Read the following text and explain the words and phrases in bold.

The History of International Organizations

In the mid-19th century, economic development gave rise to a need to rely on international law in regulating a wide range of new spheres of interstate relations. Initially, this was accomplished through bilateral treaties, but then States began to conclude multilateral agreements, whose implementation has produced a substantial number of international organizations called international administrative unions.

The earliest major international administrative unions include the International Telecommunication Union (1865), the Universal Postal Union (1874), the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (1875), the International Union for the Protection of Industrial Property (1883).

International administrative unions were actually the first permanent international organizations. In terms of their competence they were of a non-political character.

The first permanent political international organization, the League of Nations, was established in 1919. Its Covenant was drafted at the Paris Peace Conference, and was a component part of the 1919 Peace Treaty of Versailles. The aim of the League of Nations was to maintain peace and security. In 1940, the League of Nations actually ceased to exist, which was formalized in 1946.

The creation of the United Nations Organization marked a decisive stage in the history of international organizations. The UN Charter was signed in June 1945 at a conference held in San Fran­cisco. The United Nations is a universal political organization for maintaining international peace and security.

Simultaneously with the creation of the United Nations, a number of intergovernmental organizations appeared that were called specialized agencies. They are linked with the United Nations by special agreements. They include the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), etc.

The Cold War led to the formation of a number of closed military groupings. They included: the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the South-East Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO), the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO), Australia-New Zealand-US Defence Pact (ANZUS), and SEATO, which was established in 1954 in accordance with a treaty on the defence of South-East Asia, and which comprised the United States, Britain, France, Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Thailand and the Philippines. It ceased to exist in 1974.

The abolition of colonial system and the resulting formation of a large number of newly-independent sovereign States have not only greatly increased the membership of the world's major organizations, but also led to the formation of a number of new international organizations, such as the Organization of African Unity (OAU).

The continuing internationalization of economic life and the in­tensification of international economic, scientific and technical reltions, as well as the growing importance of today's global problems whose solution requires joint efforts by all States, are all factors that tend to increase the number of international organizations and en­hance their role in the system of international relations.

Complete the table.

noun	verb		noun	verb
union	unite			defend
organization				exist
establishment				abolish
cease				increase
enhancement				internationalize

Match the synonyms.

A	B
1) growth h	a) setup
2) permanent	b) stop
3) establish	c) intensify
4) maintain	d) constant
5) cease	e) nullification
6) enhance	f) in concordance with
7) abolition	g) keep up
8) in concordance with	h) development

 

4. Look up the organization in a dictionary/ on the Internet to read out the abbreviations and translate them into Russian. What do you think each organization does?

1) WHO 2) ICAO 3) NATO 4) SEATO 5) CENTO 6) ANZUS 7) OAU