Organization of African Unity (OAU): established 25 May 1963; to
promote unity and cooperation among African states; members were
Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon,
Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic
Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Djibouti,
Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana,
Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar,
Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger,
Nigeria, Rwanda, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, Sao Tome and
Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa,
Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe;
ended 8 July 2001 with the establishment of the African Union
Organization of American States (OAS): established - 14 April 1890 as the International Union of American Republics; 30 April 1948 adopted present charter; effective - 13 December 1951
aim - to promote regional peace and security as well as economic and social development
members - (35) Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba (excluded from formal participation since 1962), Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, US, Uruguay, Venezuela
observers - (56) Algeria, Angola, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan,
Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech
Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, EU, Finland,
France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Holy See, Hungary, India,
Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Latvia,
Lebanon, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland,
Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia and Montenegro,
Slovakia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Tunisia,
Turkey, Ukraine, UK, Yemen
Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC): established - 9 January 1968
aim - to promote cooperation in the petroleum industry
members - (11) Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, UAE
Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS): established - 18 June 1981; effective - 4 July 1981
aim - to promote political, economic, and defense cooperation