, and manages the union's budget. All the commissioners pledge to put the welfare of the union above that of their home countries. The commission meets in Brussels.
The European Parliament, despite its name, cannot pass laws. But it does debate proposals of the European Commission and advises the commission and the Council of Ministers. Both the commission and the council must take the parliament's views into account when considering legislation. The parliament's powers are strongest in budget matters, an area in which it can sometimes veto a proposal of the European Commission. In addition, the parliament can expel the entire commission by a two-thirds vote. The parliament has more than 600 members, each serving a five-year term. Voters in each member country elect a certain percentage of the parliament's members. The smaller countries have greater representation per person than the larger countries do. The parliament meets in Strasbourg, France.
The European Court of Justice is the supreme court of the European Union. It decides whether actions of the European Commission, the Council of Ministers, member governments, and private organisations comply with the rules of the union. The court hears appeals on matters brought by member countries, the commission, the Council of Ministers, or private citizens. The court's decisions are final and binding on all parties involved, including the member governments. Its judges are chosen by unanimous agreement of the member countries. The judges serve six-year terms. The European Court of Justice sits in Luxembourg.
After World War II ended in 1945, Jean Monnet, a French statesman, promoted the idea of gradually uniting the democratic European nations both economically and politically. As a result, in 1951, Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and West Germany signed the Treaty of Paris, which established the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). The ECSC united its six member nations in a single common market for the production and trade of coal, steel, iron ore, and scrap metal. It abolished all trade barriers among the members for these products. It allowed coal and steel workers from any member nation to work anywhere in the ECSC countries. The ECSC began operating in 1952.
The success of the ECSC led its six members to sign the Treaties of Rome in 1957. These agreements broadened the countries' cooperation by establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) and the European Economic Community (EEC). Through Euratom, the nations pooled resources to develop nuclear energy for electric power production and other peaceful uses. The EEC worked to combine the members' economic resources. Euratom and the EEC began operating in 1958. They shared the ECSC's judicial and legislative bodies but had separate executive agencies. In 1967, the three organisations merged their executive agencies and became known as the European Community (EC).
By mid-1968, the EC members had eliminated all tariffs affecting trade among themselves and established a common tariff on goods from other countries. As a result, the volume of trade among member countries rose quickly. The elimination of tariffs on trade within the EC allowed member countries to increase their economic efficiency and substantially raise their citizens' standard of living.
In the early 1970's, the EC began managing the exchange rates of the currencies of some of its members, notably West Germany and France. EC efforts to stabilise exchange rates were strengthened when the European Monetary System was set up in 1979.
Over the years, the European Community admitted six new members. Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom were admitted in 1973. Greece joined the EC in 1981, and Portugal and Spain became members in 1986.
Beginning in 1989, many Communist countries in Eastern Europe moved away from Communist rule. They held democratic elections and reduced government control of their economies. The EC then established special agreements with these countries on trade, economic aid, and political relations. In 1990, West Germany and East Germany united. The new, united Germany replaced West Germany as an EC member.
In 1987, the EC completed ratification of the Single European Act. This act called for ending all customs controls and most other obstacles to the free movement of goods, services, workers, and capital among EC members. It took effect on Jan. 1, 1993. But by the mid-1990's, parts of the act had not yet been implemented. For example, passport checks were still required for travel between some member countries.
In 1992, representatives of the 12 EC members signed the Treaty of European Union in Maastricht, the Netherlands. This pact, also known as the Maastricht Treaty, provided for creation of the European Union. It also called for establishing an Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) by the end of the 1990's. The principal features of the EMU would be a common currency, called the euro, and a central bank for all European Union countries. The bank would conduct the union's monetary policy. Officials use monetary policy to influence such economic factors as interest rates and the availability of money and loans.
The Maastricht Treaty took effect in November 1993. But creating the EMU required that all member countries have similar inflation rates, interest rates, and other economic conditions. In the mid-1990's, it was unclear whether the members could meet these requirements.
In 1994, a treaty providing for a European Economic Area (EEA) went into effect. The EEA includes the European Union and three of the four member nations of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). These three nations are Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein. The treaty guarantees the free movement of capital, people, services, and nonagricultural goods between these countries and the European Union. Switzerland is the EFTA member that does not participate in the EEA.
In 1995, Austria, Finland, and Sweden joined the EU as full members. In 1997, the EU invited Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Poland, and Slovenia to begin negotiations on becoming EU members. All of the invited countries had expressed interest in joining the organisation. They joined in 2004, together with Latvia, Lithuania, Malta and Slovakia.
Please see each individual country for more information.
GUIDES
ISLAMIC CONFERENCE
NORDIC COUNCIL
The Nordic Council includes Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. Citizens of Nordic Council countries may work and receive social benefits in any member nation, and they may travel among member nations without a passport or visa.
NORTH ATLANTIC TREATY ORGANISATION
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) is a military alliance consisting of 16 countries. The 16 countries are Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States.
Formed in 1949, NATO was set up largely to discourage an attack by the Soviet Union on the non-Communist nations of Western Europe. After World War II ended in 1945, an intense rivalry had developed between Communist countries, led by the Soviet Union, and non-Communist nations, led by the United States. This rivalry became known as the Cold War. In 1955, the Soviet Union and Communist nations of Eastern Europe formed their own military alliance to oppose NATO. The Soviet-led alliance was called the Warsaw Pact.
NATO also was established to keep the peace among former enemies in Western Europe. In World War II, for example, Italy and Germany had fought most of the other countries that later became NATO members.
In forming NATO, each member country agreed to treat an attack on any other member as an attack on itself. Militarily, the United States was - and still is - the alliance's most powerful member, in part because of its large supply of nuclear weapons. The NATO countries believed the Soviet Union would not attack Western Europe if such an attack would trigger war with the United States. NATO's policy is known as deterrence because it is designed to deter (discourage) an attack. NATO's purpose, however, has been less clear since the Warsaw Pact and the Soviet Union were dissolved in 1991.
NATO has a civilian branch and a military branch. The civilian branch includes the North Atlantic Council, the highest authority in NATO. The council consists of the heads of government of the NATO members or their representatives. A secretary-general heads the council. A European has always held this post. Decisions of the council must be unanimous.
NATO's military branch includes three commands: Allied Command Atlantic, Allied Command Channel, and Allied Command Europe. Allied Command Europe has traditionally functioned as the heart of NATO. Its commander has always been a U.S. general. NATO's military commanders report to the Military Committee, which reports, in turn, to the North Atlantic Council. The Military Committee consists of the military chiefs of staff or other representatives of the NATO nations.
NATO was formed as a result of the North Atlantic Treaty, which was signed by 12 countries on April 4, 1949, in Washington, D.C. The 12 countries were Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Greece and Turkey joined NATO in 1952. West Germany joined in 1955. Germany replaced West Germany as a NATO member in 1990, when West Germany and East Germany were united. Spain joined NATO in 1982.
During the Cold War, NATO helped maintain peace in Europe through its policy of deterrence. But it also experienced disagreements among its members. The most troublesome involved nuclear weapons. United States officials generally insisted that NATO rely on nuclear weapons to deter a Soviet attack. Some people in NATO countries, however, opposed the use of these weapons. Also, European countries occasionally doubted that the United States would actually use nuclear weapons to defend Europe. Their doubts were based on the fact that the Soviet Union also had a powerful nuclear force. For these reasons, Britain and France built their own nuclear weapons. In 1966, France pulled its troops out of the NATO military command, though it remained a NATO member. Before France withdrew its troops, NATO's central office had been in Paris. In 1967, the organisation moved its headquarters to Brussels, Belgium.
NATO's biggest crisis followed the breakup of the Warsaw Pact and the Soviet Union in 1991. The Soviet Union broke apart into a number of independent states. Most of these states - and the Soviet Union's former allies in Eastern Europe - rejected Communism. Some people felt that without its traditional Communist enemies, NATO had lost its purpose and should disband.
Some NATO leaders proposed offering membership in NATO to such former Warsaw Pact lands as Poland, Hungary, Ukraine, and the Czech Republic. Other NATO leaders worried that offering membership to former Soviet allies might lead to a dangerous conflict with Russia.
To help resolve the uncertainty about NATO's future, the alliance began the Partnership for Peace program in 1994. Over 20 countries joined the program, including Russia. Most of the other countries that joined were Eastern European nations. The program provides for joint military planning and exercises with NATO members but does not involve formal NATO membership.
In the mid-1990's, NATO took military action against Bosnian Serb forces to help end a civil war in the former Yugoslav republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Bosnian Serbs were fighting Bosnia-Herzegovina's government. NATO's action increased tension between NATO and Russia, a traditional ally of the Serbs. In late 1995, the Bosnian government and the Bosnian Serbs agreed to a peace treaty, and NATO troops soon replaced United Nations troops as the peacekeeping force in Bosnia.
In 1997, Russia announced that it would not oppose the eastward expansion of NATO. That same year, NATO and Russia agreed to form a joint council to give Russia a voice in NATO decision making. Later in 1997, NATO invited the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland to seek formal NATO membership. All three countries had expressed interest in becoming members. NATO decided not to offer membership to a number of other Eastern European countries.
OLYMPICS
ORGANISATION FOR AFRICAN UNITY
Organisation of African Unity (OAU) is a union of African nations. It works to promote unity among African peoples and strengthen cultural, economic, military, scientific, and social ties. It also aids member nations stricken by natural disasters. The OAU consists of 52 countries and a government-in-exile.
A major concern of the OAU is economic growth and development in Africa. In 1980, OAU members agreed on the Lagos Plan of Action for economic cooperation throughout the continent. An African common market is planned by the year 2000.
The OAU was founded in 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and originally had 32 members. Through the years, its influence has increased in both African and world affairs. The OAU has settled several boundary disputesbetween various member nations. It has opposed colonialism in Africa and established a special fund to aid independence movements against colonial rule. Such movements helped end Portuguese colonial rule there. The OAU also supported a successful movement by the black majority in Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) to gain control of their government. It had been dominated by a white minority. The OAU also supported a successful movement by the black majority in South Africa to gain control of their government from the white minority. Until 1994, the whites had kept control of the government by prohibiting blacks from voting.
The Organisation of African Unity has three administrative bodies: the Assembly of the Heads of States and Governments, the Council of Ministers, and the General Secretariat - which is headed by a secretary-general. The assembly holds an annual meeting that is attended by the leader of each member nation. The leaders vote on policies recommended by the council, which consists of foreign ministers or other officials appointed by the individual governments. The council meets at least twice a year. The General Secretariat, a permanent body that is located in Addis Ababa, works to make sure that the OAU's policies are carried out. In addition, there are a number of specialised agencies.
The OAU has experienced many problems. These problems include disputes over the membership of nations, shortages of funds, costs of dealing with natural disasters, and disputes over the appointment and functions of the secretary-general.
MEMBERS OF THE OAU
The original members of the OAU do not have dates after their names. Other members are listed with their years of admission. One original member, Morocco, resigned in 1984. Algeria, Angola (1975), Benin, Botswana (1966), Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde (1975), Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros (1975), Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (Kinshasa), Djibouti (1977), Egypt, Equatorial Guinea (1968), Eritrea (1993), Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia (1965), Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau (1974), Ivory Coast, Kenya (1963), Lesotho (1966), Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi (1964), Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius (1968), Mozambique (1975), Namibia (1990), Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (1984), Sao Tome and Principe (1975), Senegal, Seychelles (1976), Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa (1994), Sudan, Swaziland (1968), Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia (1964) and Zimbabwe (1980)
ORGANISATION OF AMERICAN STATES
Organisation of American States (OAS) is an association of 35 American countries. The OAS seeks to provide for collective self-defense, regional cooperation, and the peaceful settlement of controversies. The OAS charter sets forth the group's guiding principles. These principles include a belief in the value of international law, social justice, economic cooperation, and the equality of all people. In addition, the OAS charter states that an act of aggression against one American nation is regarded as an act of aggression against all the nations in the OAS.
The OAS functions through several bodies. Major policies are formed at annual sessions of the General Assembly. All member nations can attend, and each has one vote. Special Meetings of Consultation of Ministers of Foreign Affairs deal with urgent problems, especially those relating to defense or the maintenance of peace in the Americas. The Permanent Council, with headquarters in Washington, D.C., is the executive body of the OAS. Each member nation is represented. For convenience, diplomatic representatives in Washington serve as council members. The council supervises the General Secretariat, makes plans for General Assembly sessions, and oversees OAS administration. The secretary-general, the chief administrator of the OAS, is elected to a five-year term by the General Assembly. Specialised conferences promote inter-American cooperation.
The Organisation of American States had its early beginning at the First International Conference of American States, which met in Washington, D.C., in 1889 and 1890. The delegates established the International Union of American Republics, with the Commercial Bureau of the American Republics as its central office. This bureau was renamed the Pan American Union in 1910. The Pan American Union became the permanent body of the OAS when it was organised in 1948 at the ninth Pan-American Conference, held in Bogota, Colombia. The organisation's original charter became effective in December 1951. An amended charter took effect in February 1970, and the Pan American Union was renamed the General Secretariat of the OAS.
Early in 1962, the Organisation of American States voted to exclude Cuba's Communist government from active membership. But Cuba itself remains an OAS member even though its government cannot participate in any of the organisation's activities.
In 1965, a revolt in the Dominican Republic led the OAS to set up its first military force. Troops from six Latin American countries and the United States took part. The troops and OAS committees worked to restore order in the Dominican Republic. In 1969, the OAS acted quickly to end a five-day invasion of Honduras by troops from El Salvador.
During the late 1970's, the organisation's main concern became human rights. The Inter-American Human Rights Commission - a specialised OAS agency - interviewed political exiles and conducted on-site investigations of human-rights violations. The commission also issued reports about electoral fraud, illegal imprisonment, and torture and other acts of brutality.
The influence of the OAS began to decline during the early 1980's because of increased involvement by other international agencies in Latin-American affairs. These agencies included the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
MEMBERS OF THE OAS
Antigua and Barbuda Dominican Republic Peru Argentina Ecuador St. Kitts and Nevis Bahamas El Salvador St. Lucia Barbados Grenada St. Vincent and the Grenadines Belize Guatemala Suriname Bolivia Guyana Trinidad and Tobago Brazil Haiti United States Canada Honduras Uruguay Chile Jamaica Venezuela Colombia Mexico Costa Rica Nicaragua Cuba Panama Dominica Paraguay
ORGANISATION OF PETROLEUM EXPORTING COUNTRIES
Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is an association of 12 nations that depend heavily on oil exports for their incomes. Its members work together to try to increase their revenue from the sale of oil on the world market. OPEC members have three-fourths of the world's recoverable oil reserves. In the early 1990's, these countries produced more than half the oil traded internationally. The members of OPEC are Algeria, Gabon, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela.
OPEC was founded in 1960 by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela. At that time, the petroleum industry in these countries was controlled by United States and European oil companies. These firms paid the host governments income taxes and royalties (shares of their profits) based on the posted price the companies charged for crude oil on the world market. In 1959 and 1960, oil production greatly exceeded world demand. The surplus that was thereby created prompted several of the major companies to cut the posted price and thus their payments to host governments. OPEC was founded in response to this price cut.
OPEC had little influence on oil prices during the 1960's, when production expanded to keep pace with demand. In the 1970's, however, world demand for oil began to outgrow what was available from non-OPEC sources. In 1973, OPEC stopped consulting with oil companies and decided to raise oil prices in keeping with the rate of inflation (the rise of all prices).
Armed conflict also contributed to rising oil prices. During the Arab-Israeli War of 1973, some Arab members of OPEC stopped or reduced oil exports to countries supporting Israel. As a result, oil prices in those countries, including the United States and other Western industrial nations, rose sharply. During the late 1970's, the Iranian revolution caused a shortage that helped OPEC increase oil prices again.
OPEC was less successful at achieving its goals in the 1980's, when the world oil supply again exceeded demand. In 1983, OPEC cut the price of its oil for the first time. During the middle and late 1980's, OPEC set production limits for its members several times. But many members ignored the limits, thereby holding prices down. Although brief price increases resulted from Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990, oil prices remained stable in the early 1990's.
PACIFIC COMMUNITY
RED CROSS
SCOUTS
The Scout Association
UNITED NATIONS
United Nations
VEXILLOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION
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