Intergovernmental Organizations: Objectives, Structures, and Information Channels

This article discusses the objectives, structures, and information channels of intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) and their impact on peace, stability, and economic development. It also explores the barriers to their success and provides recommendations for improvement. The article highlights the importance of IGOs in maintaining peace, promoting friendly relations, stabilizing the economy, and resolving disputes. It also discusses the internal structures of IGOs and the formal channels of communication used to achieve their goals. Finally, the article recommends that governments support the activities of IGOs and that every country should join an IGO to better relations with other states.

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Intergovernmental organizations
Introduction
An intergovernmental organization can be defined as the organizations composed by the
sovereign members primarily to ensure peace and stability and economic development in the
member countries for the welfare of its citizens. Intergovernmental organizations operates
under the government of that particular state and to some extent the government has control
over some of its functions like when it comes to leadership positions of the organization
where the government can appoint the person in charge of the organization, but they are
collectively controlled from their headquarters. Organizations like the United Nations and
FAO and International Labour organizations (ILO) were created with the main objectives of
peoples’ welfare thus are concerned with the good of the society.
IGOs members in most cases consist of the states who were earlier colonized by a similar
state during the scramble and partition of Africa like French, British, Portugal and others like
Germany.
Background information
Intergovernmental organizations started back in the early days when the colonized countries
gained their independence from the white rulers. They were formed with the aim of keeping
peace and foreseeing the welfare of people within a country. The appointed individuals from
different countries came together to discuss the problems facing their countries and
collectively agreed to form an intergovernmental organizations which will look into the
problems facing the member countries, thus resulted to development of the intergovernmental
organizations around the world.
They were also to major on relations and trade among the member countries like COMESA,
IGAD, AU.

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Objectives of Intergovernmental Organizations
Peace and stability
The main and most honoured objective of the intergovernmental organizations is the
maintenance of peace and stability in the member countries. (Spring, p.g.234), He argued that
following political structuring in the independent states, political war is likely to be
experienced since leaders more so in developing countries, to say Africa who hungry for
power will do anything possible to get into power regardless of the consequences of their
chosen course of action and that's why it was necessary for the formation of the
intergovernmental organizations who will intervene and maintain peace in the member in
case of political war regularly experienced after the general election for instance in
developing countries like Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt and South Sudan where political wars are
regularly witnessed after every general election. (Grigorescu, pg. 341).
Intergovernmental organizations in such countries have to formulate the more reasonable
solution for the problem or send their representatives to mediate with the leaders fighting for
power in order to end the war since during war, many people are killed and good number
displaced from their homes as they seek refuge in the neighbouring peaceful countries where
they believe to be safer. For instance, back in 2007, post-election violence experienced in
Kenya which left many homeless, mediation strategy succeeded when the leaders in question
agreed to work together as each person`s interest was considered by the mediator. (Marcoux,
pg.56).

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Friendly relations
Intergovernmental organizations always advocate for better relations between the member
states or neighbouring states and people within the country. (Hollifield and Orrenius, pg.
213), discussed friendly relation as a factor of peace and social and economic development of
a country.
Good relations with the member and neighbouring countries will lead to peace between
the states and develop a strong channel of economic development between the states like
trade activities. Trade is considered a major breakthrough in economic development in every
country since it comprises of exchange of goods and services which are not produced in other
countries with the ones locally available, to exemplify, many countries are not rich in
minerals like oil but they have to use the product therefore in exchange for money or other
available product they will be able to import the oil product from producing states like Arab
states. (Klímová, pg. 111).
Economic stability and social progress
In developing countries like African countries, intergovernmental organizations have a heavy
duty in stabilizing the economy and ensuring social progress in the country. (Flowers, pg.
300), She argued that intergovernmental organizations have to provide some of the lacking
basic social services in the country like healthcare services and educational services for the
better of the citizens and boost the economic status of the country.
In areas for example where healthcare services are poorly provided or lack at all, the
intergovernmental organization in charge has to plan on the necessary arrangements on

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starting such a program as society cannot live without healthcare services because it's a basic
service which must be availed to the public by either government in charge or the
intergovernmental organizations like World Health Organizations (WHO). These can be
made possible through the employment of the health personnel from different member
countries to aid in offering such services or building up the facilities, thus ensuring social
progress. (Chatterjee and Finger, pg. 79).
Intergovernmental organizations are also responsible for offering educational services to
the public or support to the provided facilities like schools through provision of basics like
books, pens, and other learning resources to boost educational services in that particular
society. (Hajnal, pg. 709). They can educate the society on social basic life skills like family
planning, savings for the future and also discouraging some of their traditional cultures which
negatively impacts the society like female gentile mutilation (FGM) practices. Savings and
family planning will aid in stabilizing the economy as these will control population of the
country to a level which internal government can support at any situation without requesting
for aid from other countries while better saving methods will reduce the waste of money by
the public and in time of emergency they can use the savings to solve the problem.
Resolution of disputes
Conflicts may arise in the course of the state activities either between the public, states or
states and a group of persons. In case of conflict between the states, the better solution should
be provided in time as conflicts always result to war or enmity between the involved parties.
In line with the intergovernmental organizations' policies and responsibility, they
organizations are expected to intervene on the conflicts and provide the better solution to the
dispute peacefully without any party feeling offended so as to maintain the good friendship
between the parties. These can be done by sending the experts to mediate for the solutions the

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organization always hire experienced and qualified professionals to aid in the mediation
process in case of need. (Roué and Zsolt, pg. 441).
Intergovernmental Organizations Structures
These comprise of the internal structures which aid in services deliveries within the members'
state in case there is the need. For example, in an intergovernmental organization like W.H.O,
its structures comprises of regional officers, liaison office department, administrative centres
and sub-offices within the member states. (Klinke and Lehners, pg. 121).
Regional officers are the heads of the organization in each state. They communicated with
the main headquarter offices in times of need or for any clarification on what course of action
to follow during emergencies in the country.
Liaison office department is responsible for building a strong relationship with other
multilateral bodies so that they can work together achieving their set objectives.
Administrative centres in WHO provides information technology services to the
organization as they support communication and services delivery within the member states.
The structure also comprises the country coordinating offices which have additional
responsibilities in ensuring proper distribution and response to the emergency in the member
country.
Sub-offices are responsible for the implementation of the received instructions or aid to
the affected group of people or in the community to ensure the calamity is timely responded
to.

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Information channel of Intergovernmental Organizations.
Communication is believed to be the backbone of success in every organization. In
intergovernmental organizations, information transmission is vital following its size and
composition as most of the departments are differently located and therefore there is a need
for the formal channel of communication. Formal communication is necessary for
intergovernmental organizations as it transfers organizational goals and discussed the course
of action to their representatives in the member countries and procedures and policies relating
to the crisis in question.
These can be achieved by adopting new technological information like emails, Skype
services which are very fast and efficient mode of technological communication. (Greif, pg.
67)
Barriers to intergovernmental organizations` success
Due to the fact that intergovernmental organizations get full support of the government in
achieving their goals, they are hindered by other factors both within and outside the country
like in trade barriers. Lack of qualified personnel and frequent political instability.
Failures in removing trade barriers set by other country have negatively impacted the
operations of the intergovernmental organizations since countries who are not members of the
organization do not honour their appeal on trade barriers as they only allow export of goods
from selected countries or regions. These have hindered the achievement of their set goals on
trade.
Frequent political instability has affected the activities of the intergovernmental
organizations as there is no conducive environment to operate on and also much of its
resources are being diverted into war control rather than in more beneficial economic and

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social activities. This has resulted in inadequate funds and resources to sponsor other basic
activities needed by the community. (Villarreal, pg. 222).
Recommendation
Government should support the activities of the IGOs in the country for the better of
economy and its citizen's welfare following the above discussed benefits a country gains from
intergovernmental organization in various fields affecting the country as stated in their
policies and objectives.
Every country should join either of these intergovernmental organizations which will
check into the welfare of the people and maintains peace within the state by bettering
relations with other states.
Conclusion
Despite the challenges in attaining intergovernmental organizations' objectives, the
organization has positively impacted the welfare of the community and economic growth of
the country through their extended activities in achieving their set goals and objectives to
their members' country.

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Works cited
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development. Routledge, 2014.
Flowers, Nancy. Human rights education: Theory, research, praxis. University of
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Greif, Michel. The visual factory: building participation through shared information.
Routledge, 2017.
Grigorescu, Alexandru. Democratic intergovernmental organizations? Cambridge University
Press, 2015.
Hajnal, Peter I. Civil society in the information age. Routledge, 2018.
Hollifield, James, Philip L. Martin, and Pia Orrenius, eds. Controlling immigration: A global
perspective. Stanford University Press, 2014.
Klímová-Alexander, Ilona. The Romani voice in world politics: The United Nations and non-
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Klinke, Andreas, Ortwin Renn, and Jean-Paul Lehners. Ethnic conflicts and civil society:
proposals for a new era in Eastern Europe. Routledge, 2018.
Marcoux, Jean-Michel. International Investment Law and Globalization: Foreign
Investment,
Responsibilities and Intergovernmental Organizations. Routledge, 2018.

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Roué, Marie, and Zsolt Molnar. Knowing our lands and resources: indigenous and local
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Spring, Joel. How educational ideologies are shaping global society: Intergovernmental
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Villarreal, Andrea Barrios. International Standardization and the Agreement on Technical
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