UNESCO's World Heritage mission
is to:
encourage countries to sign the World
Heritage Convention and to ensure the protection of their natural and cultural
heritage;
encourage States Parties to the Convention
to nominate sites within their national territory for inclusion on the World
Heritage List;
encourage States Parties to establish
management plans and set up reporting systems on the state of conservation of
their World Heritage sites;
help States Parties safeguard World
Heritage properties by providing technical assistance and professional
training;
provide emergency assistance for World
Heritage sites in immediate danger;
support States Parties' public
awareness-building activities for World Heritage conservation;
encourage participation of the local
population in the preservation of their cultural and natural heritage;
encourage international cooperation in the
conservation of our world's cultural and natural heritage.
List of Commonwealth Countries.
- Antigua
and Barbuda
- Australia
- Bahamas
- Bangladesh
- Barbados
- Belize
- Bostwana
- Brunei
- Cameroon
- Canada
- Cyprus
- Dominica
- Gambia
- Ghana
- Grenada
- Guyana
- India
- Jamaica
- Kenya
- Kiribati
- Lesotho
- Malawi
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Malta
- Mauritius
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Nauru
- New
Zealand
- Nigeria
- Pakistan
- Papua New
Guinea
- Rwanda
- Saint
Kitts and Nevis
- Saint
Lucia
- Saint
Vincent and the Grenadines
- Samoa
- Seychelles
- Sierra
Leone
- Singapore
- Solomon
Island
- South
Africa
- Sri Lanka
- Swaziland
- Tanzania
- Tonga
- Trinidad
and Tobago
- Tuvalu
- Uganda
- United
Kingdom
- Vanuatu
OPEC
Member Countries
1) Saudi Arabia
2) Iran
3) Iraq
4) Kuwait
5) Venezuela
6) Qatar
7) Indonesia
8) Libya
9) United Arab Emirates
10) Algeria
11) Nigeria
12) Angola
SAARC The South Asian Association for
Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was established when its Charter was formally
adopted on December 8, 1985 by the Heads of State or Government of Bangladesh,
Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. In April 2007, at the Association's 14th summit, at
New Delhi Afghanistan became its eighth member. Inaugural
summit was held at Dhaka, Bangladesh on 7-8 December 1985. Although the SAARC
Charter requires the heads of state or government to meet once a year, the
summits have generally taken place approximately every eighteen months.
SAARC
provides a platform for the peoples of South Asia to work together in a spirit
of friendship, trust and understanding. It aims to accelerate the process of
economic and social development in Member States.
The SAARC Secretariat
is based in Kathmandu, Nepal. It coordinates and monitors implementation of
activities, prepares for and services meetings, and serves as a channel of
communication between the Association and its Member States as well as other
regional organizations.
The
Secretariat is headed by the Secretary General, who is appointed by the Council
of Ministers (External affairs ministers of member States) from Member States
in alphabetical order for a three year term. The Secretary General is assisted
by eight Directors on deputation from the Member States.
The
SAFTA( South Asian Free Trade Area).
The SAFTA Agreement was signed on 6 January 2004 during Twelfth SAARC Summit
held in Islamabad; Pakistan and the Trade Liberalization Programme commenced
from 1st July 2006.Following the Agreement coming into force the
SAFTA Ministerial Council (SMC) has been established comprising the Commerce
Ministers of the Member States. The SAFTA Agreement states that “the SMC shall meet at least once every year
or more often as and when considered necessary by the Contracting States. Each
Contracting State shall chair the SMC for a period of one year on rotational
basis in alphabetical order.”
The
European Union (EU) is an economic and
political union of 27 member states which are located primarily
in Europe. Its
capital is Brussels,
the capital of Belgium.
The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community
(ECSC) and the European Economic Community (EEC),
formed by the Inner
Six countries in 1951 and 1958 respectively. In the intervening years
the community and its successors have grown in size by the accession of new member states
and in power by the addition of policy areas to its remit. The Maastricht
Treaty established the European Union under its current name in 1993.
The EU has developed a single
market through a standardized system of laws which apply in all member
states. The Schengen Area comprising 26 European countries have
abolished passport and any other type of border control at their common
borders. It mostly functions as a single country for international travel
purposes, with a common visa policy. The Area is named
after the Schengen Agreement. EU policies aim to ensure
the free movement of people, goods,
services, and capital, enact legislation in justice and home affairs, and
maintain common policies on trade, agriculture, fisheries and regional development. A
monetary union, the eurozone, was established in 1999 and is composed of 17
member states. Through the Common Foreign and Security Policy
the EU has developed a role in external relations and defence. Permanent diplomatic missions
have been established around the world. The EU is represented at the United Nations, the WTO, the G8 and the G-20.
The
Schengen Agreement led to the
creation of Europe's borderless
Schengen
Area in 1995. The treaty was signed on 14 June 1985 between five of the
then ten member states of the
European Economic Community near the
town of
Schengen in
Luxembourg.
It proposed the gradual abolition of border checks at the signatories' common
borders. In 1990 the Agreement was supplemented by the Schengen Convention
which proposed the abolition of internal border controls and a common visa
policy. The Schengen Agreement along with its implementing Convention was
implemented in 1995 only for some signatories, but just over two years later
during the Amsterdam Intergovernmental Conference, all European Union member
states except the United Kingdom and Ireland had signed the Schengen Agreement.