members—(26) Argentina, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, Venezuela ————————————————————————————————————- _#_Latin American Integration Association (LAIA), also known as Asociacion Latinoamericana de Integracion (ALADI);
established—12 August 1980, effective 18 March 1981;
aim—to promote freer regional trade;
members—(11) Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela;
observers—(13) Andean Group, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Inter-American Development Bank, Organization of American States, Panama, Portugal, Spain, UN Development Program, Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean ————————————————————————————————————- _#League of Arab States (LAS)—see Arab League (AL) ————————————————————————————————————- #_League of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (LORCS)
established—5 May 1919;
aim—to provide humanitarian aid in peacetime;
members—(147) Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina,
Australia, Austria, The Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium,
Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina, Burma,
Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African
Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Cuba,
Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador,
Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, The Gambia, Germany,
Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti,
Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Italy,
Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, North Korea, South Korea,
Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein,
Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius,
Mexico, Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Nepal, Netherlands, NZ,
Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea,
Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Rwanda,
Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Sao Tome and
Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Somalia,
South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden,
Switzerland, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago,
Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, UAE, UK, US, USSR, Uruguay, Venezuela, Vietnam,
Western Samoa, Yemen, Yugoslavia, Zaire, Zambia, Zimbabwe;
associate members—(2) Equatorial Guinea, Gabon ————————————————————————————————————- _#_least developed countries (LLDCs)—that subgroup of the less developed countries (LDCs) initially identified by the UN General Assembly in 1971 as having no significant economic growth, per capita GNPs/GDPs normally less than $500, and low literacy rates; also known as the undeveloped countries;
the 41 LLDCs are—Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Botswana, Burkina, Burma, Burundi, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Kiribati, Laos, Lesotho, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Western Samoa, Yemen ————————————————————————————————————- _#_less developed countries (LDCs)—the bottom group in the comprehensive but mutually exclusive hierarchy of developed countries (DCs), USSR/Eastern Europe (USSR/EE), and less developed countries (LDCs); mainly countries with low levels of output, living standards, and technology; per capita GNPs/GDPs are generally below $5,000 and often less than $1,000; includes the advanced developing countries, developing countries, Four Dragons (Four Tigers), least developed countries (LLDCs), low-income countries, middle-income countries, newly industrializing economies (NIEs), the South, Third World, underdeveloped countries, undeveloped countries;