International Labour Organization (ILO) Specialized agency of the United Nations system dedicated to improving labour conditions and living standards throughout the world. Established in 1919 through the Treaty of Versailles as an agency of the League of Nations, the ILO became the first specialized agency affiliated with the UN in 1946. Its activities include compiling labour statistics, protecting international migrants, and safeguarding trade-union rights. Its delegates come from member gov¬ ernments (50%), labour (25%), and employers (25%). About 175 coun¬ tries are represented in the ILO. It received the Nobel Prize for Peace in
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU)
Former industrial union in the U.S. and Canada that represented workers in the women’s clothing industry. When it was formed in 1900, most of its members were Jewish immigrants working in sweatshops. Successful ILGWU strikes in New York in 1909-10 secured higher wages and shorter hours. Under the leadership of David Dubinsky (president 1932-66), the union grew from 45,000 members to almost half a million. Active in the effort to organize mass-production industries, it was expelled from the AFL in 1937 but returned in 1940. From the 1970s, membership shrank as U.S. firms moved garment production overseas, and in 1995 the ILGWU merged with the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers’ Union to form the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employ¬ ees. See also AFL-CIO.
international law Body of legal rules, norms, and standards that apply between sovereign states and other entities that are legally recog¬ nized as international actors. The term was coined by the English phi¬ losopher Jeremy Bentham. Important elements of international law include sovereignty, recognition (which allows a country to honour the claims of another), consent (which allows for modifications in international agree¬ ments to fit the customs of a country), freedom of the high seas, self- defense (which ensures that measures may be taken against illegal acts committed against a sovereign country), freedom of commerce, and pro¬
tection of nationals abroad. International courts, such as the International Court of Justice, resolve disputes on these and other matters, including war crimes. See also asylum; immunity.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) Specialized agency of the United Nations system. It was conceived at the Bretton Woods Conference (1944) and officially founded in 1945 as a voluntary cooperative institu¬ tion to help ensure the smooth international buying and selling of cur¬ rency. More than 180 countries are members of the IMF. Its principal functions are stabilizing currency-exchange rates, financing the short-term balance-of-payments deficits of member countries, and providing advice and technical assistance to borrowing countries. Members contribute operating funds and receive voting rights according to their volume of international trade, national income, and international reserve holdings; the U.S. holds in excess of one-sixth of the voting rights, more than twice the percentage of any other member. The IMF has no coercive power over members, but it can refuse to lend money to members that do not agree to adhere to its policies; as a last resort it can ask members to withdraw from the organization. Critics of the IMF contend that the austerity and privatization measures it requires of borrowing countries reduce economic growth, deepen and prolong financial crises, and create severe hardships for the world’s poorest people. See also International Bank for Recon¬ struction and Development; World Bank.
international organization Institution drawing membership from at least three states, having activities in several states, and whose mem¬ bers are held together by a formal agreement. Only a few existed before 1850; several thousand were active in the early 21st century. Some are intergovernmental (e.g., the United Nations), and some are nongovern¬ mental (e.g., Amnesty International). Some have multiple worldwide or regional purposes (e.g., the European Union), and some have single pur¬ poses (e.g., the World Intellectual Property Organization). One effect of their proliferation is a stronger sense of interdependence among states, which in turn has stimulated recognition of the need for cooperation to address international and global problems.
International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Orga¬ nization for determining standards in most technical and nontechnical fields. Founded in Geneva in 1947, its membership includes more than 100 countries. An appropriate national body represents each country; for example, the U.S. member is the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Standardization affects units of measurement, alphabetization and transliteration, and specifications for parts, materials, surfaces, pro¬ cesses, tools, methods of testing, and machines. The ISO publishes the results of its work as “International Standards” (IS). ISO standards are optimally reviewed every five years.
international payment Payment made between countries, whether in settlement of a trade debt, as a unilateral transfer of funds, for capital investment, or for some other purpose. The reasons for such payments and the methods of making them and accounting for them are matters of concern to economists and national governments. International debts are settled either from accumulated balances of foreign currency or claims on foreign currency, or by loans from creditor to debtor, or by drawing on the International Monetary Fund, or by movements of gold. How a coun¬ try balances its international accounts is one of the most important deci¬ sions for its BALANCE OF PAYMENTS.
International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) Set of symbols intended as a universal system for transcribing speech sounds. The promulgation and updating of the IPA has been a principal aim of the International Pho¬ netic Association (Association Phonetique Internationale), founded in Paris in 1886. The first IPA chart was published in 1888. IPA symbols are based on an extended version of the Latin alphabet, with modifications of some letters and the use of additional symbols, some of which had been used in earlier phonetic alphabets. Diacritics are used primarily to show various kinds of secondary articulation.
International Refugee Organization (IRO) Temporary special¬ ized agency of the United Nations system (1946-52). The IRO assisted refugees and displaced persons in Europe and Asia who could not or would not return home after World War II. Taking over the work of its principal predecessor, the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Adminis¬ tration, it also assumed responsibility for the legal protection and resettle¬ ment of refugees previously carried out by the Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees. It was succeeded by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
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international relations Study of the relations of states with each other and with international organizations and certain subnational entities (e.g., bureaucracies and political parties). It is related to a number of other academic disciplines, including political science, geography, history, eco¬ nomics, law, sociology, psychology, and philosophy. The field emerged at the beginning of the 20th century largely in the West and particularly in the U.S. as that country grew in power and influence. The study of inter¬ national relations has always been heavily influenced by normative con¬ siderations, such as the goal of reducing armed conflict and increasing international cooperation. At the beginning of the 21st century, research focused on issues such as terrorism, religious and ethnic conflict, the emer¬ gence of substate and nonstate entities, the spread of weapons of mass destruction and efforts to counter nuclear proliferation, and the develop¬ ment of international institutions.