This guide is a selected list of electronic resources on selected international organizations. It was designed to support the Research Methods in International Law class.
The International Labour Organization is the UN specialized agency which seeks the promotion of social justice and internationally recognized human and labour rights. It was founded in 1919 and is the only surviving major creation of the Treaty of Versailles which brought the League of Nations into being and it became the first specialized agency of the UN in 1946.
International Labour Office NATLEX, the database of national labour, social security and related human rights legislation maintained by the ILO's International Labour Standards Department. Records in NATLEX provide abstracts of legislation http://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/natlex_browse.home
The World Health Organization is the UN specialized agency for health. Established in 1948 its objective is the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health.
The WTO was created in 1995 by the Uruguay Round agreements. Formerly, international trade (in goods only) was regulated by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and a small organization also known as GATT. GATT was incorporated into the much larger WTO, which regulates international trade in goods, services and intellectual property.
As described by its own Internet site, WIPO is an agency of the United Nations "responsible for the promotion of the protection of intellectual property throughout the world through cooperation among States, and for the administration of various multilateral treaties dealing with the legal and administrative aspects of intellectual property."
Founded in 1863, the ICRC is a Swiss based independent, neutral organization ensuring humanitarian protection and assistance for victims of war and armed violence. The ICRC has a permanent mandate under international law to take impartial action for prisoners, the wounded and sick, and civilians affected by conflict.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is the first ever permanent, treaty based, international criminal court established to promote the rule of law and ensure that the gravest international crimes do not go unpunished. The jurisdiction and functioning of the Court shall be governed by the provisions of the Rome Statute.
In 1993, the Security Council Resolution 827 established an international tribunal for "prosecuting persons responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law in…Yugoslavia."
Recognizing that serious violations of humanitarian law were committed in Rwanda, UN Security Council Resolution 955 established the ICTR to prosecute serious violations of international humanitarian law committed between 1 January 1994 and 31 December 1994
Pursuant to Security Council resolution 1315 (2000) the Special Court for Sierra Leone was set up jointly by the Government of Sierra Leone and the United Nations. It is mandated to try those who bear the greatest responsibility for serious violations of international humanitarian law and Sierra Leonean law committed in the territory of Sierra Leone since 30 November 1996.
