Non-European Regional Organizations

Abstract

Three non-European intergovernmental organizations of regional membership will be considered in this Chapter. The first is the League of Arab States which was established by the Pact of Cairo of March 22, 1945.¹ Although the League is a regional/general organization, it differs from other regional institutions in that Article i restricts membership to independent Arab States without imposing any geographic limitations. Thus, the essential element of “arabism” rather than geographic regionalism is the chief criterion of membership. This intent is defined further in Article 2 of the Pact: “The purpose of the League is to draw closer relations between member states and coordinate their political activities with the aim of realizing a close collaboration between them,... and to consider in a general way the affairs and interests of the Arab countries.”²