ABSTRACT
Intergovernmental organisations (IGOs) are entities created by states to facilitate cooperation, provide a forum for discussion, resolve disputes, and exchange information among nations (Brahm 2005). IGOs are for med when several lawful state representatives provide legal personality to the entity, or group, through a process of ratification. Brahm (2005) differentiates IGOs from other multilateral mechanisms, such as groups, coalitions (e.g., G8, G20, and treaties) or agreements (e.g., North American Free Trade Agreement). Others (YIO 2015) consider an IGO to be established by a treaty or agreement that acts as a charter creating the group and generates obligations between governments, whether the agreement is eventually published or not. The Yearbook of International Organizations 2015–2016 reports that there are 2,412 organisations under multilateral treaties and intergovernmental agreement categories (YIO 2015).
